Football related contrast between Spain and England



The victorious Spanish football team, along with Ángel Maria del Villar, the president of the Spanish Federation of Football are in Mexico to present the World Cup to Our Lady of Guadalupe. There are some photos at Demotix. This must surely be a significant gesture given the hardcore secularism of Spain's Prime Minister.

In England on the other hand, the head of media relations for the Football Association stopped Wayne Rooney talking about the "prominent cross" that he wears. The FA's official line is "We don't do religion." This fatuous intervention speaks volumes about the culture which Pope Benedict is coming to face next month.

Incidentally, five minutes' research (asking a Catholic, for instance) would have gained the Independent's reporter the extra little expert detail that the "prominent cross" is actually a rosary. If he had shown that he didn't understand the offside rule, he would be ridiculed far and wide. But when it comes to religion, who cares?

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