I won't watch this tournament nor recognize the winner of it. It will be another hole in World Cup history.
Qatar to be cleared of corruption for 2022 bid
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
But I think it's fair to say (at the risk of being called an imperialist / racist by those who the current system serves) that corruption is far less endemic in the European / Western FAs, so if the power based can be shifted towards those, it should help.
It's getting harder to tolerate football.
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Nicely summed up.
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Its pretty obvious here, the FA are trying to rock the boat by questioning the transparency etc of FIFA, so Blatter et al. are coming down hard on the FA.
We dont know the contents of Garcias report still - for all we know, there was a little paragraph on the actions of the FA amidst pages and pages of allegations against other countries - however because FIFA are keeping the report from being publicised, they can cherrypick the parts of it to release, to suit their agenda.
I just really, really hope that within the next few years (and before Blatter dies, preferably) FIFA gets what is coming to them, and their little world of corruption all comes crashing down. I would be quite content to see Blatter spend the last years of his life in jail.
I do really want to know what the other Europeans countries thoughts are on all this. I think in England sometimes we also live in our own little media bubble - can those posters from abroad shed some light on what the general feeling is towards FIFA etc in other countries?
edit: just saw the Garcia tweets...pretty much confirms what we all expected.
I think the heat is starting to rise with this one, surely it cant be long before the shit really hits the fan now?
edit2: Reading the BBC article and it really is just ludicrous. Some bits like this:
Surely, surely they cannot keep getting away with this level of blatant corruption? It borders on surreal at this point.
We dont know the contents of Garcias report still - for all we know, there was a little paragraph on the actions of the FA amidst pages and pages of allegations against other countries - however because FIFA are keeping the report from being publicised, they can cherrypick the parts of it to release, to suit their agenda.
I just really, really hope that within the next few years (and before Blatter dies, preferably) FIFA gets what is coming to them, and their little world of corruption all comes crashing down. I would be quite content to see Blatter spend the last years of his life in jail.
I do really want to know what the other Europeans countries thoughts are on all this. I think in England sometimes we also live in our own little media bubble - can those posters from abroad shed some light on what the general feeling is towards FIFA etc in other countries?
edit: just saw the Garcia tweets...pretty much confirms what we all expected.
I think the heat is starting to rise with this one, surely it cant be long before the shit really hits the fan now?
edit2: Reading the BBC article and it really is just ludicrous. Some bits like this:
and
Surely, surely they cannot keep getting away with this level of blatant corruption? It borders on surreal at this point.
The most mental thing is that we all know that even this won't bring down the current regime. Utterly ridiculous.
This way no football association outside europe will want to join, at least now they have a say, creating another united nations will only cater for the big guns.
so their hand picked investigator is even disowning the report. Excellent.Qatar is a corrupt country and is a disgrace that they are going to host the World Cup after all the corruption acusations we have seen, this is another chapter that show football is the most dirty sport of them all.
Now, there's something funny about the reaction of british press to the whole episode and I find there's a little bit of racism and hypocrisy behind their energetic approach to the issue. The world cup has been hosted by corrupt and totalitarian nations in the past, no one argued when Argentina hosted the world cup in 78 under Videla, while people of argentine where suffering all kinds of tortures and opression. No one argued that the two most corrupt and violent countries of the past century hosted the world cup in 66 and 94 respectively.
The world cup is in esence a corrupt tourtnament hosted by one of the most dirty corporations in the world, the problem this time is that will be hosted by arabs, by the new rich, The problem is not corruption and lack of footballing culture, the problem is that the world cup will not be hosted by us the big boys but by these arabs who just got in the game.
Now, there's something funny about the reaction of british press to the whole episode and I find there's a little bit of racism and hypocrisy behind their energetic approach to the issue. The world cup has been hosted by corrupt and totalitarian nations in the past, no one argued when Argentina hosted the world cup in 78 under Videla, while people of argentine where suffering all kinds of tortures and opression. No one argued that the two most corrupt and violent countries of the past century hosted the world cup in 66 and 94 respectively.
