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Post by MJB on May 27, 2015 20:33:17 GMT
I really hope they nail all of these crooks - particularly Blatter.
Despite its many faults, nice to see that the British press and some excellent journalists were correct to keep chasing this story and the stench of corruption at FIFA.
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 27, 2015 21:10:18 GMT
I've just said elsewhere that David Walsh, the Sunday Times, among others should be applauded for keeping on digging at FIFA, despite extreme pressure to stop. The work they, and others have put in has really laid the groundwork for the Americans to take the case on. This is a federal issue in America, and those cases are not raised unless the allegations are as concrete as you can get. CONCACACACAF have no future any more. As an organisation, they are done.
I suspect Blatter will brazen it out until the day he dies. He's too far in to the con to ever admit there is anything wrong. He thinks he is FIFA, and his cult of personality is such that people believe him, or are too scared to say otherwise. Money makes his world go round.
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Post by Eaststandboy on May 27, 2015 21:14:35 GMT
Why can't someone from England run FIFA, the only contender is someone from Jordan, do they even play football there?!
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Post by MJB on May 27, 2015 21:26:45 GMT
Why can't someone from England run FIFA, the only contender is someone from Jordan, do they even play football there?! Doesn't need to be someone from England - just not a fraudster like the current shower.
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Post by Eaststandboy on May 27, 2015 21:28:21 GMT
Hopefully any new rich FIFA execs will be put off buying votes!
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 21:42:47 GMT
I'd like to see England, Australia, USA etc all bring a lawsuit agaibst FIFA for costs the moment it's proven there was corruption in the 2018 and 2022 bids
It's interesting to note that the Russiajd are already twitchy and complaining about extra territorial action by the US
Finall chuck blazer is so minted from this he had a luxury apartment in Trump Tower in NYC .....for just his cats
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 27, 2015 21:50:05 GMT
I hear FIFA are hiring a new PR firm
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 27, 2015 21:56:35 GMT
I'd like to see England, Australia, USA etc all bring a lawsuit agaibst FIFA for costs the moment it's proven there was corruption in the 2018 and 2022 bids I'd love to see them do it. FIFA have just the odd £1 billion or so in cash reserves, so there is compensation to be had. Infact, I'd love UEFA to tell FIFA to stuff it and leave if he doesn't go. The World Cup isn't worth but a fraction without Europe. Nike and adidas have finally stuck their heads above the parapet. The comments are mild PR, but it's good to see someone finally say something. Shameful that they left it so late.
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Post by cass63 on May 28, 2015 6:09:26 GMT
So what you lot saying, Fifa are corrupt? ?
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Post by andystroud on May 28, 2015 6:36:28 GMT
My prediction for Friday's vote Attachments:
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Post by Colin B on May 28, 2015 6:52:04 GMT
Why can't someone from England run FIFA, the only contender is someone from Jordan, do they even play football there?! There have only ever been eight FIFA presidents, and three of them have been English, so we can't really complain!
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Post by pottersrightboot on May 28, 2015 7:54:08 GMT
Sir Stanley Rous needs to be dug up.
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Post by mooro on May 28, 2015 8:42:34 GMT
Personally, I think we should stand back from all this at the moment and let it all play out - a lot of the animosity around the world towards these allegations was that it was just us tasting sour grapes at missing out on hosting the WC. Yes, there is a lot of hot air amongst it all, but should we consider perhaps withdrawing our bid as a conciliatory measure to emphasise that we are only interested in cleaning up FIFA, not just gettingourselves a tournament??
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 28, 2015 12:54:49 GMT
It seems David Gill is not going to take his position at FIFA if Blatter is still gripping onto power. This is not going to be a pretty ending. Platini has just said enouhgh is enough with FIFA.
Meanwhile Sepp is still missing. Should I call Age Concern?
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Post by foley on May 28, 2015 13:50:18 GMT
Let's hope that Blatter is defeated or persuaded to stand down.
IF he stays for a further 4 years, I wonder if UEFA would have the bottle and inclination to threaten to withdraw from FIFA? Set up separately and 'invite' the other confederations to join them. Europe is one of the main financial power houses and I would think that in time many others would withdraw from FIFA. The sponsors may be even more inclined to push for Blatter to step down.
That is a last case scenario if Blatter looks like staying for 4 years.
