text: Goodness knows how many times at White Hart Lane I’ve felt like falling to my knees at the back of the West Stand and banging my head on the floor. I’ve lost count. A lifetime of following Spurs can have that effect on you, especially in recent years. Last Saturday’s inept capitulation to Aston Villa was the most recent occasion: a soft goal down after 45 minutes and an expensively assembled team which looked as if it had been recruited from the local JobCentre half an hour before the kick-off. Stephen Dodd took this photograph of Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula praying at Anfield last month . Had I actually gone through with it, however, within seconds I’d have been hauled to my feet by the stewards and steered unceremoniously towards the exit. They are especially vigilant when it comes to anyone blocking the gangways or stairwells. And given football’s tragic history, from Ibrox to Hillsborough, their caution is well-merited. So it was surprising, to say the least, to see that photograph of two Muslim Liverpool supporters praying to Mecca at half-time in an FA Cup match. They had rolled out their prayer mat at the foot of some stairs beneath the stand, apparently with the full consent of safety staff. One of the men, solicitor Asif Bodi, 46, from Preston, explained that because the televised game didn’t kick off until 4pm, the final whistle would have blown too late for them to pray outside the ground. So perhaps we can point the finger at television. Matches are shifted all over the shop by the schedulers, for purely commercial reasons. For instance, those irritating lunchtime games are designed for the benefit of bookmakers and betting syndicates in the Far East, not season ticket holders. Travelling fans often complain that evening games mean it is impossible for them to catch the last train home. But this may be the first time that a late kick-off for the convenience of television has played havoc with the Muslim call to prayer. The extraordinary scene was captured on a mobile phone camera by Liverpool supporter Stephen Dodd. He tweeted the photograph with the caption ‘Muslims praying at half-time at the match yesterday #DISGRACE.’ In no time, predictably, the balloon went up. With the customary restraint for which social media is renowned, the usual online lynch-mob were branding him a ‘bigot’ and a ‘disgrace to humanity’. The incident took place when Liverpool were playing Blackburn Rovers at Anfield in March . Needless to say, someone reported the tweet to Merseyside Police, who for once exercised commendable sanity and decided not to get involved. But Liverpool FC is investigating, saying discrimination will not be tolerated and promising to take ‘appropriate action’. To their enormous credit, Mr Bodi and his partner in prayer Abubakar Bhula are urging restraint. ‘I’ve supported Liverpool for 40 years and I used to be a season ticket holder,’ Mr Bodi said. ‘From what I understand, this guy doesn’t live too far from the ground and is probably a boyhood fan, so I wouldn’t want him excluded from the ground or anything. ‘He should be given a talking to and made to go on an awareness course or educating.’ Why? Most people would agree that labelling the photograph a #DISGRACE was an intemperate over-reaction. But this was a real ‘Oi, Doris!’ moment. You don’t expect to stumble over Muslims praying in a stairwell at a football ground midway through a Cup tie. Quite apart from the safety considerations, even those of us who believe people should be free to practise their religion of choice also believe there is a time and a place. And Scousers go to Anfield to worship at the shrine of Shankly, not Allah or the Almighty. How would the management have reacted if some devout Catholics had decided to stage a holy communion at half-time? Or the queue for the gents’ was obstructed by a conga line of chanting Hare Krishnas? What if a handful of Liverpool fans had turned up at the local mosque and started singing You’ll Never Walk Alone in the middle of Friday prayers? Would their claim to be exercising their democratic right to celebrate their religion stop the Old Bill steaming in and nicking them for ‘hate crime’? What do you think? Mr Bodi seems to be an eminently reasonable and civilised man. What I’d like to ask him would be when, in his four decades of supporting Liverpool, he first started praying during games at Anfield? I may be wrong, but my guess would be that this is a fairly recent phenomenon. As the Muslim population of Britain has grown to three million, Islamic ‘rights’ have become increasingly more assertive. We have de facto Sharia law in some areas of our cities; halal food imposed in schools, hospitals and works’ canteens; and now even gelatine-free halal Pick’n’Mix counters in supermarkets. Over the past decade or so, what