§ 14. Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he gave in respect of the proposed tour to South America in 1983 by the England football team.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneLast September the Football Association chairman sought my advice on whether to include in a short two-match tour of South America in the summer of 1983 a match against Argentina. I told him that the decision was entirely for the Football Association but, in the circumstances prevailing at that time, I would advise against doing so.
§ Mr. DalyellIs it not also a fact that Brazil made it clear that the England team was not welcome? Is not the brutal truth that no British team will be welcome in South America until negotiations on the Falkland Islands start?
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThat is not necessarily the chronological order of events. The hon. Gentleman must try to understand, even if he does not understand all the other aspects of the matter, that it is not time to contemplate a match next June, although it is recognised that there has been traditional hostility aroused between England and Argentina in our footballing history.
§ Mr. McNallyIs the Minister aware that his advice on tours to Latin America or elsewhere by England's soccer teams will become increasingly irrelevant if he sits passively by while our national game is destroyed at its economic roots by violence? Therefore, will he reconsider his earlier remarks that he had no early plans—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. That is another question. The hon. Gentleman has gone back to an earlier question.