Controversy was created this week when a minute's silence was ignored by the Saudi Arabia football team in memory of the victims of the London attack. It has since been revealed, according to the Evening Standard newspaper, that FIFA "will not take any action" against the country.

Not right now

It must be stated at the outset that I do not think the 'snub' as it is being seen was purposely done. Football officials from Saudi Arabia did state, as the BBC reported, that the "tradition was not in keeping with Saudi culture". However, whilst that may be an acceptable defence, how it will look will be damaging for sure for Saudi Arabia itself.

I say this because it is exactly at this time that the Kingdom is looking for reform, align itself with the West and take action against terrorists around the world such as the Islamic State. And so, this incident will not help, in that it will most certainly send out the wrong message. It must be noted that it has been criticised for the team's actions as a result, with an Australian MP calling it "disgraceful".

It will recover

Saudi Arabia will of course recover from this incident and go on to tackle terrorism as it wants to do. It is just unfortunate that it happened right now, when standing together against terror has never been so crucial. Let us call it a minor blip in the road to peace and security. At least I hope it is seen like that.