The thing with corruption is that it becomes a way of life after a while and people get complacent and greedy.
We all know it's probably been going on for years, but when the self-importance and arrogance of some people makes them think that they can award the World Cup - footballs premier event - to a tiny country with no football tradition or stadia in the middle of the desert* then you know that they really don't give a flying fcuk what anyone else thinks.
*Sorry, I meant to say "a tiny country with no football tradition or stadia in the middle of the desert - WITH POT LOADS OF CASH TO PAY BRIBES"
And that's before I even get started on Jack Warner. There's got to be something wrong when one man is apparently able to wield so much influence whilst abusing the rules to knock out tickets for big profits and use FIFA money to construct new stadia - via his family construction company. And all this whilst presiding over the footballing powerhouse that is Trinidad.
We should've told FIFA to fcuk off years ago. But then our FA are spineless and incompetent, though not corrupt. Maybe that's where we went wrong.
It all makes the FA's decision not to stand a candidate in protest look foolish in hindsight. A big chance to get some negative PR on the Ancien Régime and the FA are conspicuous in their ambivalence.
I disagree, the FA issued a statement saying that they would not support either candidate making it clear that they felt both were flawed. Short of saying they are both crooks and we do not want to be associated with them there wasn't much else they could do.
I disagree, the FA issued a statement saying that they would not support either candidate making it clear that they felt both were flawed. Short of saying they are both crooks and we do not want to be associated with them there wasn't much else they could do.
We have tried showing them up and embarrassing them into change.
Our options are spent... and before anyone says "Leave FIFA and break-away", there are so many problems with that it's probably not even worth contemplating.
Intense media digging has resulted in two of the shady characters being suspended, which is a start and I doubt would have happened otherwise.
I presume that a lot is going on behind the scenes with some of the bigger and more influential FA's - eg England, Germany etc making it clear that FIFA has to put it's house in order or else. At least I hope a lot is going on behind the scenes. I doubt that the rest of the world is accepting this, although they have been supine for far too long.
We have tried showing them up and embarrassing them into change.
Our options are spent... and before anyone says "Leave FIFA and break-away", there are so many problems with that it's probably not even worth contemplating.
What problems exactly? FIFA didn't exist when the FA was formed so can't we just go back?
Jimmy for a start we have a country literally full of foreign players. I honestly can't see that their registrations will not be compromised if we leave FIFA unless it is done en masse with the collusion of a host of senior football nations, which I can't see happening. If we leave FIFA the entire foundations of our league and TV rights are in jeopardy whether us proper fans like it or not the money men will not be rolling that dice and that's just the tip of the iceberg. What about our national team? What about UEFA competitions, they'll surely side with FIFA and toe the party line. We would be pariahs.
The only routes to cleaning up football from the top down is for the press, TV, sponsors, politicians & football authorities in the leading football countries to pressure FIFA.
Repeated international exposure of corruption by the press will put pressure on not only FIFA but also sponsors who want a clean cut image - such as MacDonalds, Coca Cola and Gillette.
England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Brazil support the FIFA out reach / development of developing nations program they should withdraw this unless FIFA adopt a new constitution that has checks and balances to prevent corruption.
FIFA should be forced out of Switzeland so that normal laws against corruption are enforceable.
If the Football world has a mind to do it then cleaning up FIFA is possible and once the 2022 World Cup award to Dubai is fully investigated, it could wellbe that England does host the world cupin my lifetime ... just.
The sad fact is there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. In order to form a 'breakaway' world body governing football, you would have to ensure that all (and that means ALL) of the major footballing nations did it. That includes Brazil - where the corruption of major officials is so ingrained, and goes back so many years that there are far too many people there who know where all the bodies are buried to be able to convince them to leave. I'd estimate that the governing bodies of at least 90% of member nations of FIFA are corrupt - and don't make the mistake of thinking good ol' Chuck Blazer has ridden in on a white charger wielding the US Sword Of Enduring Justice though the goodness of his heart and a wish to see justice being done - read 'Foul' by Andrew Jennings to see just how saintly the bloke really is.
