WHEN Bill Shankly said football was more than a matter of life or death, he was wrong.

As the world continues to mourn those killed in Paris, it is clear nothing is more precious than life.

Far be it from me to offer a solution, that is not what I am setting out to do here, but what was clear on Tuesday night at Wembley is through sport we can always find a sense of solidarity, a restoration of our faith in humanity.

Whether mourning, praying or showing their respects, fans, players and staff alike observed a poignant minute's silence ahead of England's friendly with France.

Sport transcends boundaries, language, religion and race – from our world number ones to number one fans, no one is invincible, no one untouchable – we are all the same, it unites us all.

As Nelson Mandela said: “Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way little else does. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”

When French fans left the Stade de France on Friday night, they sang La Marseillaise in a show of defiance. When their national anthem was played again at Wembley on Tuesday, the French supporters were joined in song by their English neighbours – in hope, togetherness and respect.

Four days earlier they saw France host Germany, nations once at war now playing a friendly match. Not only that, in the aftermath of the attacks, with German players unable to return to their hotel, their French counterparts chose to stay the night at the ground with them.

Lassana Diarra, whose cousin was killed in the attacks, put it like this: "We must unite against a horror that has no colour, no religion."

Our tales of the Christmas Truce in 1914 are told more than any great battle, while soldiers sharing a kick about between the trenches give us belief that love and compassion is far mightier than any weapon.

Sport can be a peaceful medium, from Irish athletes boycotting the 1908 London Olympics to Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the Olympic podium in 1968. Australian Peter Norman stood with them that night in Mexico, wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge.

Carlos said he expected to see fear in Norman’s eyes, but instead he saw love. And through sport we can continue to show we are not afraid.

So while sport is not the answer to our problems, while it may not be more important than life or death, at least for an hour, 90 minutes or one unforgettable moment we will live it, love it and forever unite in it.