Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may well be used to criticism at the despatch box, but is now under fire even in the world of football.
No doubt hoping his visit to St Mary's stadium could provide an evening of escapism, Sunak watched on as Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 in Hampshire. Goals came from Carlos Alcaraz and Che Adams just seven minutes apart, and Ryan Hardie's 91st -minute consolation couldn’t prevent Saints from extending their winning run to four.
Sunak was born and raised in Southampton and once claimed he’d like to run the club if not a politician, although the satisfaction of picking up three points is unlikely to have lasted long.
After the game, BBC 5 Live Sport asked Saints manager Russell Martin whether the Prime Minister came down to meet him and his players. "He might have come down," Martin answered, "but I have absolutely no interest in saying hello. How's that for honesty?"
He later added: "I just made a joke on BBC that I had no interest [in Sunak being present]. I am a football manager, and I'm not sure we are aligned on too much politically. But I know he is a fan, and I hope he enjoyed watching the team. I didn't meet him. I'm sure some people were excited about it but we had a job to do – win a match – and we did."
Martin has previously discussed his political allegiances in public, telling the Guardian in 2018 that he joined the Green Party having previously "voted Labour all [his] life." He also described Brexit as "madness" and, with a mostly vegan diet, is a keen environmentalist.
More recently, he told Training Ground Guru: "I still get jokes about the Green Party thing but I just lost faith in the two big parties. If you look at the way the country's been run for however long, I think it's going to be quite a scary place.
"We lack leaders with empathy and emotional intelligence. Caroline Lucas, the MP down here, has unbelievable values and morals. I'm not a warrior, I don't go shouting about veganism and politics, but if the people and purpose is good, I try and support that.
"We discuss it as a staff a lot. We watched a lot of the [Donald] Trump stuff, instead of Sky Sports News, which seems to be on at whichever club you go to, including here [then MK Dons]. Why would we not be interested in the world and how people are going to be treated?
"You see a lot of footballers now who are involved in other things. If it can make them better people, and make them a more rounded human being, I think that can only be a good thing.”
Southampton currently sit third in the Championship and are three points off Ipswich Town in second.
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