Football needs to find better answers to new questions

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the game is now having to confront uncomfortable questions it thought it could indefinitely put off, writes Miguel Delaney

Chelsea and Newcastle met on Sunday in a game with a very political backdrop (REUTERS)

There were more than a few moments of tension at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but very few were related to where the ball was going.

Perhaps the most nervousness came between Chelsea fans themselves, as there was an unmistakable trepidation about whether some would sing about Roman Abramovich. Beyond a few smatterings that were quickly shouted down, there was mercifully none of that. It was to the credit of the majority of home supporters.

It also meant that the most tension was in the dressing room, and it was only tangentially connected to Chelsea.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe was asked about the unavoidable political context of the game given the club’s ownership, how a Saudi Arabian flag was seen in the away end, and the fact the same country executed 81 people on Saturday.

“I’m just going to answer questions on the game and football,” Howe said. “I’m still bitterly disappointed from the defeat so I think it’s only right that I stick to football.”

After one or two questions about on-pitch matters, the discussion came back around to an issue that is changing the face of the game off it, and the world.

“I’m here to manage the football team and coach the football,” Howe went on. “I’m well aware of what’s going around the world but my focus is on trying to produce a team to win football matches, get enough points to stay in the league and that’s all I’ll say… I’m going to talk football. That’s all I’m concerned with.”

When asked again on whether he ever reflects on how football is used, Howe just responded “I think I’ve made my position clear.”

The discussion throws up a lot of other questions, none of them anything like clear.

It may seem harsh to press Howe on this, but this is the deal when you go to a project of that nature.

It should be stressed that players and coaches have generally been given a pass for joining clubs that are used by states, or other interests. They are broadly seen as athletes who just want to compete at the top level, with the necessary tunnel vision that elite sport warrants, to go with the realpolitik that applies to society as a whole. Compromises are necessary. Even Lionel Messi was broadly absolved of criticism for going to Qatar’s Paris Saint-Germain. It was seen as a sadly inevitable choice, even for someone who should have more choices than anyone else.

The edge here, however, is that sportswashing states are specifically looking to use the image of these figures and the success they might bring. Part of a manager’s job is also to consider the football philosophy and identity of where they work, so there is a higher level of thinking necessary than for any player.

They are also, perhaps unfairly, the public face of the clubs. None of the executives present were putting themselves up, on a day that was obviously going to be clouded by political concerns given the context of the week.

Chelsea, for their part, realised that. It was notable that Petr Cech spoke before the broadcast of the game about their situation, alleviating some of the pressure on Thomas Tuchel.

The German is well aware of the compromises you have to make. He’s now worked for Qatar and Abramovich, and is much more forthright than most on the subject.

Tuchel has generally handled the situation very well and displayed a deft humanity when discussing some of the deeper consequences.

“But Chelsea is much more than the first team of the Premier League. It's a massive club, massive club with huge tradition. And there are hundreds of people who I'm pretty sure worry more than our players and staff, me included.

“And for them it's important that we show the spirit and give them a bit of a distraction, some hope and show what we are about, and we are about football because we love the game.”

That’s what football should really be about, of course. It is no longer just about that, because the game has allowed itself to grow to a situation that is now beyond its control.

The disgraceful invasion of Russia has opened a Pandora’s box for the sport, as it now has to confront uncomfortable questions it thought it could indefinitely put off.

Tuchel showed how you navigate these situations. Howe is probably going to find different answers, because the questions aren’t going to go away.