Terror threat a big test for football

Gallows humour is much the same among football fans the world over. So the sight of snipers high up in the stands of the Bernabeu stadium for Real Madrid’s match against Barcelona on Saturday inevitably prompted questions about whether they were protecting Florentino Perez against the fans.

Despite the media pointing the finger at Rafael Benitez, most of the club’s supporters have been blaming the president rather than the manager.

The chorus of “Florentino dimision!” (Florentino resign) could be heard quite clearly at the end of Saturday’s debacle, even if the club tried to drown it out by playing the Real Madrid anthem at full blast over the loudspeakers.