What have we got to lose dissociating ourselves from this despicable lot entirely - like GH said, it's not as if we'd get the world cup for the next four hundred years at this rate anyway.
Leave and be damned.
P.S Well done Strasburger...........is there a facebook campaign or somesuch for this?
I personally still cannot believe the Grondona comment. I mean we know they haven't exactly forgotten "Las Malvinas" and that he's an 80-something senile old berk judging by his actions but how can someone in such a position of authority in an apparently internationally-represented body make such controversial political remarks?
NEWSFLASH! FIFA hates England because we invented the game and they didn't and they think we remind them of the fact too often. I have never understood why they are so ungrateful.
In the evening standard tonight (I know! But they are running an expnerethis week on children that can't read) the MP Damian Collins (i don't know which party) has setup a group called ChangeFIFA this has a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/changeFIFA and the main site http://changefifa.wordpress.com/ I will keep away from the politics on this as I do truly believe Sport in any form is above this, but the guy has the same beliefs. I have updated him on my personal campaign.
In the evening standard tonight (I know! But they are running an expnerethis week on children that can't read) the MP Damian Collins (i don't know which party)...
Was Grondona the bloke who said something hugely insulting (and plain stupid) about a jewish referee in Argentina?
"Grondona caused controversy in 2003 when, in response to a journalist's question about referee standards in Argentina, he said: "I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at this level. It's hard work and, you know, Jews don't like hard work." From wikipedia.
and they say that Englands best chance of getting back in the FIFA trough is to get onside with Plattini -------------FFS yes that well known lover of all things English.
When we are told to play friendlies by FIFA -------unless its in our intrest DONT or send a C team. When we are asked to play a country because their FA is 6 months old, 5 year old, 50 years old etc etc ask "whats in it for England?" you know taken from FIFA Rule book item 1.
As for the Welsh not backing us-well now just where would they be with out the English leagues ?
Was Grondona the bloke who said something hugely insulting (and plain stupid) about a jewish referee in Argentina?
"Grondona caused controversy in 2003 when, in response to a journalist's question about referee standards in Argentina, he said: "I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at this level. It's hard work and, you know, Jews don't like hard work." From wikipedia.
Thats the quote Strasburger. Unbelievable.
I have just been reading the Guardian update of how the FIFA conference/vote went, it is uneffing believeable. It would actually be laughable if it wasn't the fact that the whole of FIFA comes across as some sort of Banana Republic.
Everyone makes the mistake of thinking FIFA hates England. They don't. You're crediting England with having too much clout. FIFA doesn't give a shit about England, and this has been the case since the seventies, when England missed a trick by not pressurising for a more powerful seat at the table. The nonsensical thing about FIFA is that tiny pissant countries with less chance of qualifying for the world cup than Charlton have of winning the champions' league in 2012 have equal voting rights. Couple this with the fact that football attracts money like flies on honey-coated shit and this renders the whole shooting match so outrageously open to abuse that every single member country of FIFA is either openly corrupt, covertly corrupt, corruptible or vainly fighting a losing battle against rampant commercialisation.
The truth is FIFA like having England sitting in the background whinging. It gives those odious c***s Blatter, Warner and Valcke something to point the finger at and laugh when things get a bit heated. FIFA's entire ethos is about hiding the truth, backhanders and abuse of power. Witness the fact that the Swiss government (a government not exactly noted for it's dedication to transparency and prevention of corporate malfeasance) has at last begun to make noises about kicking FIFA out of Switzerland if they don't at least pretend to have transparency in their doings and accounting by the end of this year. That will, of course, come to nothing (Blatter knows where far too many bodies are buried at Adidas, Coke and Christ knows where else for them to allow it to happen) but if the Swiss feel thbey need to say something about a corporation's corruption, it indicates the scale of the problem.
FIFA is utterly corrupt, at it's very core and all the way out to tiny island nations with a population of fifteen men and a dog. There is absolutely nothing that can be done about it either.
