ROLL UP, ROLL UP
Football at Big Sports Day; it’s a concept that has always seemed a little off somehow. The world’s most popular game rarely, if ever, enjoys centre stage at the Games, instead taking a back seat to volleyball and sailing for a couple of weeks every four years. Olympic football usually tends to force its way into the headlines only when something goes wrong. Luckily for tea-timely emails scraping through the dog days of July, football at the Games has a rich history of farce and controversy, dating back to 1896 when an “unofficial” final was played between Denmark and Greece. The referee was Prince George, a royal in both nations (and Prince Philip’s uncle), and it ended either 9-0 or 15-0 to Denmark, with the prince presumably losing interest.