FIFA will be left to do exactly as it chooses once again - Blatter will now be elected unopposed, and he has so much dirt on the scumbags that run world football that there's no way to change it. Every organisation in any sort of position of power with access to vast sums of cash that basically governs, investigates and disciplines it's ownj members with no transparency is rife with corruption - FIFA is no different.
Jimmy for a start we have a country literally full of foreign players. I honestly can't see that their registrations will not be compromised if we leave FIFA unless it is done en masse with the collusion of a host of senior football nations, which I can't see happening. If we leave FIFA the entire foundations of our league and TV rights are in jeopardy whether us proper fans like it or not the money men will not be rolling that dice and that's just the tip of the iceberg. What about our national team? What about UEFA competitions, they'll surely side with FIFA and toe the party line. We would be pariahs.
If FIFA refused registrations to foreign players from other EU countries then they would be going against European law.
Maybe they could legally refuse registration to non-EU players, but would that really put our league into such jeopardy?
As for the national team: we never turn up at tournaments anyway so no great loss.
I care greatly for the national team. What I'm saying is that if we were exempt from international competition it wouldn't make any difference because we're always woeful and cause disappointment everytime. As supporters we'd be spared the heartache.
We know FIFA are corrupt so there are time bombs they have surpressed lying around waiting to explode. The press have targeted them and it's them not the FA who can get them. There are similarities with FIFA and the FA anyway - not saying the FA is corrupt, bu it is run by old farts on the gravy train. One of the main problems protecting FIFA is that corruption isn't seen a such a big deal in some countries, but you get the big countries against it and it's in trouble. If the organisation had any sense it would get rid of Blatter and bring in a younger progressive leader with a clean up FIFA ticket as damage limitation. But this won't happen until the press lands it's inevitable blows. The FACT that FIFA can't see what is in store for them only confirms how much it needs to change.
Jack Warner is consulting lawyers over the legality of his suspension by Fifa and has warned president Sepp Blatter 'must be stopped'.
Fifa vice-president Warner and Asian confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam were suspended by Fifa's ethics committee pending the outcome of a full inquiry into allegations they paid officials 40,000 dollars each in bribes.Bin Hammam has also withdrawn from the Fifa presidential election, meaning Blatter will stand unopposed on Wednesday to continue his reign at the head of world football's governing body.Blatter, who was cleared by the ethics committee, has announced he will hold a press conference at 5pm on Monday when he is expected to respond to further counter-claims from Warner.The Concacaf president insists he was not given a fair hearing and that the ethics committee had already made their decision before his hearing and resulting suspension.Warner told Sky Sports News: "I must say that I look on the suspension as the worst form of justice by any sporting organisation."They came there pre-meditated, whatever you said they weren't prepared to listen. They were hand-picked to do a task and they did just that."I said before, Fifa will feel a tsunami coming. Trust me, you haven't seen it yet."At the end of the day, Blatter has to be stopped
Suspended Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has made public an e-mail that claims Mohamed Bin Hammam "bought" the 2022 World Cup finals for Qatar.
Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke admitted he sent the e-mail, which also questioned why Asian football boss Bin Hammam was running for Fifa president.
Valcke wrote: "[Hammam] thought you can buy Fifa as they bought the World Cup."
However, Valcke said "it was a private e-mail" and pointed out that Warner had only published selected parts of it.
"He [Warner] sent me an email asking if I want that [Bin Hammam to run for Fifa president], he said that I should ask Bin Hammam to pull out," Valcke added.
Valcke also denied that he had influenced Fifa's ethics committee which Fifa suspended Warner and Bin Hammam on Sunday over separate allegations of bribery, pending further investigation.
He stated: "The first time I met the chairman of the ethics committee was yesterday [Sunday] at 1700 before we went to the press conference. I had no contact at all with anyone."
Bin Hammam was suspended a matter of hours after withdrawing from the Fifa presidential race on Sunday morning.
His decision leaves 75-year-old incumbent Sepp Blatter, who is seeking a fourth term in charge of the organisation he has run unopposed since 1998, as the only man running for the office. Blatter is due to hold a news conference on Monday at 1700 BST.
Fifa has said its election will go ahead, as scheduled, on Wednesday.
