San Marino. Playing against stars
Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand have pulled out of the England squad for Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino at Wembley.
Lampard has a knee problem and Bertrand suffers from a “sore throat”, which already led to criticism about his lack of commitment to play for England against a rival like San Marino, a country that its whole population can’t even fill half of Wembley.
Bertrand even had to “protect” himself by tweeting: “Just to clarify…. Its not a ‘sore throat’. I’m ill. Swollen glands in my neck… And constant headache for 3 days now and freezing cold”.
Nobody, by the way, really cares if Bertrand plays against San Marino or not.
It’s a shame that International football came to that. It’s a shame that playing for your country has become such a burden that it seems that every “sore throat” sounds like a lousy excuse.
It happened because of FIFA & Uefa take. These organisations take footballers’ work lightly. They make professional footballers play against amateurs, who don’t need to go through a minimal qualification round in order to play against the best in the world.
Footballers are already working too hard and are being worn down by the physical and mental pressures of the professional football world. Making them play against amateurs is degrading for them and for the profession.
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @Soccerissue
WHAT TO DO NOW?