The world cup is in esence a corrupt tourtnament hosted by one of the most dirty corporations in the world, the problem this time is that will be hosted by arabs, by the new rich, The problem is not corruption and lack of footballing culture, the problem is that the world cup will not be hosted by us the big boys but by these arabs who just got in the game.
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Fs, just give it to Australia. Life's too short for this nonsense.
Didn't realize the WC winners needed to be recognized by you for legitimacy.
Pretty much this.
Its hard to see it. Is Blatter actually answerable to anyone? He can do whatever the hell he wants, as far as I can make out - taking him to task seems to be outside the jurisdiction of any specific legal or regulatory body.
The only ones who can hurt him are the sponsors. If you choke off FIFA's money supply - THAT is what would make it come crashing down. So boycotts would be the only way to go, really. If people, not just in England but across Europe and ideally elsewhere, backed out, or if the TV stations were genuinely scared that people werent going to watch it, if viewing figures were going to be totally decimated, Blatter would be gone very quickly.
Its hard to see that happening but it is possible. That kind of mass, grassroots action would be possible to coordinate now in a way it never was before, with Twitter etc mobilising people and making it very clear to everyone how deeply people felt about it.
But as you also say, it isnt clear whether people care as much in other countries about this as we do in the UK. I presume they do, but I dont know.
This gets better and better..........or more and more bizarre. It could be a Monty Python sketch....
Organisation is pressured into investigating itself over allegations of corruption.
Hires someone to investigate
Report is written but not made public
Organisation releases selected bits of report to suit its own ends
Investigator says that the selected bits aren't representative of what he wrote.
John Cleese as the investigator having a meltdown and hitting Blatter with a branch from a tree......
I'll count to three: 1... 2... 3, right, that's it! I've had enough!
You treaded on just once too often! Right! Well, don't say I haven't warned you! I've laid it on the line for you time and time again! Right! So, this is it! I'm gonna give you a damn good thrashing!
Well done Garcia for sticking his head above the parapet.
Organisation is pressured into investigating itself over allegations of corruption.
Hires someone to investigate
Report is written but not made public
Organisation releases selected bits of report to suit its own ends
Investigator says that the selected bits aren't representative of what he wrote.
John Cleese as the investigator having a meltdown and hitting Blatter with a branch from a tree......
I'll count to three: 1... 2... 3, right, that's it! I've had enough!
You treaded on just once too often! Right! Well, don't say I haven't warned you! I've laid it on the line for you time and time again! Right! So, this is it! I'm gonna give you a damn good thrashing!
Well done Garcia for sticking his head above the parapet.
Cycling says hello!
In fairness, its not about England not getting it, just that there is no rational way of explaining how Qatar with its searing heat was the overwhelming winner of the votes.
Is there anyway the FAs from the main football countries can pull together, stick two fingers up to Blatter and organise a separate tournament? This whole bidding process along with FIFA is corrupt and a complete sham. That, along with the human rights issues (and did I see 1200 deaths so far?) makes this whole thing not only absurd but tragic as well.
Qatar won because they did what every other nation has done since the invention of the world cup: putting the money on the table, giving money to the big guys so they choose you, it has always been like this.
The climate, lack of footballing culture or "corruption" acusations have never been an issue in the past, but is ok if it's between us, not this strange new rich who just got into the party.
why aren't the 1200 deaths being highlighted more?
You probably mean money under the table.
That is not what I said either. I am just doing what I can do, which isn't much.
Shambles.
The funny thing is, them doing this is then going to open the floodgates from the English FA, bit silly of them really - had they just said yeah nothing to see here then perhaps it could have been swept under the carpet. It's like they WANT the FA/Media to kick up a fuss.
The funny thing is, them doing this is then going to open the floodgates from the English FA, bit silly of them really - had they just said yeah nothing to see here then perhaps it could have been swept under the carpet. It's like they WANT the FA/Media to kick up a fuss.
