Opening up the Spanish front

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wins the cup. He must be It didn't need a con howprisoners abandoned by looting tne snops were t'alianus: poll. In April a similar poll know that they are playing their country's leaders also antrue. probably take peppered The commentaries are showed i see on British their song. Truly the ber taken prisoner was months if not years for the metaphors. The British ACCORDING to a MORI poll in the Sunday Times, 81% of adults feel prouder to be British after the military victory in the Falklands.

The paper didn't say where the poll was conducted, but the figure was too low by about 19% to have been taken amongst the soccer supporters in Spain.

Tho Nail Mail renorter in the press box described ITAT SITT ATLI how the entire British press corps dropped their pens, jumped to their feet and punched the air when Belgium scored against Argentina. It wasn't a confession. It was a boast.

The reporters and commentators at the World Cup see themselves as the natural continuity of the reporting from the Falklands - although the Ministry of Defence are not so far holding ap the scoreline ('British sources today strongly denied reports that the French had scored an equalising goal shortly before half time ..' Copy and pictures are meanwhile flowing in earnest trom the South Atlantic, relegating the thousands of dead and injured in the Lebanon to small unimportant war in a far off land.

rrince Anurew was Thoman AmIterates trac hailed as a hero. According to most reports he -had bravely hoverea nis nelenter in the air to act as a decoy for the Exocet missiles. It Is doubtrui 1-1 1C-1 whether this could have been sold to his mother ('Good day, Ma'am. Admiral Woodward here. We needed someone thicker than an aircraft carrier to draw the missiles away and your son fitted the bill. We knew this is what you would have wanted' 'No, Admiral, we did not').

Starving Argenute overestimated by about 6,000 to make the victory all the sweeter. This was later said to be a 'misunderstanding'.

Below the headlines it was clear from the text that the British were surprised by how much ammunition was sul len. unt Tha famane bombing of Port Stanley airfield turned out to have been a complete desnite regular stories appearing that no planes LATIN could lana there.

The Sunday Times reported that there were very few cases of malnutrition and that the commander of the land forces had turned down offers of food from the United States, despite announcing that Argentine prisoners mains en roses were in danger of starving to death. The Sunday Times also reported that stones on Argentine troops Annantino tranna 11_ = lies which have cheerfully been peddled for months to be exposed.

Reporters in Spain have no personal risk to run but they have ensured that football is just the continuation of war by other means. There is no nonranar of loanino nolitics out of sport.

A pensioner couple from MI-Ian man a trin for turn to no nuR TAT ATT D HAM SATR AA the World Cup and said that they wanted their prize de on to a menandad enlrier 0 co wa from the Falklands. A Para corporal and his wife were flown out.

Immediately the TV set up a meeting between the soldier with his broken arm, broken ribs and damaged lungs and Bobby soldier that 'our lads' in Unarion, wuu assuitu unr ahn accurert the Spain were thinking every day about how they could emulate VUL AnIT •A.Y amulato 'mir lars' in the supporters in the crowd sing out the National Anthem, giving particular emphasis to "Send her victorious...

'The Archbishop of Canterbury, who endorsed the British fleet with a blessing from the Almighty, was reestablishing his peace credentials, by suggesting that British football fans should cheer if Argentina joking.

Even the Northern Irish and Scottish teams the fore don't really get a look in here, where the English team claims exclusive right to be British.

The football fans usually take a pasting from the press but this time round their everv excess is being hailed as legitimate patriot- WILL VIVIJ ism, instead of mindless thuggery.

There is a paradox to be ernlained in the opinion sevel soldiers killed to retake the islands. Now four out of every five were shrugging off 250 dead (MORI does not even consider the Argentine dead to be worth asking about).

It shows that opinion polls are not a reflection of what the majority want to happen - but a measure of how well what has been done has been marketed.

ever to convince everyone they had won. The real victors of the Falklands war could be seen at another sporting occasion.

There were 30,000 people lining Royal Ascot to see the Queen arrive in her open carriage.

They also sang the National Anthem. But this was not the bellicose raucous singing of the football fans abroad. This was the reverential measured rendering of those who Malvinas are theirs!