Rabat, June 12 -- For all its associations with beauty, positive energy, and humane moments that bring together different people and help transcend traditional divides , football can be brutally cruel.

In case you had forgotten that downside part of football, the controversy-soaked match between Morocco's Wydad of Casablanca and Tunisia's Esperance de Tunis (EST) should be enough to hammer the point home.

All about football?

A simple footballing rivalry is enough to, even if occasionally, open our eyes to the inescapable hideousness lurking beneath the universally acclaimed virtues of what has come to be known by fans and commentators as "the beautiful game."

But when politics enters the game, when grievances and perceived attacks on ...