we have seen is British society being obliged to bend to the demands of Islam. Such is the contradiction inherent in our State-imposed ‘multiculturalism’ tyranny that more latitude is extended to Muslims than any other group or religion. Look, I’m a supporter of the FA’s anti-racism Kick It Out campaign. Football crowds are gradually becoming more diverse, and not before time. This remarkable photograph from Anfield is evidence of that. The game is awakening to cultural differences. At the League Cup Final in Cardiff a few years ago, they were selling balti pies at the Blackburn end, while knocking out over-priced smoked salmon bagels in the Spurs’ section of the stadium. Someone must have told them Blackburn has one of Britain’s biggest Asian populations and Tottenham has a large number of Jewish supporters. So no stereotyping there, then. Balti pies are one thing. But back to more serious matters. Didn’t it occur to Mr Bodi and Mr Bhula that if the kick-off at Anfield clashed with their religious obligations then perhaps the wisest course of action would simply be to give the game a miss? OK, so there were only two of them this time. But what if next season there’s a dozen, or two dozen, or 200, all expecting the right to pray where they like? Where do you draw the line? At this rate, it won’t be long before Muslim fans start demanding special prayer rooms at football grounds, just as there are already in public buildings and police custody suites. Soon it will become a legal requirement. When it does, remember: you read it here first. A Polish prince, Yanek Zylinski, has challenged Nigel Farage to a duel in London’s Hyde Park, accusing the Ukip leader of stirring up hatred against Eastern European immigrants. Brandishing a sabre, he threw down the gauntlet: ‘Are you up for it, Mr Farage?’ He’ll have to get Farage out of the pub first. Maybe it would be better if he challenged him to a vodka drinking contest. I’d be happy to referee, in exchange for a couple of bottles of Wyborowa. If it’s a duel he’s after, Zylinski should invite Cameron. Dave probably learnt to fence at Eton. Come to think of it, instead of bothering with the campaign, why not a series of Generation Game-style contests to decide the election? William ‘14 pints’ Hague could represent the Tories in the drinking round. Cleggover and Miliband could stage a winner-takes-all bacon sandwich eating competition. And how about a mud-wrestling tournament, involving Theresa May, Harriet Harman, Wee Burney, that Welsh bird and the Aussie madwoman from the Greens? It would certainly beat the hell out of last night’s Leaders’ Debate. Bristols at dawn! Sorry, but I don't agree with Nick . When the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson went off air in March to be treated for a tumour on his lung, I wished him a speedy recovery. I’m an admirer of Robinson and at the time described him as a beacon of impartiality in a bog of BBC bias. This week he returned, but with such a raspy, whispery voice it was difficult to make out what he was saying. Nick Robinson's eagerness to resume work is understandable, but he should have been told to complete his recovery . His eagerness to resume work is understandable, but he should have been told to complete his recovery. He’s not doing the viewers or, more importantly, himself any favours. It’s like Andy Murray going on to Centre Court with one arm in plaster. Get well, soon, Nick. And don’t worry about the election for now. You’re not missing much. A woman cried rape when her boyfriend found out that she had taken part in a threesome with a married couple, Aberdeen Sheriff Court has been told. But Hannah McWhirter had been a willing participant and exchanged texts with the couple telling them how much she’d enjoyed it. This week she admitted wasting police time and was remanded for reports. Given the bracing weather in Aberdeen, she should have told her boyfriend they were only huddling together to keep warm. Fore! That's a long drive . The day after I wondered why fitness freaks have to wear electronic wrist-bands to monitor their every bodily function, the British Medical Journal published a report claiming health apps are positively harmful — because they convince the ‘worried well’ that there’s something seriously wrong with them. Spooky, or what? You can also get wrist-bands which tell you the distances to the holes on every golf course in Britain. A friend of mine checked his app as he was driving home from a golf tour of Scotland. It told him he was 253 miles from the 18th green at Gleneagles.
target: Image shows two men praying at half-time during FA Cup clash .
  How would the management have reacted if some devout Catholics had decided to stage a holy communion at half-time?
  Muslim fans could start demanding special prayer rooms at stadiums .