The nonsensical thing about FIFA is that tiny pissant countries with less chance of qualifying for the world cup than Charlton have of winning the champions' league in 2012 have equal voting rights. Couple this with the fact that football attracts money like flies on honey-coated shit and this renders the whole shooting match so outrageously open to abuse that every single member country of FIFA is either openly corrupt, covertly corrupt, corruptible or vainly fighting a losing battle against rampant commercialisation.
100% correct.
For example - the following footballing and/or political luminaries are on the EX CO - Jordan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tahiti, Qatar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Algeria, Cyprus, Guatemala [out of respect to their standing within their own association, I have left heavyweights Egypt, Cameroon and Ivory Coast off that list]
You only have to look at some of the most outspoken nations against us today:
Blatter - Switzerland - in a footballing sense what have they done/achieved/contributed? NOTHING... they are only in Switzerland for prestige, tax reasons and privacy laws.
Argentina/Spain - OK I'll give you that, but perhaps Grondona would be more well suited dealing with his country's imploding football infrastructure and operations than being a senile, anti-semitic, fascist, corrupt moron
DR Congo/Haiti/Benin - don't make me laugh... if you were having a "most corrupt countries on earth" party this lot would be on the VIP list
Cyprus - who?
Fiji - who?
Football has turned into a league of nations under this false banner of spreading the word throughout the "football family". I am not saying we should not contribute to these countries with finance and education but the main footballing superpowers who make all the money, who provide all the players, who give all the history, e.g. GB, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina should be controlling it... 1 man 1 vote for the World Cup is as ridiculous as the current situation. Do you really think the bloke on the Ex Co for Tahiti is interested in where the world cup is or how the qualification structure runs or just how many cars/watches/5* bunk ups/hookers he can receive
FIFA is utterly corrupt, at it's very core and all the way out to tiny island nations with a population of fifteen men and a dog. There is absolutely nothing that can be done about it either.
I don't think that this is true. Not that FIFA isn't fundamentally and inescapably corrupt, but that nothing can be done about it.
The travesty of Jack Warner is, I think, in part the result of the indifference of most Americans (and Canadians) to the sport. The Caribbean nations' power in CONCACAF compared to the relative weakness of North America is an oddity and Warner has now become the victim of his own success. We don't have anything like the UEFA Cup, but the Gold Cup, which starts in a few days and is hosted in the United States, has now become a money maker for the regional FA. Warner's legacy here is increasing American interest in soccer through gradual improvements in CONCACAF's structure (while, all the while, lining his own pockets).
However, the more Americans get interested in the game, the less room there is for guys like Warner (and for old hands such as my countryman Blazer). As ridiculous as American culture is on any number of ethical issues, there is an almost puritanical zeal for fair play in sport. While we can look the other way for a while (Lance; P.E.D.s; Salt Lake City; etc.), things turn quickly and crusades get waged to "clean up" the sport regardless of whether the public expenditures involved make any rational sense (Barry Bonds).
Unlike the Olympics, if the sport takes off here (which remains unlikely in the near term), there is a lot of money to be made. And if money-making opportunities are jeopardized by the rapaciousness of business-as-usual FIFA officials in Trinidad or somewhere else in the basin, this will be dealt with -- at least within CONCACAF.
Apparently the representative from that footballing golliath Vietnam got himself in a bit of a pickle and ended up supporting our call for an delay to the election when he really wanted to vote against it.
And there you have it. The giants of Vietnam get as much as a say as our FA, yet the fella is too wank not to fuck up a one box ballot paper. Parasites.
"As a consequence of Mr Warner’s self-determined resignation, all Ethics Committee procedures against him have been closed and the presumption of innocence is maintained."
That is an absolute fucking disgrace. As usual, I'm sure nothing will get done - but if they are allowed to get away with it (and I'm led to believe that nothing in their constitution forbids it) then every single nation that was involved in bidding for the 2022 World Cup should instantly demand all money paid out as part of their bid process be repaid by FIFA.
Dear lord! So if someone comes to a nice little arrangement with Sepp and the boys to ride off into the sunset with a bucket load of cash then all's well that ends well and we can assume that everything's hunky dory? They really do take the rest of us for mugs don't they.
