It would be fair to say football and politicians have rarely shown themselves to be a well-matched pair. From the self-avowed Aston Villa fan that is David Cameron forgetting which football team he supports to Ed Miliband’s unenthused “lapsed” support for Leeds United, politicians have often been noted for their own goals.
Labour leadership candidate Owen Smith has now made his own blunder. While the MP for Pontypridd in south Wales might position himself as an avid fan of the Welsh rugby and football teams, Mr Smith was not up to scratch when probed about the Wales v Belgium score in the quarter-finals of the European Championship.
When asked what the score had been on the Victoria Derbyshire show, Mr Smith, the man who has previously hailed himself as the people's "champion", confidently retorted: “That was definitely 3-0”.
“No,” bellowed Derbyshire. In actual fact, the score was 3-1, with Belgium scoring one goal.
But Mr Smith desperately tried to claw his way back and bolster his lad credentials. “I was in the pub and I’d had a few, I don’t remember,” he insisted. “I know we won and I did celebrate with gusto”.
