Jack Lang's review of the year: Shock, horror and Luis Suarez's bite

I had the privilege of being at the World Cup, which was a joyous blur of colour and sound. Probably my favourite moment of the tournament came just after I stepped off a flight and into Rio de Janeiro's airport. 50 or so people were crowded around one of the giant screens that handily sprung up around the country, watching Italy vs Uruguay. The gasps of horror, shock and amusement – and the conversations between total strangers that followed – when Luis Suarez sunk his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini will live with me for some time.

Sportsperson of the year

I won't pretend I know enough about any other sport to stray away from football here, so it has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. It is easy to be blasé about the Portuguese and his talents, but this has been a year of staggering, almost incomprehensible personal achievement. There have been 56 goals in 50 club games this year at time of writing; he currently has more La Liga goals this season than Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez combined. He may have to make space for another Ballon d'Or on his mantelpiece.

It would be cool if someone actually mustered the political will to sort out FIFA once and for all – preferably before Sepp Blatter gets another term as president. The rumbling omnishambles has now moved beyond the point of parody, leaving most football fans numb. Which, I suppose, is a big part of the problem.