Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been unexpectedly landed at the centre of a dispute about how regularly it is acceptable to whip a racehorse.
Irish jockey Richard Hughes was handed a five-day suspension on Monday after falling foul of new rules which state you can only whip the horse seven or eight times in a race, and a maximum of five times in the final furlong or after the last jump.
The 38-year-old has now given up his racing licence and is threatening to retire because nobody imposes those sort of restrictions on Lionel Messi.
Hughes said: “Until the rules are resolved I won’t be riding – I’d rather retire. I can’t ride horses like this. It’s like telling Lionel Messi he can’t use his left foot.”
True enough. And Barcelona are always finding La Liga whipping boys to spank.