Roger Alton

United Kingdom

Columnist at The Spectator

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Articles

Sportswashing? Bring it on…

3 weeks ago | spectator.com.au | Roger Alton

If that was sportswashing, let’s have more of it. The Champions League final, when Paris Saint-Germain vaporised Inter Milan, was a sublime game of football, mesmerising and beautiful in the PSG’s display of sustained excellence. But the win has also generated a fair bit of anguish from many commentators. The club, you see, is owned and financed to the hilt by Qatar.
Sportswashing? Bring it on...

3 weeks ago | spectator.co.uk | Roger Alton

If that was sportswashing, let’s have more of it. The Champions League final, when Paris Saint-Germain vaporised Inter Milan, was a sublime game of football, mesmerising and beautiful in the PSG’s display of sustained excellence. But the win has also generated a fair bit of anguish from many commentators. The club, you see, is owned and financed to the hilt by Qatar. And Qatar has a fairly mixed record, it might be said, on human rights, the role of women, same-sex relationships and all that.
The Warrior by Christopher Clarey: The nice guy you wouldn't want to face across the net…

4 weeks ago | dailymail.co.uk | Roger Alton

The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and his kingdom of clay by Christopher Clarey (John Murray £22, 360pp)What a privilege it’s been for tennis fans – no, for sports fans everywhere, for anyone who admires excellence – to have lived through the game’s Golden Age, the era of the ‘Big Three’. There’s Roger Federer in his stylish branded whites, effortlessly firing off exquisite winners while occasionally flicking away a bead of sweat with his little finger.
How football found God

1 month ago | spectator.com.au | Roger Alton

Without wanting to sound like a refugee from the 1950s, it was a shame that last week’s Cup Final was not the climax to the domestic season but sandwiched between a cluster of Premier League games – and kicked off at 4.30 p.m., which must have been unhelpful for those hoping to get a train back to Manchester.
How football found God

1 month ago | spectator.co.uk | Roger Alton

Without wanting to sound like a refugee from the 1950s, it was a shame that last week’s Cup Final was not the climax to the domestic season but sandwiched between a cluster of Premier League games – and kicked off at 4.30 p.m., which must have been unhelpful for those hoping to get a train back to Manchester.
The glorious sporting spectacle of snooker

1 month ago | spectator.co.uk | Roger Alton

Leni Riefenstahl: what are we to make of her? What did she know? Often described as ‘Hitler’s favourite filmmaker’, she always claimed that she knew nothing of any atrocities. She was a naive artist, not a collaborator in a murderous regime. This documentary wants to get to the truth. But even if you’ve already made
The glorious sporting spectacle of snooker

1 month ago | spectator.com.au | Roger Alton

I’m not sure quite what Sir G. Boycott would have made of it, but the People’s Republic of Yorkshire was on its feet to applaud the People’s Republic of China. Kindred spirits brought together at the Crucible, Sheffield, for Zhao Xintong’s victory in the World Snooker Championship over poor Mark Williams, at 50 the oldest finalist ever in the tournament.
My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner: I died ... and now I know death is nothing to fear

1 month ago | dailymail.co.uk | Roger Alton

My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner (Gallery Books £22, 210pp)He has played some very tough guys in his glittering Hollywood career has Jeremy Renner; men like the adrenaline-fuelled bomb disposal expert in the Oscar-laden The Hurt Locker or the tough but deeply loyal bank robber in The Town, for which he was Oscar nominated again. He was even heir to the Jason Bourne franchise in the The Bourne Legacy. But it’s not just on the big screen. Renner is the toughest of men in real life too.
A football regulator would be an own goal

2 months ago | spectator.com.au | Roger Alton

It’s that time of the year again in football when the Championship sweeps all before it: it’s full of joy and life with packed houses, goals, drama and uncertain outcomes. It’s stacked with great names: Leeds, Burnley, Sunderland, Coventry, Blackburn, Norwich, Preston, Derby (take your pick). It’s where Coventry vs Middlesbrough on the last day of the season should be a big, big match.
A football regulator would be an own goal

2 months ago | spectator.co.uk | Roger Alton

It’s that time of the year again in football when the Championship sweeps all before it: it’s full of joy and life with packed houses, goals, drama and uncertain outcomes. It’s stacked with great names: Leeds, Burnley, Sunderland, Coventry, Blackburn, Norwich, Preston, Derby (take your pick). It’s where Coventry vs Middlesbrough on the last day of the season should be a big, big match.