At least Gareth Southgate did not suggest he is better off just sticking to the football.
At least the England manager showed he is aware of the many social issues which are surrounding the World Cup 2022. And fair play to him for talking about them as well.
Sometimes, he probably wishes he could just turn up at a press conference like Mike Bassett to announce: “Ladies and gentleman, England will be playing four-four-f******-two.” And leave it at that. Instead, the modern-day national coach has to be across all manner of subjects. It really is like no other job in football.
Ahead of next week’s friendlies, Southgate has been talking about discrimination in Qatar, saying: “There are issues that potentially threaten our fans when they travel - the rights of women and the sights of the LGBTQ+ community in particular. Sadly, through discussions I’ve had, I don’t think some of those communities are going to go and that’s a great shame.”
Good on Gareth that he is eloquent - if guarded - on the matter and good on Gareth that he intends to speak to his squad about it when they get together this week. Let’s be realistic here. As much as some people find the staging of the World Cup in Qatar to be wrong, England - and every other nation who has qualified - are going.
But once they are there, they can make their voices heard. I am in Bahrain right now and Lewis Hamilton is here because it is his job and his team have agreed to race here. But on Friday morning, that did not stop him from talking about the plight of political prisoners in Bahrain. Or about the plight of refugees from Ukraine, Syria and Yemen. Or about the lack of diversity in his sport.
And when Qatar hosted its first Grand Prix last year, he wore a rainbow-coloured helmet for the race weekend. There’s a thought. Perhaps the England squad, when they have their meetings this week, might consider digging out those rainbow laces that come out once a domestic season.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should England's players speak up on LGBTQ+ issues at the World Cup in Qatar? Let us know in the comments section.
Wonder how that would go down with FIFA? At the least, though, the players should be free to express their opinions on such matters. Believe it or not, they do have opinions. Hamilton often talks about having a platform to make a difference, no matter how slight, and the importance of using it. As representatives of such a high-profile footballing nation, England’s players have that platform.
If they are not comfortable with it, then fine. If, as Southgate suggested, there are concerns that any comments might be “used with broader agendas at play”, then fine. It is not an obligation for players - followed by many - to speak out about social and political injustices away from the game. It is not an obligation at all.
But this year does provide an opportunity … and, hopefully, some of them will take it.
Southgate right to sticky by Maguire
“In what stratosphere has (Harry) Maguire been better than (Fikayo) Tomori? None.”
And talkSport’s Darren Bent was, in a fashion, probably echoing the sentiments of quite a few England followers. Giving Bent the benefit of the doubt and assuming he has been keeping a close eye on Tomori’s form in Serie A, it seems, on the face of it, he might have a point.
Tomori has featured in 22 of Milan’s 29 league games this season and they currently sit top of the table. But here’s the ‘stratosphere’ in which Maguire has been better than Tomori. A World Cup and a European Championship that was less than a year ago. At the end of Euro 2020, Maguire was named in the team of the tournament.
Yes, his form has not been good in a mediocre Manchester United season but he has never let Gareth Southgate down and is highly valued by the England manager for his leadership skills. Southgate clearly feels Maguire brings a lot more to the squad in terms of his off-the-field influence than, say, Marcus Rashford, who has dropped for his chronic lack of form.
And he was not going to leave him out on the back of some ropey stuff for a ropey club team. Hopefully, Tomori’s time will come again but Maguire is one of a core of go-to Southgate players. And he has not done too badly with them so far.