On the contray, I think that FIFA accusing the English FA is a way of shutting down potential further criticism (from the FA, I mean.)
Cancel it and take all City's money off them.
I'm not English though so you guys not getting it has no reflection on me. Ireland wont be at the World Cup no matter where its held!
And its not even the fact the corruption has historically occured its that the ethics committe had no issue with the process. The whole thing is a mess.
It does pose the question of who actually legislates for a global organisation like FIFA, which has such an influence on countries all over the globe. For most normal companies they have to abide by the laws of whichever country they are trading in, but FIFA itself doesnt actually do anything much, it is simply comprised of member states.
I doubt a mass boycott will ever take off. My feelings are that the best chance would simply be a lot of the European/American/Australian (and whoever else wants to jump on the bandwagon) collectively agreeing to break away from FIFA. Take away some of the big boys in Europe and FIFA suddenly looks a lot weaker. I think it is just one of those where no single country particularly wants to be the one to initiate it and get the ball rolling for fear of the reprecussions if it doesnt take off.
I am hoping that somehow, if the lawyers and Serious Fraud Office get involved, there will eventually be so much global pressure on FIFA that something, anything, will happen to spark it all off. As I said, it feels like it is starting to reach boiling point now with todays stories, fingers crossed.
The whole criticism of the FA is mainly to try and make it seem like sour grapes if the FA continues to grumble. It's no coincidence that the report levels the most criticism on Fifa's biggest critic. Why does the report not put more into the fact that Moscow banned Garcia from travelling to Russia? That computers disappeared and that everyone of Russia's bid team suddenly forgot how to access gmail? Nothing on Qatar, who have distance themselves from Bin Hammam, despite previously saying he was there biggest asset or the £3 million worth of payments, or the fact that all executive reports suggested Qatar had a high risk (worst) bid that they still won by huge margin. It's a whitewash and a way of trying to shut up the FA, Garcia's statement backs that up.
Even if we look away from the politics of it, regarding Qatar, it still is a bloody disgrace. You can't play football in 50 degrees celcius during the summer, and you sure as hell can't disrupt the club football by moving it to the winter either.
This is what England gets for not paying FIFA its bribes. A FIFA led investigation into corruption is the definition of the fox guarding the hen house.
It seems like a very flawed argument to say the process is corrupt, but it has always been corrupt so it is wrong to highlight it now. Yes FIFA is corrupt and probably always has been, but the profile of, and money in, the game has risen exponentially in the last 20 years or so, which makes it all the more pressing that it is cleaned up. The Qatar selection brings matters to a head because of its blatant lunacy - the heat conditions, the slave labour conditions etc. What does comparing it to a decision from 1974 prove? Its not just football that has changed since the 70s, the whole world has changed since then.
I just cant see that it is some kind of anti-Qatar or anti Arab racism that is driving this. Rich countries and poor countries have hosted WCs before, yes it was a stitch up between Europe and South America for a long time but we've had WCs in Asia and Africa before now and you didnt see this kind of reaction to it.
The investigator himself questions the summary.
Utter farce.
Utter farce.
It's ok - if it turns out that he's culpable too, he can drag himself to the FIFA Police Station.The investigator himself questions the summary.
Utter farce.
They should be, I agree. Thought John Oliver did a good job summarizing a lot that's wrong with FIFA and the Qatar WC:
Also, there's something unnerving about the title of the author of the report
Reads a bit like an oxymoron.
I'm not saying is wrong to highlight it, I'm just saying this episode shows the hypocrisy of western countries and specially the hypocrisy of british press as always. I'm glad we are seeing now how dirty and corrupt this whole organization is, it has always been, but is funny how it took almost a century to the big clean guys to notice it.
I guess one reason why nations don't break away from FIFA is that the organisation has details of those nations' historical complicity in bribery. Aptly, FIFA knows where the bodies are buried.