Sentence:  Last week the most curious sidelight on Winston Churchill's recent trip to Italy was the revelation that Sicily was once again becoming a <WSD>political football</WSD> at the toe of the Italian boot. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A contentious political issue or problem that is often debated or discussed, but that remains unresolved; an issue or problem which is avoided by authorities and handed off to others.