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Post by Paul Cannell on May 28, 2015 14:23:06 GMT
Actually a lot of major corporations have already discretely, and without fanfare, withdrawn all sponsorship. Including a huge number of their World Cup sponsors. Interesting article on IOC as well as FIFA in teh Grauniad.Odd situation. What will happen if FIFA crumbles? No international competitions for a while? I think I prefer a touch of corruption to a summer without a tournament.
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Post by Mark on May 28, 2015 14:38:56 GMT
just read this "England's 2018 World Cup team spent £5m-£6m on their bid document, only three of 22 FIFA Exco members even read it."
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Post by Boogaloo on May 28, 2015 15:37:13 GMT
I don't think we'll see the 2018 or 2022 World Cups taking place anywhere else other than Russia and Qatar. It would be far too messy to strip them of the World Cups. Not to mention all the suing and countersuing that will start to happen, because what you have to remember is that businesses have already started building and preparing for it. Also it would be wrong to suggest that Russia and Qatar were the only countries in the bidding process offering bribes - it was just their brown envelopes had more cash in them!
Despite Platini saying that he is going to persuade the other UEFA members to vote for Prince Ali, I can't imagine Blatter not winning a 5th term in charge. I don't even think all the UEFA members will follow suit. Sure I expect the home nations, France, Germany, Spain, Italy etc to vote for Prince Ali - but the smaller nations like Malta, Moldova, Andorra, Faroe Islands etc, not to mention the tiny countries around the world like Tahiti, Tonga, Bhutan etc all think the sun shine's out Sepp Blatter's backside. And the way the voting process works is that a vote from England, Germany and France carries just as much weight a vote from Mauritius, Burkina Faso and Sao Tome and Principe.
So what happens from there? Maybe UEFA will quit FIFA. It would be nice if that happens, but is that enforceable? Would the UEFA member states have to vote on it first? Sure I can't imagine England, France, Netherlands and Germany having any objections, but what about the smaller nations I mentioned earlier, who rely the large amounts of money generated from World Cup qualification matches against the bigger nations?
What about the sponsors? If Visa pull out, sure it will make a few headlines, but I'm sure there are many other large organisations from India, China, Russia etc who would be happy to take their place as partners or sponsors - so I can't imagine that being an issue.
Despite the FBI's involvement, yes we might see a few people brought to justice, we may even see a few doing bird as well, but when the dust all settles I can't see 'Mr Teflon' Sepp Blatter being brought to justice. And although some of his trusty corrupt sidekicks will be taken down, they will just be replaced by more corrupt sidekicks, and so it goes on.
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Post by Paul Cannell on May 28, 2015 16:08:46 GMT
just read this "England's 2018 World Cup team spent £5m-£6m on their bid document, only three of 22 FIFA Exco members even read it." And, following Boogaloo's grim realism; all this means, slappy, is that England p*ssed money away on a bid they should have known they couldn't win. No honour in that, as any old sales dog will tell you
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Post by whingit on May 28, 2015 16:09:12 GMT
The US are very tactically astute when it comes to things like this, there is already talks of plea bargains being arranged by some of those arrested to indict other FIFA members (including Sepp allegedly.) I really think these arrests are just the beginning.
Sponsors will not go, their statements are just to reassure the customers. If FIFA stays as it is, world cups will still get the coverage and exposure they always have so it would make no sense to stop sponsorship on moral grounds when the financial benefits are still there.
Anti Sepp federations breaking away and forming a separate body could be plausible. The big teams leaving will cause the sponsors to leave, making FIFA irrelevant. Then other nations can each be invited to join the new, transparent organisation.
Interesting that Prince Ali says he has the support of 60 or so other federations separate to the 40 odd UEFA members who will be voting for him. What people say they will do publicly can be very different to what they do in a secret ballot though. I still expect Sepp to win comfortably.
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Post by backonthecoupon on May 28, 2015 16:32:22 GMT
International football needs to be brought into the public or not for profit sector.
Sure they have their problems too but if we've learnt one ting its that something as big as this can't be entrusted to a private company.
Are we sure England have never bribed anyone by the way?
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Post by oufcyellows on May 28, 2015 16:40:53 GMT
The only way I can see him leaving, is if one of those arrested supplies evidence linking him. Once he's been question directly his job is then surly on the line
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Post by whingit on May 28, 2015 16:41:30 GMT
Will be interesting to see if any of the billion pounds or so FIFA is sitting on will be used to defend those awaiting trial.
