Sir Dave and the English shouldn’t travel

 
Sir Dave Richards (left) has landed himself in controversy
15 March 2012

On my first visit to Doha, the capital of Qatar, the England team were in town (it was November 2009 and they played a friendly against Brazil, who won 1‑0).

Sir Dave Richards was a member of the official party but less evident, on this occasion, than a substantial group of the sort of travelling fans who consider themselves amusingly boisterous and had been kind enough to book themselves into an otherwise tranquil beachside hotel.

On the sands was a herdsman offering camel rides which the fans took with glee, swigging from beer cans as they were lurched aloft.

They took particular delight in tendering the alcohol to the robed herdsman or, to be more accurate, in his obvious distaste.

“Go on, mate,” they yelled, “You know you wanna!”

Every time he turned his head away, there was much cackling.

This is the trouble with the English sense of humour, much of which is rightly acclaimed: the lower forms travel badly.

Indeed, as Sir Dave discovered in Doha yesterday, they ought not to travel at all. The Football Association and Premier League luminary’s rambling address at a dinner included advice to his hosts to embrace the “pint” culture and the following history lesson: “England gave the world football. Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said you’re liars and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA. Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more.”

Sir Dave later expressed regret, saying his remarks had been “light hearted”.

But the damage was done. Yet another international audience had experienced it and the FA’s World Cup bidding humiliation became so much more understandable; the mystery was that they managed to pick up one vote. Although the FA and Premier League have disowned Sir Dave’s views, only they are responsible for his prominence — and the rest of the world knows he is not wholly unrepresentative.

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