GAME OF GREED
Those who really do care about football will see this match for the unsightly, cringeworthy charade that it is. Even in the middle of a global pandemic, it’s all about the pounds and pence of UEFA’s television deal...
AS far back as a month ago – after an online meeting with UEFA’s top brass ahead of the restart of international football – senior figures inside Hampden were already fearing the worst.
During those conversations the potential for the Nations League to descend into complete farce became crystal clear to a governing body which can consider itself a world leader in overseeing chaos.
But even though SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell may have seen this coming from a mile off, he could never have imagined that Scotland would be dragged straight into the thick of the first Covid-19 calamity.
Even when the Czech Republic went on to the UK government’s red list 10 days ago, there was no indication of the drama which began to unfold on Friday night, shortly after the paint-drying exercise of a disjointed, openingnight draw at home to Israel.
To be fair to Maxwell and the Blazerati, the SFA have their house in order where coronavirus protocols are concerned due to the diligence and professionalism of Dr John MacLean.
So even though they were being effectively forced by UEFA to enter one of Europe’s hotspots, there was complete confidence, or as close as there can be in these times, that MacLean’s strict measures would keep Clarke and his players safe inside their own bio-secure bubble.
That’s precisely why they were granted government permission to make this trip without having to go into self quarantine on their return to Glasgow.
But what Scotland’s doc could have no control over, however, was the outbreak inside the Czech Republic’s own camp which has created one almighty clusterfuddle around tonight’s showdown in Olomouc.
That UEFA waded in with such force on Saturday morning, when the Czech FA was threatened with all manner of punitive sanctions – including an enormous cash fine – if they failed to fulfil the fixture, shows what this is really all about.
Even in the middle of a global pandemic, it’s all about the pounds and the pence as far as European football’s greed-is-good governing body is concerned.
Since this health crisis began UEFA has been paralysed by a terrible fear.
That fear is not of the danger to public health or even that of players across the continent.
It is of the catastrophic impact it might have on its bulging Swiss bank account should the TV companies around the world start trying to claw their money back. That’s why they went to such extraordinary lengths to complete last season’s Champions League and Europa League campaigns behind closed doors when the rest of us were still locked in the house.
They were so terrified of the prospect of a legal claim for hundreds of millions of pounds from a multitude of broadcasters that they could not possibly allow the game to be stopped.
That’s also why UEFA were so quick to bully the Belgians when they first declared their intention to shut down their own domestic league after the country was forced into lockdown, threatening them with a ban from all European club competitions unless they toed the line.
That was the first indication that UEFA’s FOMO was causing them to lose sight of reality and now, given their heavy-handed treatment of the Czechs, it does appear as if they have let go of whatever sense of reason they may once have possessed.
The message sent on Saturday morning was crystal clear and it made a mockery of the notion of sporting integrity.
So what if you don’t have any players or even a manager? This game goes ahead even if you have to drag 11 bodies out of a pub in Prague’s old town!
That they’ve managed to do a bit better than that, cobbling together a league select before midnight on Saturday, is really none of UEFA’s concern.
So long there are 11 men all dressed up in Czech shirts when the cameras start rolling tonight,
If it wasn’t all about the bottom line for UEFA, this would have been shelved
they’ll consider it a job well done and a crisis averted.
But while you’ll be able to hear the back-slapping all the way from Nyon, football will curl its toes in embarrassment.
Those who really do care about the game will see this match for the unsightly, cringeworthy charade that it is.
Let’s face it, if it wasn’t all about the bottom line then the entire Nations League campaign would have been shelved from the start.
Given the logistical problems of asking hundreds of players to leave their own club bubbles and criss-cross their way across the continent during a kil ler pandemic, this was an accident waiting to happen. Of course, it just had to happen on Scotland’s watch but this sorry episode will almost certainly not be the last.
All Clarke and his players can do is attempt to avoid any further catastrophes tonight, while keeping their fingers crossed that the Czechs have remembered to test whoever does turn up at the team hotel looking for a tracksuit,
On the contrary, this Scotland side is made up of Clarke’s A-listers but it did not cover itself in glory on Friday even if the boss found a way to fit all of them into the same starting line-up.
Given Clarke’s attention to detail, there was a worrying lack of cohesion about that performance. Worse still, there was no sign of any urgency either even when the Israelis were beginning to dominate the game in the second half.
The manager had every right to expect a great deal more from these players, especially given what will be at stake next month when the same opponents return to Hampden for the Euro 2020 play-off.
Yesterday afternoon, on the back of more national moaning and groaning, Scotland arrived in Olomouc to prepare for the ultimate in hidings to nothing.
Some of them may very well feel that they should not have been forced into t h i s no- wi n position at all and, if that is indeed the case, their resentment would certainly be justified.
But Clarke and his staff have gone to great lengths for these players simply in order to keep them safe and healthy.
Should they let the manager down again tonight against the Czech Republic’s Dog & Duck, then perhaps two weeks of selfisolation might seem like a good idea after all.