Juntas for goalposts – Leeds United score an own goal with Myanmar post-season plan
Fallen Yorkshire giants are the latest football club to fall foul in pursuit of quick buck in far flung destinations

English second-tier football club Leeds United have announced that it will tour Myanmar. Two friendly games have been scheduled for May – one against the country’s national team, another against a National League All-Stars team.
Normally, few people would be surprised by such a tour, as post-season warm-downs have become a football staple.
However, this isn’t a normal situation: it is Myanmar, a country engaged in human rights abuses and ethnic cleansing; a nation beset by often violent internal divisions.
United’s tour has therefore drawn condemnation, with Britain’s Shadow Sports Minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan even writing to the club’s owners expressing her dismay and anger at their decision.
The club’s owner Andrea Radrizzani responded to the widespread outcry by claiming that “it has never been my intention, nor that of the club, to get involved in a political debate in Myanmar; this was a carefully considered decision and we knew it would be controversial, but this is about people not governments.”
This was a response as naive as it was crass.