Warner, who is president of the North, Central American and Caribbean confederation (Concacaf), has reacted angrily to the allegations of bribery and the Fifa ethics committee's decision to suspend him.
The Trinidad and Tobago government minister raged: "I look on the suspension as the worst form of justice by any sporting organisation.
"They came premeditated, they weren't prepared to listen, they were hand-picked to do a task and they did just that.
"The guys were hand-picked by Blatter. A kangaroo court would be a decent thing to say."
Warner, who also turned on Valcke, stated: "I wrote to Valcke telling him, among other things, that the outcome of the [Fifa presidential] elections may cause some fracture in the Arab world which we can ill afford now and that I will like to ask Bin Hammam to withdraw from the race.
"To which Jerome replied to me and I quote: 'For MBH [Mohamad Bin Hammam], I never understood why he was running. If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB [Joseph Sepp Blatter].
"Or he thought you can buy Fifa as they [Qatar] bought the WC [World Cup]'."
Warner showed the e-mail to television crews and added: "You don't have to believe me, you don't have to like me, nobody has to eat with me, drink with me or sleep with me but Jesus Christ, take the truth when you see it."
Warner has also accused Blatter of making a gift of computers and an unauthorised $1m (£607,000) to Concacaf officials.
"I indicated that at the Miami Concacaf Congress on 3 May Mr Blatter made a gift of $1m to Concacaf to spend as it deems fit," Warner said in a statement.
"This annoyed [Uefa] president Michel Platini who was present and he approached secretary general Jerome Valcke complaining that Mr Blatter had no permission from the finance committee to make this gift to which Jerome replied that he will find the money for Mr Blatter.
"I also indicated Fifa, through Mr Blatter, organised gifts of laptops and projectors to all members of the Caribbean and no objections have been made today of this to date."
Click to play
Deputy chair of Fifa's ethics committee, Petrus Damaseb: "Mr Bin Hammam is hereby provisionally banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity"
This is the latest in a string of allegations between the men at the top of Fifa.
Warner and Hammam are accused of offering financial incentives to members of the Caribbean Football Union.
In a file of evidence it was claimed bundles of cash of up to $40,000 (£24,200) were handed over to members of the CFU at the meeting in Trinidad on 10 and 11 May.
The payments were allegedly made to secure votes for Bin Hammam in his campaign to challenge Blatter for the presidency.
Bin Hammam effectively claimed Blatter was aware of some of the wrongdoing but the Fifa president did not report it, in itself a breach of Fifa's ethics code, but he was found to have no case to answer.
Warner has also maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, independent Australian senator Nick Xenophon has demanded that Fifa refunds the Aus$45.6m (£29.6m) they spent on their unsuccessful bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
Xenophon said: "It appears corrupt and highly questionable behaviour goes to the core of Fifa.
"Australia spent almost $46m on a bid we were never in the running for.
"Now we hear that bribes may have been made to fix the result for who will head up Fifa."
According to the Reuters news agency, China's Zhang Jilong will take charge of the Asian Football Confederation in the absence of Hammam.
It was always a bit of a strange defence from Bin Hammam to bring Blatter into it. By suggesting that it was always above board because Blatter knew he was paying "expenses", etc to CONCACAF officials he was playing right into Blatter's hands. Blatter had the perfect comeback as, on the face of it, he was never going to sanction bribes which were in effect in favour of his opponent. It seems that Hammam may have underestimated Blatter's ability at this game.
Having made a gesture by abstaining it would be nice to hear a little more from the FA, perhaps pushing for a delay to the vote unitl the enquiry's finished (hopefully by which time the press have pulled apart the whole pack of cards).
Regarding the break away idea again. Okay, there would be the initial problem of overseas players losing their right to play in Fifa competitions, but if just the 4 European nations I suggested broke away, Uefa would have to follow in short order, which would leave Fifa with very little in the way of star attractions (Brazil & Argentina, basically). Even if they didn't, could you see the likes of Didier Drogba chosing Ivory Coast over his big fat Chelsea pay cheque? Champions league? Without English, Spanish, German and Italian clubs? Do me a favour.
