FIFA

My sense is that if they dig deep enough, they will find that every world cup since Blatter took over has been tainted to some degree and that every bidder was up to it. Including us.

Under Blatter's unwatchful eye, the rules were ambiguous and the line got blurred. We will simply find that some countries were more aggressive and less artful in their bribery, but everyone knew that votes were for sale and nobody challenged it. Qatar throws the money around like confetti; South Africa doles out $10 million for a bogus programme; Australia donates $500k for a 'feasibility study'; Morocco is in for $1 million.

Okay, but we still sent the England team to play a meaningless friendly in Trinidad, just so Jack Warner could make a deal on the TV rights. We were going to do the same in Thailand and -- lest there be any doubt that this was a quid pro quo for world cup votes -- we cancelled it the minute the vote didn't go our way.

Burberry handbags or brown-envelope handouts -- it's all the same shit. Blatter established that it was acceptable and the rest of us just negotiated on a price.

My whole view on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is that no one was clean and the system was compromised because of the culture of graft created by Blatter and his cronies. Let Russia and Qatar keep them -- it was a dirty game for everyone and they played it better than we did.

Boris Johnson, Greg Dyke, Whittingdale and Cameron are all -- in my opinion -- doing more harm than good with their ridiculous notion of England heroically "stepping in" to host the Cup. It just comes across opportunistic crowing and reinforces the suspicion that everyone outside of England already has: that the whole media crusade against FIFA was fuelled by the sour grapes of a country that felt "entitled" to the World Cup.

What moral authority does the FA have!? If it was the media that broke the dam and triggered the investigation, the UK government and the FA can claim none of the credit for that -- they actually tried to muzzle the BBC when it tried to report on World Cup bungs just before the vote. They sacked Lord Triesman as FA Chairman because he indisctreetly let slip to an undercover reporter that England didn't have a chance to win the World Cup because FIFA was bent and everyone knew it. For that he was sacked without prejudice and the FA immediately backpedalled with some mealy mouthed release about how he did not speak for the organization. They should all be ashamed of themselves, not going on TV and insisting that we should be given the Cup. If it is stripped from Qatar -- which it should be for the death toll, not the value of their bribes -- then I say give it some country in a temperate climate with no blood on its hands. Canada or Norway. They probably deserve it more than we do.

Churchill said "in victory: magnanimity". Wise words. They would all do well to remember them and keep their constantly electioneering mouths shut until this whole thing plays out. They are making England so universally unliked outside of just the smallest corner of Anglo Saxon / Scandinavian countries that it wouldn't surprise me if Blatter himself ran in the next election ... and won!

No the jordanian FA were looking into wether he would become interim president holding an election early next year would mean the end of blatter straight away instead of him hanging on for 6 months

(04-06-2015 07:49 )marlowe Wrote:  I can see Jack Warner singing like a canary

Yes he's threatening to and he also says that's why Blatter resigned.

One of the biggest franchise in the world, and everyone knows its been bent for the last 3 decades. How come its taken all that time to get to this stage. Back to basics and rethink about the next 2 world cups should be the first priority. Blatter and the rest of the nest will squirm and blame everyone else for all the corruption. Give the yank investigators a free reign, and get it all out in the open, and dont shut Guantanamo Bay, give all the corrupt a freebie

Seems it's the FBI's way to get a few lower level guys to take plea bargains in return for a lighter sentence and then they get all the dirt on everyone else in the organisation. Mr Blatter should be very nervous if he is not squeaky clean.

(04-06-2015 11:59 )SecretAgent Wrote:  Seems it's the FBI's way to get a few lower level guys to take plea bargains in return for a lighter sentence and then they get all the dirt on everyone else in the organisation. Mr Blatter should be very nervous if he is not squeaky clean.

Give the yanks their due, it does get results

(04-06-2015 08:24 )Goodfella3041 Wrote:  {snip}

I would persionally think that if the Women's world Cup is something of a success in Canada then I see no reason why they can't move 2022 to there. As for Blatter if the FBI were to arrest him he'll probably claim he is too old to be extradited.

FIFA, Jeremy Kyle show??? Well blow me, you were lying

It wouldn't surprise me if Blatter himself ran in the next election ... and won!

I guess there is every reason to suspect that once they set the time table and with Blatter overseeing that whole thing it would set up beautifully for him to reclaim victory.

(04-06-2015 08:24 )Goodfella3041 Wrote:  it wouldn't surprise me if Blatter himself ran in the next election ... and won!

He wouldn't be able to run now. He'd never get enough backing to even stand in the election. The wagons are circling him.