A World Cup full of memorable moments was also marked by exclusion, exploitation and unprecedented political meddling, writes JAMES NALTON
NOT writing about racism in sport for a few weeks feels like a record. However, it has reared its ugly head again not just in football but in tennis and cricket these past few days.
It is ludicrous that Mario Balotelli was booked for pointing out the racial abuse being hurled at him from the stands. It once again sends out the message that there is no point in reporting racism in the game because you as the victim end up being punished.
As Everton’s Mason Holgate found out at the end of 2017, the scrutiny falls on the abused and not the abuser and, until that changes, it will only get worse.
Amid rising hostility and division, the answer to fear and frustration is not isolation but the organised solidarity that built working-class communities, says MATT KERR
US President says he lobbied Infantino over ban as Uefa warns move ‘crossed a red line’
Gisele Pelicot said ‘shame must change sides.’ We may think we agree, but, argues LOUISE RAW, society still has some way to go



