Mad Vlad’s one achievement

Mad Vlad has achieved something positive during his days as a war-mongering lunatic. He’s managed to unite the sporting world against him and the Russian nation, and that’s no mean achievement given how much sucking up and kowtowing those in charge at FIFA and the International Olympic Committee hierarchy have done to the dictatorships of Russia and China in recent years.

But please hold back in doling out praise to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and IOC chief Thomas Bach. They didn’t drive the bans on Russian participation in the biggest global sporting events.

They were bounced into acting by their members who showed the moral integrity and backbone the men in charge lacked. If Poland and Sweden hadn’t both insisted they would refuse to play Russia in World Cup qualifying games the farcical spectacle of Russians competing at the Olympics with no penalty other than a harmless name change and false flag would have been transferred to football.

And let’s not forget the scandal the Russians still inflicted on the Winter Olympics with the doping of a 15 year-old figure skater and her subsequent mental breakdown.

Of course there should be some sympathy for those Russain athletes in any sport who are clean, but until Putin (right) is killed/overthrown/ chucked in the loony bin it’s right to make the entire nation a sporting pariah.

I hadn’t actually thought it was was possible for FIFA to have a more unedifying leader than Sepp Blatter, but Infantino has pushed him close.

Sometimes money can’t be the prime motivating factor in deciding tournament hosts which brings us on nicely to the next World Cup in Qatar.

We have still had no word from the England camp about playing the competition in a backward country where homsexuality is illegal and where thousands of migrant workers have died while being paid a pittance to build stadia in a country with no football history and with a climate totally unsuited to the sport.

Apparently head coach Gareth Southgate - lauded so often and fairly for his comments on racism in football - and his players are formulating a joint statement which is good of them.

I’m not sure why ‘we have decided not to go and play in a country with such a bad human rights record’ takes so long to write and publish. It’s surely the right thing to do?

But no, a shot at fame and glory will be far more appealing to our national footballers.

I’m sure there will be some mealy-mouthed form of words which will include ‘we can try and affect change from within’ which should be regarded as complete and utter nonsense.

I’m sure the Qataris will ensure everyone behaves well when the tournament is in full swing, but as they successfully bought a World Cup with public floggings and anti-gay laws in place, I’m not sure why they would feel the need to change anything.