The Germans bow to Beckenbauer who has been involved in FIFA/UEFA for years and is a member of the Ex Co.
Platini has the French FA up his sleeve and will be sitting tight because in a few years he inherits the despotic reign that Blatter leaves him with.
Villar Llona is the President of the Spanish FA and Platini's right hand man at UEFA and a vice president of the Ex Co.
The Italians don't have the kind of clout any more... they don't even have an Ex Co member at present and neither do the Dutch who would possibly be one of the only nations that might back us.
The Argies have Blatter's right hand man on the Ex Co, Brazil also have a member.
Where on earth is this support going to come from? It's a great idea in theory but we cannot do it alone and I don't think the FA is going to put the standard up and try and lead some kind of break-away coup without knowing there is power behind it we haven't got the bottle and we have it all to lose.
The Germans bow to Beckenbauer who has been involved in FIFA/UEFA for years and is a member of the Ex Co.
Platini has the French FA up his sleeve and will be sitting tight because in a few years he inherits the despotic reign that Blatter leaves him with.
Villar Llona is the President of the Spanish FA and Platini's right hand man at UEFA and a vice president of the Ex Co.
The Italians don't have the kind of clout any more... they don't even have an Ex Co member at present and neither do the Dutch who would possibly be one of the only nations that might back us.
The Argies have Blatter's right hand man on the Ex Co, Brazil also have a member.
Where on earth is this support going to come from? It's a great idea in theory but we cannot do it alone and I don't think the FA is going to put the standard up and try and lead some kind of break-away coup without knowing there is power behind it we haven't got the bottle and we have it all to lose.
I think that the pressure has to come from the outside - Government and sponsors, the press have a role in maintaining the negative publicity so that homely companies like Coke and McDonalds threaten to withdraw funding.
The "Change Fifa" campaign is a start but it needs to be more aggressive in its stance.
Fair points Kap but do the MNC's rely give a stuff as long as they get their products placed on the world stage in the world's biggest sporting events and as much corporate filth as they can stomach?
Comments
Intense media digging has resulted in two of the shady characters being suspended, which is a start and I doubt would have happened otherwise.
I presume that a lot is going on behind the scenes with some of the bigger and more influential FA's - eg England, Germany etc making it clear that FIFA has to put it's house in order or else. At least I hope a lot is going on behind the scenes. I doubt that the rest of the world is accepting this, although they have been supine for far too long.
FIFA will be left to do exactly as it chooses once again - Blatter will now be elected unopposed, and he has so much dirt on the scumbags that run world football that there's no way to change it. Every organisation in any sort of position of power with access to vast sums of cash that basically governs, investigates and disciplines it's ownj members with no transparency is rife with corruption - FIFA is no different.
Maybe they could legally refuse registration to non-EU players, but would that really put our league into such jeopardy?
As for the national team: we never turn up at tournaments anyway so no great loss.
Jack Warner is consulting lawyers over the legality of his suspension by Fifa and has warned president Sepp Blatter 'must be stopped'.
FifaSuspended Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has made public
an e-mail that claims Mohamed Bin Hammam "bought" the 2022 World Cup finals for
Qatar.
Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke admitted he sent the e-mail, which also
questioned why Asian football boss Bin Hammam was running for Fifa
president.
Valcke wrote: "[Hammam] thought you can buy Fifa as they bought the World
Cup."
However, Valcke said "it was a private e-mail" and pointed out that Warner
had only published selected parts of it.
"He [Warner] sent me an email asking if I want that [Bin Hammam to run for
Fifa president], he said that I should ask Bin Hammam to pull out," Valcke
added.
Valcke also denied that he had influenced Fifa's ethics committee which Fifa suspended
Warner and Bin Hammam on Sunday over separate allegations of bribery,
pending further investigation.
He stated: "The first time I met the chairman of the ethics committee was
yesterday [Sunday] at 1700 before we went to the press conference. I had no
contact at all with anyone."
Bin Hammam was suspended a matter of hours after withdrawing from the Fifa
presidential race on Sunday morning.
His decision leaves 75-year-old incumbent Sepp Blatter, who is seeking a
fourth term in charge of the organisation he has run unopposed since 1998, as
the only man running for the office. Blatter is due to hold a news conference on
Monday at 1700 BST.
