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Perhaps it was fitting that an own goal settled an all-British affair at Euro 2016, since the voters of Britain have just scored a political own goal of historic proportions.
The Round of 16 clash between Wales and Northern Ireland at the picturesque Parc des Princes was always likely to be keenly fought, what with it being the first time two home nations had ever met in the knock-out stages of a major tournament.
But when the good burghers of Britain voted – inexplicably – to exit the European Union on Friday, the encounter between two of UEFA’s smaller footballing nations took on new political overtones.
The match started with the Northern Ireland players bellowing out God Save The Queen – ironically the anthem of rivals England, which barely 48 hours earlier had defied the Northern Irish at the ballot box.
Without delving into Northern Ireland’s fractured political past, it’s a wonder the players didn’t have a pre-game meeting to suggest an anthem which actually represents the constituents of their state.
Make no mistake, after the citizens of Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain in the European Union, you can remove the word ‘United’ from the term United Kingdom.
There is no longer such a thing, and one of the inevitable consequences of the Brexit campaign will be the eventual dissolution of the UK.
If it’s good enough for the home nations to stand alone in international football – a long-standing consequence of the British Home Championship kicking off as long ago as 1883 – then there’s no real reason for a country like Scotland to remain part of a nation-state which ignores its political will.
The Scots will eventually leave the UK, the two separate Irish states may well have a get-together to discuss a potential unification, and the English – the majority of whom have just voted to potentially kick-start a recession – may well rue departed prime minister David Cameron’s decision to go to the polls in the first place.
There are some who argue that politics and sport don’t mix, yet such a suggestion is an obvious fallacy.
To borrow a phrase from the mischievous British – sorry, English – comedian Ricky Gervais, “politics is everywhere!”
Politics helps explain why Russian hooligans turned up at the tournament en masse, it’s the reason Croatian coach Ante Cacic labelled some of his own supporters “sports terrorists,” and also why Iceland – whose government plunged millions of krona into grassroots football – are the tournament’s surprise package.
There’s a delicious irony to the fact that the final of Euro 2020 will supposedly be held at Wembley Stadium in London.
Not content with diluting the quality of the new 24-team European Championship finals, the next edition of the tournament will be hosted across several different nations.
The whole idea was the grand plan of disgraced UEFA president Michel Platini – now banned from football – who decided a one-off event to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the European Championships was a wonderful way to celebrate European unity.
Some unity! Now the final of the next European Championship is scheduled to be played in the capital city of a nation which just voted to leave the European Union.
The whole thing is a political nightmare of indescribable proportions, orchestrated by a country whose wealthy English Premier League could be about to lose much of its lustre.
And if there’s a lesson for us down here in Australia, it is surely that the political fate of our own country can no longer be tied to the United Kingdom – we must become a republic.
The actual football on display in Euro 2016 hasn’t been great, and as is so often the case, much of the tournament’s intrigue comes from activities off the pitch.
We should enjoy the competition we’ve got though, because come 2020, European football could have a very different look to it indeed.