As a spectacle, along with many other Canaries’ fans I found Saturday’s match deeply depressing.

But performance and result apart, as a reflection of the Beautiful Game in general the occasion couldn’t have been more heartening.

For one the gif of Brandon Williams cuddling Christian Eriksen is now my go-to viewing for instant good vibes (you can find it via a Twitter search of the players’ names plus ‘hug’). The Sky camera operator on the South Stand half way line captured the wonderful moment when rage at being fouled instantly transformed to respect for a fellow player who against the odds has made a full recovery since collapsing during the Euros tie against Finland last summer.

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I hadn’t realised until after the game that the ref on Saturday was the same official who had immediately recognised the gravity of Eriksen’s condition that day on the Copenhagen pitch and urgently summoned the paramedics. If I had I would definitely have cut Anthony Taylor some more slack.

But ultimately the consciousness of those of us at Carrow Rd at the weekend had already been coloured before kick-off (literally) by the yellow and blue flags and Tifo mosaic of solidarity with Ukraine and reminder that some things are more important than football. While we supported our team, fans of sides like Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv and Dnipro along with thousands of other citizens were sheltering from shells and bombs.

And there was real joy shared between NCFC fans this week on social media as we learned that Daniel Farke, Chris Domogalla, Christopher John and Eddie Riemer had severed links with their newly contracted team Krasnodar. Diplomatic as ever, Daniel’s parting statement mentioned ‘the serious side of life’ catching up with them. And it could have been very serious - Krasnodar is the Russian gateway city to Ukraine’s occupied Crimea. And billionaire club owner Sergey Galitsky is one of the Russian Oligarchs the west is considering sanctioning. His super-yacht Quantum Blue recently docked in Monaco is reportedly worth $213M.

Ahead of the invasion last month some NCFC voices on social platforms expressed concern for Matthias Normann - and any potential recall from his loan period here to Rostov. Rostov-on-Don is a key Russian border city and focus of significant military deployment.

In the circumstances one player who must be delighted that his loan period was ended through a permanent signing is Dimitris Giannoulis - his former team PAOK is owned by another wealthy Russian who is alleged to have close links to Vladimir Putin and so may be impacted by sanctions levied in response to the invasion - Ivan Savvidis. Savvidis is clearly not an owner to be messed with; in 2018 international news reported and shared images of him invading the pitch during the home derby against AEK to challenge the referee over an offside decision … while armed with a handgun.

So I’ll try to maintain a sense of perspective for a good while. Individual football matches in the scheme of global geopolitics are not important. But the sport itself can symbolise unity, empathy and dignity.

Now it’s time for the governing bodies like UEFA and FIFA to step up and take a lead rather than rely on supporter, player and club voices to provide a moral steer.