{"id":194,"date":"2026-02-24T06:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=194"},"modified":"2026-02-24T06:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:23:42","slug":"row-z-sheikh-brendan-the-politicisation-of-headwear-and-sweden-being-spursy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsport.com.ng\/?p=194","title":{"rendered":"Row Z: Sheikh Brendan, the politicisation of headwear and Sweden being \u2018Spursy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Welcome to Row Z, The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s weekly column that shines a light on the bonkers side of the game.<\/p>\n

From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every week we\u2019ll bring you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the sport we all love\u2026<\/p>\n\n

Sheikh Brendan<\/h2>\n

In an era of artificial intelligence slop, you find yourself questioning more and more what\u2019s real and what isn\u2019t on social media.<\/p>\n

A clip doing the rounds of former Liverpool and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers holding an assault rifle while dressed in Saudi Arabian attire tested that sense of belief to its very limits.<\/p>\n

The Al Qadsiah manager (who is actually doing pretty well having overseen a 13-game unbeaten league streak since his appointment in December) donned the gear as part of Founding Day, which marks the date the country was founded in 1727.<\/p>\n

Rodgers also gave an interview to the club\u2019s media channel all about how unequivocally magnificent Saudi is. It was just a shame the interviewer, with Rodgers sat politely but a little nervously in his Saudi clothes, didn\u2019t take the opportunity to start his questions with: \u201cAny team news?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are one of us now,\u201d he did say to Rodgers, rather ominously. \u201cWhat is your message to the Saudi people?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers, being a football manager giving an interview, could do nothing but slip into cliched manager speak, basically making 299 years of the history of a proud nation sound like he was warmly congratulating a young academy graduate for making his Premier League debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I want to give my sincere congratulations for all of the people of Saudi Arabia,\u201d Rodgers said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi has a really rich heritage and a really exciting future ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to give my sincere congratulations to all of the people of Saudi Arabia, Saudi has a real rich heritage and a really exciting future ahead\u201d 🇸🇦
Sheikh Brendan on #FoundingDay<\/a> 🎙️#AlQadsiah<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/Iw689uzoeh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 AlQadsiah Saudi Club (@AlQadsiahEN) February 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Head-scratching rules<\/h2>\n

Olympic-based hat news now and a reminder that Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was banned from competing in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics for continuing to wear a helmet covered in photos of fellow athletes who had been killed during the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n

Heraskevych said he wanted to make a respectful gesture to commemorate those who lost their lives, but he was disqualified and thrown out of the competition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of strict guidelines around political neutrality on the field of play. \u201cWe have no rules, we have no sport,\u201d IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a press briefing afterwards.<\/p>\n

FIFA president Gianni Infantino then wore a pro-Donald Trump cap during a meeting for the inaugural Board of Peace last week. The cap was red, i.e. Republican colours, and had 45-47 written on the side, referencing President Trump\u2019s non-consecutive presidential terms.<\/p>\n

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\n Gianni Infantino wears a pro-Donald Trump hat at a Board of Peace event last week (Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Infantino is an IOC member, but after an investigation he was cleared of breaking the organisation\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

Those rules state members must act independently of political and commercial interests, and cannot accept \u201cfrom governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote\u201d. Fair enough, you might say. As long as it\u2019s the same rules for everyone.<\/p>\n\n

The latest indignity in Spurs\u2019 season<\/h2>\n

\u2018Spursy\u2019 should really be an official dictionary definition by now.<\/p>\n

So far it\u2019s only in the online Urban Dictionary<\/a>with a few submissions as to what exactly it means, this being the best: \u201cTottenham\u2019s consistency (to) fail to live up to expectations, drop points in crucial games that should have been won, and miss stunningly simple chances right in front of goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cEG Spurs fans are feeling something new; JOY! Happiness! They are winning, nothing could go wrong\u2026 JOINK! And the opposition have equalized, OH! And there\u2019s another, this is devastating for the fans. THAT\u2019S SO SPURSY!\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the on-pitch version, but you may have seen last week that a politician compared the Swedish government\u2019s handling of the country\u2019s economy to Tottenham Hotspur.<\/p>\n

Mikael Damberg, of the opposition Social Democratic Party, said the government was like Spurs because they have squandered opportunities to make use of their great wealth and resources. \u201cThe government risks making Sweden \u2018Spursy\u2019,\u201d Damberg said. \u201cThat won\u2019t do. Sweden cannot perform like Tottenham.\u201d<\/p>\n

That got Row Z thinking\u2026 which other Premier League teams should we be comparing to UK political parties?<\/p>\n