So Sport Minister Gary Hunt says it was the late delivery of tickets by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation compounded by foul weather which prevented him from getting tickets for the 2010 World Cup qualifier to Diego Martin West MP Keith Rowley. We certainly believe there is something foul in this matter, but we don't think it was the weather or the football game.
Yet, even if Mr Hunt's explanation is credible to the gullible, he has still missed the point, which is the Sport Minister's need for 172 tickets. Minister Hunt's justification is that the original allocation of 24 seats was inadequate and that 172 seats represented less than one per cent of the entire capacity of the stadium which is 27,000 seats.
Citizens would, we believe, accept that Members of Parliament should be entitled to free tickets to national sporting events. But, says Mr Hunt, it was never Government's responsibility to invite Opposition MPs and Independent Senators.
This casual dismissal of half the country's MPs injects political partisanship into sports, which are not only national in scope but also an arena where fair play is a guiding principle. It is that rule which Minister Hunt not only flouted but, in the aftermath, remains apparently oblivious to.
Indeed, Dr Rowley in his comments went so far as to suggest that the distribution of the tickets should be the subject of an investigation. In our opinion, police time need not be wasted on this, especially since officers are so busy investigating a year-old death threat to the Prime Minister, but Dr Rowley's suggestion shows how readily the taint of nepotism attaches to the country's politicians.
The real problem with Mr Hunt's action and his attitude, however, is the assumption of privilege. Even if Government officials do have reserved seats in a special area, it sets a poor example in these recessionary times for well-paid individuals to be perceived as indulging in freeness while ordinary citizens have to fork out their hard-earned cash to enjoy an international football match and support the national team.
For major sporting events, the Sport Ministry must in future be more efficient in allocating tickets for this plethora of reserved seats, ensuring that they are equitably distributed to all MPs.