The Japanese are over rice
It would be an insult to call rice the staple food of Japan. For centuries it has been so much…
Jordan Henderson’s Saudi move would be good for football
Jordan Henderson is set to become the latest high-profile veteran to join the rapidly burgeoning Saudi Arabian Professional league. The…
Japan’s dark history of forced sterilisation
A Japanese government report has revealed that over a 50-year period, under a policy of forced sterilisation, 16,500 people were…
Why Japan doesn’t do Pride
Want to avoid Pride month? Bit tired of the, almost literally, in your face, carnival of uninhibited sexual freedom we…
Fifa is in denial about the women’s World Cup
The women’s football World Cup will kick off in under 50 days’ time in Australia and New Zealand, and England…
Does Gary Lineker deserve Amnesty’s human rights award?
‘We need to be careful with the language we use,’ said Gary Lineker as he picked up an award from…
Another grim reminder of Japan’s violent politics
Has Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida just survived an assassination attempt? Kishida was evacuated from the site of a stump speech in the fishing…
Is Humza Yousaf up to the task?
As expected, Humza Yousaf has won the SNP leadership election and, barring something extraordinary, will become the next First Minister…
Match of the Day without Gary Lineker was oddly soothing
Well, did you enjoy MOTD? Did you miss Gary? Thanks to, let’s just say ‘circumstances’, we were able to take…
Is Japan doomed?
Japan is heading for trouble, the country’s prime minster Fumio Kishida has suggested. ‘Our country is on the brink of…
Why Japan has been a post-Brexit ally to Britain
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida is in London today to meet Rishi Sunak and sign an historic defence agreement which…
What we learned from the Qatar World Cup
It is a measure of the unexpected success of the Qatar World Cup that it could be hailed as the…
Why Argentina is the team we love to hate
With the prospect of Messi closing out his glorious career with the ultimate prize it’s likely most neutral fans will…
Why Messi matters
I hope that the Argentinian national team (also known as Lionel Messi) will win its third (or first?) World Cup…
Let’s kick penalties out of football
Spain crashed out of the World Cup on penalties last night, despite dominating possession against Morocco for two solid hours.…
Will the end of zero Covid be the real legacy of the World Cup?
You often hear about ‘legacy’ when international sporting tournaments come around. It’s a weasel word used by the organisers to…
The World Cup armband row would never happen in Japan
Before the start of their World Cup game with Japan, the German team chose to make a ‘protest’. Each player…
Fifa 1 – England 0
England have backed down in the ludicrous standoff with Fifa over the plan for captain Harry Kane to wear a…
Fifa’s president is feeling African, gay and disabled. I’m feeling confused
‘I’m defending football here, and injustice’ was the standout quote, for me, from what has been described as a ‘bizarre…
The problem with Ronaldo’s betrayal narrative
Cristiano Ronaldo has almost certainly played his last game for Manchester United after an ‘explosive’ interview which ‘the whole world’s…
Football’s problems run far beyond the Qatar World Cup
Are there any redeeming features of the Qatar World Cup? Perhaps one: the tournament has a sane and logical format.…
Did lockdown contribute to Seoul’s Halloween tragedy?
At least 151 people were crushed or trampled to death in a narrow alley in the South Korean capital Seoul…
In defence of VAR
There isn’t much that unites the fractious, dysfunctional football family. But in the UK, at least, there is something most…
Hard to swallow: the unjustified hype around Japanese food
Japanese food is over-hyped
Paris’s football World Cup boycott will achieve little
Several French cities have announced that they will be boycotting the upcoming World Cup in protest against the Qatari state’s…