Such a joke... he obviously knew that 'something' would have been revealed and now he can basically do a 'runner' ... totally ubelievable ... just another day at FIFA
Not defending FIFA but our FA seemed happy to deal with them when they thought they has a chance of getting the world cup. The FA even attacked the UK press who ran stories about the corruption in the run up to the bid.
Now the FA are trying to take a high moral ground. Maybe they shouldn't have bid at all then.
Warner dodging the punishment may seem unfair but it takes him off the FIFA gravy train. (Has he resigned as CONCAF and Trinidad president as well)
Perverse as it seems it is actually good news. it shows that people can't get away with just anything and the whistle blowers and press are having an influence. Others will take heed and either step down or curb the corruption.
That will slowly, with luck and better leadership, lead to reform of FIFA and a fairer and more open system of voting.
Ironically it will be the UK FAs that will suffer when that reform comes as they will lose they four automatic places on the rules committee and one automatic place on the FIFA executive. And to be honest why should they have automatic places because we invented the game 150 odd years ago.
Then the FA can stop telling the rest of football how wonderful it is and sort out the mess in it's own back yard. As if.
To be fair Henry, our FA - for all their faults - have had little option but to deal with FIFA, have they? They're the men parasites in charge after all.
What I don't understand is how all these jumped up ego-maniacs from tinpot shithouse countries got to be so powerful in the first place. I mean, Trinidad FFS.
You should read 'foul' by Andrew Jennings. That details exactly how tiny countries with no footballing heritage, public interest in\knowledge of football or credible right to have a say in tournaments the size of the world cup got their snout in the trough and ended up wielding influence that far outstripped any common sense level. Unsurprisingly, it was British complacency that was partly to blame.
Trinidad aren't as important as us in footballing terms, nor are they as important as about 150 other countries. That's not an attitude, it's a FACT.
The point was that one man - who happened to come from Trinidad - somehow managed to get so much power. Nothing to do with us getting - or not getting the World Cup and I don't believe I mentioned it was.
And I try not to watch Eurovision, thanks. Not enough heavy metal or Led Zep on there for me.
And I try not to watch Eurovision, thanks. Not enough heavy metal or Led Zep on there for me.
;o)
Same thing really. All crap : - )
interesting articles in this months When Saturday Comes. Basically saying that in most of the world FIFA is seen as a good thing. For all the corruption they spend a lot on grass roots development in poor countries and enable national teams of countries like Niger to compete in tournaments.
FIFA generate huge amounts of money for football world wide and it gets shared around. Too much goes in the wrong pockets but generally most countries like FIFA.
Meanwhile we in England on about how we invented the game and have the best league in the world while we plan game 39 in the back yard of the those countries whose votes we want and we don't want the EPL taking over everything in their country the way it has here.
Just saying their is another view, another perspective of FIFA.
Comments
Astonishing.
What have we got to lose dissociating ourselves from this despicable lot entirely - like GH said, it's not as if we'd get the world cup for the next four hundred years at this rate anyway.
Leave and be damned.
P.S Well done Strasburger...........is there a facebook campaign or somesuch for this?
I think he's a Tory boy.
Was Grondona the bloke who said something hugely insulting (and plain stupid) about a jewish referee in Argentina?
and the guy from Cyprus what a f**kin joke.
and they say that Englands best chance of getting back in the FIFA trough is to get onside with Plattini -------------FFS yes that well known lover of all things English.
When we are told to play friendlies by FIFA -------unless its in our intrest DONT or send a C team. When we are asked to play a country because their FA is 6 months old, 5 year old, 50 years old etc etc ask "whats in it for England?" you know taken from FIFA Rule book item 1.
As for the Welsh not backing us-well now just where would they be with out the English leagues ?
Thats the quote Strasburger. Unbelievable.
I have just been reading the Guardian update of how the FIFA conference/vote went, it is uneffing believeable. It would actually be laughable if it wasn't the fact that the whole of FIFA comes across as some sort of Banana Republic.
