‘The Language of Football’

“As far back as I can remember, I have associated a British accent with football {soccer}, and that we can watch these games here in basically their original form is to me what makes them so appealing and popular…

“This thought struck me on a recent Sunday morning as I watched a ‘Serie A’ match with the sound off. I have spent about three years of my life living in Italy and have followed ‘Serie A’ intently ever since I was introduced to it as a wide-eyed 16-year-old. That morning, the sound was off because my girlfriend was still asleep, but more and more I’ve found myself watching these games without the sound, which seems almost a contaminant.

“It’s not that the quality of the commentary in English is that bad – it is pretty bad, though – it’s more that it just doesn’t fit the game the way the actual Italian commentary does. As in this country, where language and sport seem to have evolved side-by-side, the same is true in Italy and any viewing without the original audio is incomplete.

‘Covering Up Sexual Abuse?’

“Eight of the {U.K.} professional football clubs contacted by the independent inquiry into the game’s sexual-abuse scandal have failed to respond and now risk disciplinary action unless they tell the investigators what they know…

“The ‘Football Association’ is ready to step in and has the power to impose sanctions if it considers the clubs who have failed to comply – missing two separate deadlines over the past four months and displaying a level of non-cooperation described as “deeply concerning” by one specialist child-abuse lawyer – are threatening to undermine the investigation into what the organisation’s chairman, Greg Clarke, has described as the worst crisis he can remember in the sport. 

‘More Than A Headache (Soccer)’

“Former Liverpool striker Ian St. John has called on football’s leaders to look after former professionals who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The 78-year-old ex-Scotland international says several of his old team-mates are affected.

“He believes it is as the result of heading heavy footballs in the 1950s and ’60s.