Disgraced biker deserves life ban for act of madness

Girona in Spain one day, if the CFG can tie up their various strands. Barcelona? They’re like the Harlem Globetrotters.

They blow in for a one-night show, then disappear for a couple of years. They just want your money, and for as little of their time as possible.

The latest reports suggest Barcelona’s visit in January is now in jeopardy, with so many official bodies standing against it.

Not only are FIFA and the Spanish federation opposed, but the government are wary of two Catalan teams playing on foreign soil at a time when the independence issue is so sensitive.

They are genuinely fearful of the message that could send.

Equally, the integrity of the competition could be damaged given the deal struck with hosts, Relevent — the company behind the International Champions Cup. Proposing a single La Liga game in North America each season — the thin end of the wedge if successful, surely — the belief is that this will always involve either Barcelona or Real Madrid, as the two bestsupported teams abroad.

Yet neither would be willing to sacrifice a home fixture, so the premise is that a smaller club forfeits its biggest game of the season. That is what Girona would be doing, by switching their match with Barcelona. There has already been talk of substantial season-ticket refunds and free flights to Florida for the diehards, but this runs deeper than keeping the fans happy.

Say Barcelona are duking it out for the title with Atletico and Real Madrid, as usual. The Madrid clubs will have to play Girona away in conventional surrounds.

Girona’s ground capacity is only 13,450, and their average gate last season was 10,232, but it will still be an away fixture.

LAST season, Girona beat Real Madrid 2-1 and took a point off Atletico in a 2-2 draw. How can it be right that Barcelona, alone among the 20 La Liga clubs, will not play Girona away in 2018-19?

They will, if granted permission, face them in Miami in front of a big crowd that will almost all be cheering Barcelona. It will be like a home game for what is technically the away side. So Barcelona play 20 home fixtures this season and 18 away, and every other club gets a 19-19 split. How can that be fair?

America is more discerning than the colonialists think. One of the reasons Relevent’s International Champions Cup has suffered with dwindling gates in some matches is that America has worked out it isn’t a proper tournament, and they are not seeing European teams at their strongest or trying their hardest. The elite thought they could sell America preseason friendlies repackaged as big- ticket events, but people aren’t that stupid.

The odd stellar encounter still packs them in, but many games are now played in front of halfempty stadiums. Won’t La Liga’s brand actually suffer if fans realise it is becoming a commercial plaything? It doesn’t take much for the crowd to look elsewhere.

La Liga’s profile in Britain now it is on Eleven Sports is close to non-existent. Do you know anyone who is watching it? We didn’t have it, and life went on; and then we did and it was a pleasing distraction; and now it’s gone again and, well, it’s not exactly as if we’re short of football is it?

So a devalued, lop-sided league format, with a game hacked off and hawked around the world, might prove equally unappealing when what NBC have bought into, and at considerable expense, is the Premier League dogfight that, while not always pleasing on the eye, is at least balanced and sincerely committed.

From high in their Manhattan eerie, Barcelona may think they rule the world, but the reality is rather different.

If they did, they wouldn’t see playing Girona in Miami as a smart move; because it simply wouldn’t be necessary.

IT appears Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli could both be missing when Tottenham face Liverpool tomorrow. With each passing week, the decision not to improve the squad this summer looks misplaced. Harry Kane still appears leggy and Fernando Llorente is not a striker that would get in any team with designs on the title. One more injury could seal it, and this is without an energy-sapping European campaign. All the attention has been on unfortunate complications at the new stadium, but Tottenham are as short on squad depth as they have been on electricians.

BT SPORT Danger: Fenati pulls the brake on Stefano Manzi’s bike A LIFE ban always seems such a draconian measure, but what other punishment is suitable for disgraced Moto2 rider Romano Fenati? Racing at 140mph beside Stefano Manzi, he reached across and pulled his rival’s brake lever. Immediately sacked by the Marinelli Snipers team after Sunday’s race, he has also been rejected by MV Agusta, who were due to sign him for 2019. Fenati has apologised but it is surely too late. Riders, drivers, even jockeys can make bullish or amateurish mistakes that place rivals in jeopardy, but allowance is made for the heat of racing. This was different. Fenati committed an act that he knew could endanger life and if he was unable to exercise selfcontrol in that moment, he might do so again. He has already been banned for two grands prix for kicking another rider’s bike while racing, so this is not even strike one. Fenati, 22, announced he would be retiring from the sport in the aftermath, but motorcycling’s governing body cannot be sure. In these circumstances, a life ban is entirely justified. Fenati (above) is a menace and has forfeited his right to be treated as anything more.