Tyson Fury was robbed in Riyadh

Watching Tyson Fury get robbed last night in Riyadh, I realised on balance that I am in favour of Saudi Arabia’s often ludicrous-seeming recent efforts at sports-washing. Why not? Sure, staging ultra-high profile boxing matches like this in a nation with no boxing heritage whatsoever is obviously a shameless effort at changing negative perceptions, but it’s also an attempt to integrate with the outside world.

Ultimately, integration is a good and civilising thing, not least because it means abiding by different, and in this case better, rules. It’s no coincidence, for example, that it became possible at the start of this year to buy booze in the kingdom. Likewise, it would be impossible for anyone familiar with Saudi Arabia before 2018 to witness the luminously beautiful, unmarried Rosie Huntington-Whitely sitting ringside with her stupendously glossy hair displayed over her shoulders for all the world to see without considering how far the nation has come in a relatively short time.