The Home Office, that great bulwark of order and procedure, finds itself once again in the dock – this time over a football referee. Artan, a man whose name will now be whispered alongside those of Magna Carta and the Petition of Right, insists he has the right papers and visa. The government, in its infinite wisdom, barred him from officiating.
Now a judicial review looms. One must ask: have we traded one set of rules for another? The Victorians knew that empire was built on paperwork, but they also knew that a man’s credibility could not be reduced to a stamp.
We are witnessing the slow death of common sense, buried under an avalanche of forms. The referee’s plea is not just about football. It is a cry against a system that mistakes process for justice.
If the Home Office cannot tell a legitimate visa from a forgery, then perhaps we should replace its ministers with linesmen. At least they understand the offside rule.