Fifa has said its election will go ahead, as scheduled, on Wednesday.
Warner, who is president of the North, Central American and Caribbean
confederation (Concacaf), has reacted angrily to the allegations of bribery and
the Fifa ethics committee's decision to suspend him.
The Trinidad and Tobago government minister raged: "I look on the suspension
as the worst form of justice by any sporting organisation.
"They came premeditated, they weren't prepared to listen, they were
hand-picked to do a task and they did just that.
"The guys were hand-picked by Blatter. A kangaroo court would be a decent
thing to say."
Warner, who also turned on Valcke, stated: "I wrote to Valcke telling him,
among other things, that the outcome of the [Fifa presidential] elections may
cause some fracture in the Arab world which we can ill afford now and that I
will like to ask Bin Hammam to withdraw from the race.
"To which Jerome replied to me and I quote: 'For MBH [Mohamad Bin Hammam], I
never understood why he was running. If really he thought he had a chance or
just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB
[Joseph Sepp Blatter].
"Or he thought you can buy Fifa as they [Qatar] bought the WC [World
Cup]'."
Warner showed the e-mail to television crews and added: "You don't have to
believe me, you don't have to like me, nobody has to eat with me, drink with me
or sleep with me but Jesus Christ, take the truth when you see it."
Warner has also accused Blatter of making a gift of computers and an
unauthorised $1m (£607,000) to Concacaf officials.
"I indicated that at the Miami Concacaf Congress on 3 May Mr Blatter made a
gift of $1m to Concacaf to spend as it deems fit," Warner said in a
statement.
"This annoyed [Uefa] president Michel Platini who was present and he
approached secretary general Jerome Valcke complaining that Mr Blatter had no
permission from the finance committee to make this gift to which Jerome replied
that he will find the money for Mr Blatter.
"I also indicated Fifa, through Mr Blatter, organised gifts of laptops and
projectors to all members of the Caribbean and no objections have been made
today of this to date."
Click to play
Deputy chair of Fifa's ethics committee, Petrus Damaseb: "Mr
Bin Hammam is hereby provisionally banned from taking part in any kind of
football-related activity"
This is the latest in a string of allegations between the men at the top of
Fifa.
Warner and Hammam are accused of offering financial incentives to members of
the Caribbean Football Union.
In a file of evidence it was claimed bundles of cash of up to $40,000
(£24,200) were handed over to members of the CFU at the meeting in Trinidad on
10 and 11 May.
The payments were allegedly made to secure votes for Bin Hammam in his
campaign to challenge Blatter for the presidency.
Bin Hammam effectively claimed Blatter was aware of some of the wrongdoing
but the Fifa president did not report it, in itself a breach of Fifa's ethics
code, but he was found to have no case to answer.
Warner has also maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing.
And last week, Qatar 2022 World
Cup officials denied allegations, published in the Sunday Times, that they paid
bribes in return for votes.
Meanwhile, independent Australian senator Nick Xenophon has demanded that
Fifa refunds the Aus$45.6m (£29.6m) they spent on their unsuccessful bid to host
the 2022 World Cup.
Xenophon said: "It appears corrupt and highly questionable behaviour goes to
the core of Fifa.
"Australia spent almost $46m on a bid we were never in the running for.
"Now we hear that bribes may have been made to fix the result for who will
head up Fifa."
According to the Reuters news agency, China's Zhang Jilong will take charge
of the Asian Football Confederation in the absence of Hammam.
It was always a bit of a strange defence from Bin Hammam to bring Blatter into it. By suggesting that it was always above board because Blatter knew he was paying "expenses", etc to CONCACAF officials he was playing right into Blatter's hands. Blatter had the perfect comeback as, on the face of it, he was never going to sanction bribes which were in effect in favour of his opponent. It seems that Hammam may have underestimated Blatter's ability at this game.
Having made a gesture by abstaining it would be nice to hear a little more from the FA, perhaps pushing for a delay to the vote unitl the enquiry's finished (hopefully by which time the press have pulled apart the whole pack of cards).