The case of Shaun Tuck is both a problem and an opportunity for the FA

How, you may ask, does the violent murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, South East London, last week, connect with the world of sport.

Tuck shopped | The non-league footballer could be prosecuted by police for his Twitter rant. (Image | Ormskirk and Skelmersdale Advertiser)

One of the most disconcerting and predictable elements of the fallout from the tragic events has been verbal attacks and vicious reprisals against non-whites, particularly Muslims.

Part of this prejudice has come from non-league footballer, Shaun Tuck, whose Twitter feed revealed an alarming amount of his unsavoury views on non-footballing matters before it was taken down.

Can racism ever be kicked out of football?

Abused | England Under-21s star Danny Rose hit out after the final whistle at 90 minutes of racist chanting by Serbian fans. (Image | The Guardian)

The recent examples of racist abuse at the highest levels of domestic and European football have sent shockwaves through the sport. High-profile incidents have cast doubt on the instruments of justice and guardians of the game.

Not only this, but the reappearance of racism on what is now a world stage is beginning to undermine all the progress made towards eliminating such egregious abuse – once endemic – from modern football.

All around us politicians, footballers, supporters, victims and others are calling for action to be taken. The question is, who should be taking this action, and what can actually be done to truly kick racism out of football?

Why international football needs a serious redesign

The England team’s comfortable dispatching of San Marino on Friday night did little for the argument that minnows deserve to be in the main stage of European qualifying (Image | bettor.com)

Upon reading the title of this post, you may think that I’m going to talk about a certain Michel Platini’s comments regarding his desire to see the 2022 World Cup played in winter.

Platini, though, isn’t my target. I am going to discuss the fact that international football is becoming increasingly meaningless.

My dad reminds me that whenever an England squad is announced that not so long ago, a player had to be among the select group of best players in England’s top flight to be called up to the national team. And although he does not necessarily disagree with giving young players a chance to show their worth in friendlies, he, like me, believes that international football needs a major reshuffle.

Is the European Super League a genuine possibility?

Not so super? | This could be a regular match-up should the European Super League ever be seriously considered by the powers that be. (Image | Bleacher Report)

The European Super League. It has been talked about for a long time, but will it ever actually happen? Writing in September 2012 and looking ahead, in two years time a European Super League could be on the agenda.

This is because in 2014 the agreement that is in place between FIFA, UEFA and Europe’s leading clubs expires. As the leader of the European Club Association, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge points out, said teams will be free to do what they want. However, would they actually look to create a super league?

UEFA have their pants pulled down

Putting it all on show | Nicklas Bendtner‘s “lucky pair of pants” must have lost their touch – earning him an £80,000 fine and a one-match suspension from UEFA

Once again the football world has been shocked, if not actually surprised, by the actions of those who ‘run’ the game. UEFA has slapped a £80,000 fine on Nicklas Bendtner. What is Bendtner’s crime you ask? Well, he has terrible taste in undergarments.

The man who bagged himself a brace against Portugal revealed the sponsorship during a goal celebration. The outrage is not so much about the amount of the fine, or the one game ban attached. The real shame of it is the comparison to recent racism fines dished out by UEFA. Bendtner’s fine was more than the £64,000 sum Croatia faced due to their fans racially abusing the ever adorable Mario Balotelli. It is not the first time UEFA has handed out pitiful fines for racial abuse by various groups of fans across Europe.

Arsenal striker Bendtner, who spent the past season on loan at Sunderland, said the boxers were “just a lucky pair of pants”.

Hometown heroes keeping Euro 2012 lively

National treasure | Andriy Shevchenko was mighty for Ukraine in their opening match, and produced two goals to give his country a famous win (Image | SI)

Think back to some recent international football tournaments, and what stands out to you among the most successful and entertaining? Mostly, the best international tournaments involve a good run by a host or co-host, or by an unfancied outsider. Either of these phenomena keeps local interest buzzing, ensures great crowds at every game and raises the game of both that over-achieving minnow/entertaining host and their opponents.

Racism: an inconvenience, but not a concern in Eastern Europe

Monday night’s Panorama unearthed some shocking truths about racism in football in Poland and Ukraine – which were flatly denied by local police chiefs (Image | still from Panorama)

Anyone who watched BBC’s Panorama programme on Monday night will now know for certain what we all already believed. The powers at the fulcrum of European football are fundamentally uninterested in tackling the difficult problem of stamping out racism in Eastern European football.

I will make no attempt whatsoever to pretend that there is no racism in English – or Western European – football in 2012. The deluded Geordie who tweeted that there were too many black players in the Newcastle United squad following the signing of Papiss Cisse in January pays a sorry tribute to that. But, mercifully, we are at least 20 years beyond the scenes aired in Panorama on Monday.