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Post by Paul Cannell on May 28, 2015 16:42:08 GMT
International football needs to be brought into the public or not for profit sector. NHS and utilities first would be nice?
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Post by whingit on May 28, 2015 16:45:40 GMT
International football needs to be brought into the public or not for profit sector. NHS and utilities first would be nice? And the trains.
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Post by oufcyellows on May 28, 2015 16:46:48 GMT
NHS and utilities first would be nice? And the trains. We're on track for those
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 28, 2015 21:36:12 GMT
Blatter's address to FIFA was incoherent nonsense. I wouldn't be surprised if he was suffering from a degenerative mental condition. It would explain his lack of grasp of reality. His denials of what went on are funny. To say he has no control over people is true, but he was alerted to these issues in 2002 with ISL and did little to change the culture. The past 13 years he operated in knowledge of bribery and corruption in FIFA.
2018 and 2022 are open ended questions. SA hosting the world cup was an absolute bribe fest, and it seems Russia and Qatar are too. It would be hard to take it from Russia, Qatar not so much. They illegally procured the finals, so it's right to take it away.
UEFA are keeping their powder dry. Platini's press conference was odd listening, but it seems they will wait for the result of the election before making any decisions. How much are the rights worth for a World Cup where Europe are missing? As for the sponsors, gutless wonders. They talk CSR, ignore it when dealing FIFA.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2015 21:52:14 GMT
Blatter's address to FIFA was incoherent nonsense. I wouldn't be surprised if he was suffering from a degenerative mental condition. It would explain his lack of grasp of reality. His denials of what went on are funny. To say he has no control over people is true, but he was alerted to these issues in 2002 with ISL and did little to change the culture. The past 13 years he operated in knowledge of bribery and corruption in FIFA. 2018 and 2022 are open ended questions. SA hosting the world cup was an absolute bribe fest, and it seems Russia and Qatar are too. It would be hard to take it from Russia, Qatar not so much. They illegally procured the finals, so it's right to take it away. UEFA are keeping their powder dry. Platini's press conference was odd listening, but it seems they will wait for the result of the election before making any decisions. How much are the rights worth for a World Cup where Europe are missing? As for the sponsors, gutless wonders. They talk CSR, ignore it when dealing FIFA. They'll fall like Dominoes if one of the big ones goes, however they've already invested millions and the World Cup is awesome to be associated with. They are probably banking on people having short memories. They are however getting terrible PR right now. Worth noting a few major sponsors have already withdrawn quietly or let sponsorship expire
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Post by Gary Baldi on May 28, 2015 22:11:37 GMT
Blatter's address to FIFA was incoherent nonsense. I wouldn't be surprised if he was suffering from a degenerative mental condition. It would explain his lack of grasp of reality. His denials of what went on are funny. To say he has no control over people is true, but he was alerted to these issues in 2002 with ISL and did little to change the culture. The past 13 years he operated in knowledge of bribery and corruption in FIFA. 2018 and 2022 are open ended questions. SA hosting the world cup was an absolute bribe fest, and it seems Russia and Qatar are too. It would be hard to take it from Russia, Qatar not so much. They illegally procured the finals, so it's right to take it away. UEFA are keeping their powder dry. Platini's press conference was odd listening, but it seems they will wait for the result of the election before making any decisions. How much are the rights worth for a World Cup where Europe are missing? As for the sponsors, gutless wonders. They talk CSR, ignore it when dealing FIFA. They'll fall like Dominoes if one of the big ones goes, however they've already invested millions and the World Cup is awesome to be associated with. They are probably banking on people having short memories. They are however getting terrible PR right now. Worth noting a few major sponsors have already withdrawn quietly or let sponsorship expire Absolutely. But reading statements from Nike, adidas and McDonald's made me cringe. They've got burnt by association and release fairly pithy weak statements in response. CSR? CSR my arse. Why are these brands so scared of Sepp Blatter?
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Post by foley on May 29, 2015 8:50:58 GMT
Well today is the day.
Anybody betting against Blatter (I certainly am not).
I suspect that if Blatter wins, things will become very interesting. I am not sure that everybody will just accept it this time and UEFA/ the sponsors have the power if they gave ultimatums to make him stand down or make FIFA worthless.
Let's see ....
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