My brother and I were discussing the latest bile to pour from the mouth of Sepp Blatter, this time demanding that my namesake be banned for ever for his foul on Eduardo. Well, the rights and wrongs of the footbaloling disciplinary system are always good for debate, butv we decided that this is one area where the Swiss windbag ought to zip it.

This trespasses into another area that has my passionate interest. Like any other occupation, football is governed by the laws of the land - each land in which it is played. FIFA is responsible only for the rules of the game (and its ruination by endless, meaningless international competitions for tv consumption, but that is another matter) As Dwain Chambers has so recently shown, a sport's governing body has no legal power to prohibit a professional sportsman from plying his trade once he has served the due penalty for any misdeed.

I'm not a fan of blood sports, but I think I might even pay to see Sepp Blatter argue this before three gowned and be-wigged judges in the High Court.