The beautiful game?

This is a short post, that has been lifted from a much longer article I have been writing. In the light of recent sporting events, it deserves a spot of its own, so here goes.

Saturday evening was spent watching the England v Ukraine match on TV, in the company of Mrs PBT’s. Like me, she is something of a fair-weather supporter, and like me is someone concerned about the hypocrisy of the whole thing. After last Tuesday’s Wembley clash with old rivals Germany, played before a crowd of 40,000 spectators, we couldn’t help noticing the lack of social distancing. is was in stark contrast to Saturday’s game against Ukraine, played in Rome, where there were clearly plenty of empty seats that were marked as,  “off-limits.”

Then there was the perhaps understandable euphoria when the England goals came, along with the jumping, shouting hugging and other forms of social contact that have been expressly forbidden during the two lock-downs. If an example was needed, we were restricted to just twelve mourners at dad’s funeral, back in early February, and all forms of singing – including hymns were prohibited.

Some might say the latter was a good thing, but contrast that with a load of drunken idiots screaming and jumping for joy, hugging, and kissing all and sundry within their reach. Now I’m not a “do-gooder,” and neither am I an apologist for the control freaks at SAGE, but at the same time I want this pandemic to be properly over in time for the lifting of restrictions in two weeks’ time. 

Something tells me that isn’t going to happen, so in the meantime, can someone tell me why large-crowd, sporting events are suddenly acceptable, seemingly without any form of control, but if I want to go out for a drink with a mate, at a local pub, tomorrow night, both of us will need to wear a mask when we enter the building (there were no masks worn at those football games), and we will have to (by law), supply our contact details.

There are double standards here, and the undoubted driving force is money. The same financial induced hypocrisy will also be evident at the Tokyo Olympics, which are going ahead in a country that is still in the grip of a Covid epidemic, whilst at the same time being in denial that there is a problem.

Rather strangely, other events such as rock concerts, that attract large crowds, are still on hold, so it seems very much a case of one rule for some, and different ones for everyone else. Don’t get me wrong, I want to get back to normal as soon as possible, but only if it makes medical sense to do so.

What none of us want to see, are Covid cases continuing to rise, followed by the spectre of yet another lock down. UEFA and the IOC are desperate not to lose revenue, by restricting these major sporting events, but when this comes on top of all the sacrifices small businesses have had to endure (particularly those in the hospitality sector) and puts at risk the gains, so painfully won, then you have to call into question the motives of these people.