The traumas of the current sporting season are a far (battle) cry from the football war fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, says Russell Evans, a partner at Southampton firm Eric Robinson.

An immigration dispute between the two South American nations, coupled with rioting during their qualifying campaigns for the 1970 World Cup, led to an invasion, 3,000 deaths and a new border.

Shame, then, on the legions of footballers at this year’s tournament who fell to the ground, clutching their faces and screaming in mock agony, the moment an opponent’s boot grazed their backside.

Still, as Robinson points out, non-lethal disputes in football are rife. And cometh the dispute, cometh the solicitor. ‘What you won’t see at this World Cup is the myriad of lawyers, facilitators, mediators and arbitrators dealing not only with player, club, national and commercial interests, but also the interests of brands,’ Robinson says. ‘Sports stars will be looking where necessary to protect their privacy and promote their image.’

In 2008, former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu received a multi-million-dollar fine from football’s international governing body, FIFA, for failing a drugs test. This year, Bayern Munich striker Franck Ribery received a three-match ban for assault and as a result, missed the Champions League final. Both cases spent time in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. Perhaps there will be more to come for the court once Brazil have lifted the trophy this year (brave prediction).

There is plenty of football left in the tournament too. ‘Our hearts have set sail for foreign shores as in the days of Achilles and Hector,’ Robinson says in full Homeric mode, ‘but glory will not be the battlements of Troy, nor a fair maiden’s hand, but rather, the touch of a golden trophy.’

Or, if you’re a lawyer, the touch of gold in palm.