Colin Sheridan: The beautiful game has been hijacked by moral abdication

The longer Fifa refuses to act in sanctioning Israel, the country that’s currently invading and bombing Lebanon, as well as committing a year-long genocide on the Palestinian people, the more morally bankrupt it becomes

Lebanon's Hilal El-Helwe vies for the ball with North Korea's defender Sim Hyon-jin. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

Five years ago, in a sad foreshadowing of what was to come, I attended a World Cup qualifier behind closed doors at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in the suddenly famous southern suburbs of Beirut. 

Lebanon were playing North Korea, and though it was late 2019 and some months before the covid pandemic would make empty stadiums the new normal, the ground was silent for an entirely different reason, save for some police, the extended squads of each team, and a smattering of press.