Federer does it over and over again - Photo squeakyknees CCA
Federer remains the world’s best
Make no mistake, Andy Murray turned up to the Melbourne final in extremely good form and ready to make the step up to Grand Slam champion. His fault was not to have the game to beat the greatest men’s player of all time playing at the top of his game. Despite owning just about every record of any significance, the hunger Federer displayed in claiming a 16th Grand Slam title was ominous to those who would wish to build their own legacies. But as with last year, there is much to look forward to in this tennis season. Murray’s presence in the final means that Federer has now contested the last 8 Grand Slam finals, winning four and losing four, and has faced five different opponents in his last five finals. The game is being pushed to great heights by a host of players inspiring the best to be better still. There’s no predicting the rest of the year’s major winners - apart from Federer, of course.
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John Terry remains roughly who he was last week
Yes, he’s been in the news for something or other, but let’s not make too big a fuss over John Terry, because this weekend pretty much everything that was supposed to happen did happen. Firstly, the newspapers took the moral highground, and called for him to be sacked. Then the Burnley fans, whose side were facing Chelsea, did that wonderful thing that football fans sometimes do and came up with an inspired chant of ‘Same old Terry - always cheating’. Then, like a man who has been used to the occasional controversy and learned to ignore it, John popped up and scored the winner for his side with ten minutes to play. He remains a sensible choice for captain of England, assuming that his colleagues retain their faith in him and trust in him on a football field. Those factors alone, however, may not be enough to keep the role.
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African Cup of Nations doesn’t get the conclusion it deserved
The best side won - again. Egypt made it three in the row with a tidy win over Ghana, and deserved to do so having been by some distance the tournament’s form side. Perhaps driven by their absence from the World Cup, they were well organised and focused, and England for one will be relieved not to have to face them. However, the Egyptians’ triumph was somewhat overshadowed by the decision the previous day to ban the Togolese from the next two African Cup of Nations for deciding to withdraw after their bus was shot at. It appears that there are certain technicalities at play here, but still, as far as decisions that suggest that footballers are nothing but commodities, this one will take some beating. Such is the public outrage, though, that you suspect Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football, might be forced into a rethink.
Those “certain technicalities” would be that it wasn’t the Togolese FA who decided to withdraw from the tournament, but that the Togolese government made that decision for them. Governmental influence is one of FIFA’s greatest bug bears, so I’m guessing the CAF were scared of FIFA taking them to task if they didn’t make this decision. Still, the rethink you’re talking about would be well in order.
Robbert - I think you’re right - Marcotti in the Times suggests as such - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article7010434.ece - but there really ought to be a better way of making the point that governments shouldn’t interfere in sporting matters.
A statement reaffirming the rule and principle should probably have been issued along with a big fuss about how in this case and this case alone they were going to make an exception. It won’t be the last PR mistake in international football, though.
Technicality or not, there really is no excuse for it. As a BBC blog pointed out “Article 80 will tolerate withdrawals ‘in cases of force majeure accepted by Caf’”: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/piersedwards/2010/01/caf_decision_over_togo_makes_n.html
Article 80 or not, its shameful, truly shameful. I don’t know how the people who made that decision sleep at night. Fantastic last point in that BBC blog:
“Personally, I’d be intrigued to know the thoughts of reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale who, lying in a Johannesburg hospital with a bullet lodged near his spine, is now being told that even if he does play football again, he’ll be unable to compete in the next two Nations Cups.”
Incidentally, does our Sports Minister raising the Terry issue in Parliament count as goverment interference?