Whenever an important vote looms it's vital to ask oneself which way a former professional footballer intends to vote.
Two months ago, in a missive which is likely to shift Spurs fans in favour of Remain, aspiring Tory candidate and spirited opponent of the mansion tax, Sol Campbell, came out firmly for Brexit.
However, a possibly decisive blow was struck for the Remain campaign this morning when it was disclosed that David Beckham was intending to vote to stay in Europe.
Brexit supporters on Twitter immediately began posting up pictures of his house, which is in Los Angeles.
David Cameron, on the other hand, was happy to seize on Becks's comments.
David Beckham is clear: we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone https://t.co/oRuRB4PZgq pic.twitter.com/aDHdrlhZ1O
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 21, 2016
The UK Justice secretary, prominent pro-Brexit campaigner, and Tory Boy-lookalike, Michael Gove announced on Sky today that John Barnes was a fully-fledged member of Team Leave.
John Barnes had idly noted in an interview that a Brexit might help English football as it might lessen the number of foreign players in the top flight and allow more English footballers rise to the top of the domestic game.
This was spun to suggest that he was Brexiter.
Michael Gove - who in the words of Malcolm Tucker, has a head which suggests he should still be at school with his head down a fucking toilet - countered the point about Beckham's support for Remain by pointing to Barnesy.
However, John Barnes is emphatically not for Brexit. He even appeared on Sky News today to contradict Gove's claims.
He is in favour of Remain partially on the grounds of immigration, a rare reason to side with Remain it has to be admitted.
But then, as a Jamaican born England footballer, Barnes has a different perspective on immigration to your average 'Enoch for prime minister' merchant.
As Nick Hornby detailed in 'Fever Pitch', when John Barnes first travelled to Highbury as a Liverpool player in late 1987, his own supporters spent the minutes before kick-off tossing bananas onto the pitch.
We don't know the banana voters intend to vote this Thursday.
We do know Barnes intends to vote. See below:
Michael Gove says John Barnes is for Brexit, John Barnes calls us up and says absolutely not Michael Gove https://t.co/adA3QXzjWt
— Steve Gardner (@sgardner) June 21, 2016
We don't yet know how Ireland's favourite David Cameron fan, Jon Walters would vote (or has voted via postal vote). Has he stayed loyal to his prime minister or is he more of an ideological creature of the Tory right?
