Here is my latest tirade over at Business and Politics about Football and Socialism. (Update: link did not work – apologies. Now fixed)

I strongly recommend you check it out. If only for the beyond brilliant photograph of Vaniev Runieski, Stevan Gerardin, Gerd Balev and assorted other heroes of Soviet soccer.

Extract:

The bottom line is this. Football is a private activity. The fact that so many people get emotional about it is an interesting phenomenon which has nothing to do with politics. If football is not run efficiently or competently, everyone involved in football should either take responsibility for sorting out the problems, or agree to live with the current state of affairs.

If the UK Tiddlywinks Association is riven with conflict and run appallingly, so be it. Football is far bigger, but in principle is no different. We all must resist strongly at every opportunity the collectivist temptation to play on emotions to extend state power at the expense of private freedoms

So even if I as the Minister responsible for sport as well as a large body of MPs together are convinced that reforming football is in the best interests of football, we should jolly well mind our own business.

That would not be a breath of fresh air. It would be a hurricane blast against greedy state-sponsored looting.