The unwritten rules of sporting etiquette

On Saturday I found myself having to explain to an American the fascination back home with Anton Ferdinand’s decision not to shake hands with John Terry and Ashley Cole before the QPR-Chelsea game.

As I rambled through an edited version of the context which shaped this sorry tale, the words started to sound more and more ridiculous.

America has its own issues, but west London’s bizarre clash of Fifa-mandated pre-game handshaking and dark-age racism allegations was more than my friend could handle. Ultimately, the televised charade which so many of us were glued to was the inevitable downside of this pointless task: making friends out of foes.