The truth is FIFA like having England sitting in the background whinging. It gives those odious c***s Blatter, Warner and Valcke something to point the finger at and laugh when things get a bit heated. FIFA's entire ethos is about hiding the truth, backhanders and abuse of power. Witness the fact that the Swiss government (a government not exactly noted for it's dedication to transparency and prevention of corporate malfeasance) has at last begun to make noises about kicking FIFA out of Switzerland if they don't at least pretend to have transparency in their doings and accounting by the end of this year. That will, of course, come to nothing (Blatter knows where far too many bodies are buried at Adidas, Coke and Christ knows where else for them to allow it to happen) but if the Swiss feel thbey need to say something about a corporation's corruption, it indicates the scale of the problem.
FIFA is utterly corrupt, at it's very core and all the way out to tiny island nations with a population of fifteen men and a dog. There is absolutely nothing that can be done about it either.
The travesty of Jack Warner is, I think, in part the result of the indifference of most Americans (and Canadians) to the sport. The Caribbean nations' power in CONCACAF compared to the relative weakness of North America is an oddity and Warner has now become the victim of his own success. We don't have anything like the UEFA Cup, but the Gold Cup, which starts in a few days and is hosted in the United States, has now become a money maker for the regional FA. Warner's legacy here is increasing American interest in soccer through gradual improvements in CONCACAF's structure (while, all the while, lining his own pockets).
However, the more Americans get interested in the game, the less room there is for guys like Warner (and for old hands such as my countryman Blazer). As ridiculous as American culture is on any number of ethical issues, there is an almost puritanical zeal for fair play in sport. While we can look the other way for a while (Lance; P.E.D.s; Salt Lake City; etc.), things turn quickly and crusades get waged to "clean up" the sport regardless of whether the public expenditures involved make any rational sense (Barry Bonds).
Unlike the Olympics, if the sport takes off here (which remains unlikely in the near term), there is a lot of money to be made. And if money-making opportunities are jeopardized by the rapaciousness of business-as-usual FIFA officials in Trinidad or somewhere else in the basin, this will be dealt with -- at least within CONCACAF.
Apparently the representative from that footballing golliath Vietnam got himself in a bit of a pickle and ended up supporting our call for an delay to the election when he really wanted to vote against it.
You really couldn't make it up.
Jack Warner has resigned.
Good, BUT it means all investigations against him are halted and there is a presumption of innocence. Crazy.
"As a consequence of Mr Warner’s self-determined resignation, all Ethics Committee procedures against him have been closed and the presumption of innocence is maintained."
FIFA should think about a career in comedy.
Now the FA are trying to take a high moral ground. Maybe they shouldn't have bid at all then.
Warner dodging the punishment may seem unfair but it takes him off the FIFA gravy train. (Has he resigned as CONCAF and Trinidad president as well)
Perverse as it seems it is actually good news. it shows that people can't get away with just anything and the whistle blowers and press are having an influence. Others will take heed and either step down or curb the corruption.
That will slowly, with luck and better leadership, lead to reform of FIFA and a fairer and more open system of voting.
Ironically it will be the UK FAs that will suffer when that reform comes as they will lose they four automatic places on the rules committee and one automatic place on the FIFA executive. And to be honest why should they have automatic places because we invented the game 150 odd years ago.
Then the FA can stop telling the rest of football how wonderful it is and sort out the mess in it's own back yard. As if.
The attittude that other countries aren't as important as us so they should do what we want and give us the world cup.
Ever watch Eurovison? Other countries don't all think we are wonderful.
interesting articles in this months When Saturday Comes. Basically saying that in most of the world FIFA is seen as a good thing. For all the corruption they spend a lot on grass roots development in poor countries and enable national teams of countries like Niger to compete in tournaments.
FIFA generate huge amounts of money for football world wide and it gets shared around. Too much goes in the wrong pockets but generally most countries like FIFA.
Meanwhile we in England on about how we invented the game and have the best league in the world while we plan game 39 in the back yard of the those countries whose votes we want and we don't want the EPL taking over everything in their country the way it has here.
Just saying their is another view, another perspective of FIFA.