By William Mata

England’s football team have faced calls to boycott the World Cup. They should listen to them, but ultimately play on.

The reasons for calling a strike are obvious. The US is co-hosting the tournament at the same time that its president deploys heavy-handed ICE agents, threatens to invade Greenland, and makes patronising and insulting comments to female journalists who question him.

But who would suffer as a result of England not playing? Ultimately, only England. Fifa can surely afford any lost income associated and other countries would have one fewer opponent to worry about.

All the while fans would be deprived of a chance to dream; society would not get its bi-annual chance to cast aside worries and pretend to be a manager;........

© LBC