New Delhi, June 25 -- The phrase "Football Unites the World" is embroidered on the armband of team captains at this summer's Fifa World Cup. Before the football even kicked off, quite a few would have frowned at the irony of the phrase. After all, a top African referee from Somalia, after he landed in the United States of America, was denied entry by the host nation. Footballers were held back for hours for questioning at American airports. Canada denied visas to a couple of players. The Iranian football team, because of the war waged by the US, was forced to shift its base to Mexico. Fans from several participating nations, mostly from Africa, face President Trump's travel bans.

Despite the polarised times we live in, once footballers t...