Neutrality restored

THE streets of Geneva were thronged with jubilant Portuguese fans as our tram inched through horn-tooting traffic on its way to the main railway station on Wednesday night.

Portugal had just beaten the Czech Republic in the Stade de Geneve and their supporters were determined to let everyone know all about it. Not that there were many locals abroad to offer congratulations. But, then, they did have more pressing matters on their minds.

As we trundled past the city’s official Fan Zone, we caught a glimpse over the security fencing of the massive crowd watching the pictures being beamed live on a giant screen from Basle, where the host nation was fighting for its tournament life against Turkey. At that point, with just over half an hour gone, Hakan Yakin had already given the Swiss the lead, and all was well in our part of the world.