Having a fag at matches was all but outlawed on July 1 and football has been pushing tobacco away for a while. But, as Jon Spurling explains, the game and the weed have had a surprisingly close relationship

“There’s nothing better than lying back in the bath and having a good smoke after a game,” claimed Bolton striker Nat Lofthouse in the 1950s. This post-match relaxation technique has long been consigned to the historical dustbin, so much so that there is always a frisson of disapproval whenever a high-profile footballer is caught with a cigarette. Zinedine Zidane, having previously endorsed the EU’s “Feel Free To Say No” campaign, was castigated by the French media after being snapped taking a crafty drag shortly before France’s semi-final against Portugal at last year’s World Cup. With FIFA and UEFA refusing to allow tobacco advertising at any international tournaments over the last eight years, the previously strong ties between the tobacco industry and football appear to have been severed.

Read more…

Nottingham is blessed by having two football stadiums and a Test cricket ground within a short walk of the city centre. Not for long if Forest’s board have their way. Brian Clough is spinning in his grave and Al Needham has smoke coming out of his ears as he explains what passes for logic in the east midlands

The village of Gotham in Nottinghamshire is famed not only for inspiring an early name for New York, but for being full of mad people. Legend has it that when the locals heard that King John was making a detour through the village (thereby forcing the creation of a royal highway that the villagers would have to pay for), they went on an orgy of mentalism – drowning eels in a tub and painting green apples red – in order to scare the monarch away.

Read more…

An English football club is now the must-have accessory for discriminating billionaires from all around the world – but does this trend make any financial sense? David Wangerin wonders if there is enough cash – and enough optimistic fans to part with it – to sustain the current booming revenues

“As a global brand,” the Independent claimed recently, “the Premiership is becoming sport’s equivalent of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.” Can this be true? Certainly the success of fizzy-drink manufacturers and fast-food restaurants is not measured by trophies. But as the level of financial interest spreads across the globe, the league’s international reach seems to be rapidly approaching that of the junk-food leviathans. Curiously, much of this interest has not originated in traditional footballing strongholds, but in the game’s equivalent of the emerging ­markets – and America in particular.

Read more…

Luton kick up a fuss in Northern Cyprus, reports Neil Rose

It has been a difficult enough year at Kenilworth Road, but Luton Town found a novel way to court controversy last month by blundering into a major diplomatic incident. Their pre-season trip to Cyprus led to the postponement of what would have been the first meeting in a year between the presidents of Greek and Turkish Cyprus, under the auspices of the United Nations.

Read more…

Gloucester City's ground has been submerged, reports Tim Lezard

Trevor Howard climbed on to his roof to get a better look at Meadow Park. What he saw made his heart sink: the home of Gloucester City was underwater, the crossbars just visible above eight feet of flood water.

Read more…