Voting results for Olympics, World cups and other big sport events are always predetermined. It's not chaotic stuff, there are enormous business interests and huge money involved. But I'm really impressed by your logic. If it's an agreement then it's a bribery too? Blatter really told about bribery? I didn't find that secret part. It's not published in "free press" and i'm not watching X-files show
It's nice to read about free votes, but there is no free voting when it's worldwide question. Sorry to break illusions. Here is interesting article about how it's actually going on when big kids are trying to get voices...Bill Clinton, Prince William, David Cameron...do you really think they just came to look silently at those who likes England or USA bids? When You Play Game of Thrones You Win Or You Die. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/14/how-russia-won-the-world-cup
You've proved your point. All above board. I’m sure if anything untoward was going on, like massive amounts of money changing hands then Warner, Blatter, Platini & other FIFA officials would have been suspended & arrested for taking bribes. Russia & Qatar bribed FIFA officials to get the finals. The finals were good but they were garnered through bribery & corruption. Live with it.
Not sure why you're singling out those two, brown envelopes have changed hands for every World Cup for years, it's the way they were all secured.
The most recent of the Blatter years that made the corruption come to light, one of which is the tournament we’ve just had.
VAR did not fail. Two previous penalties had been given for ball to hand. Punching the ball out for a corner was always going to be given with those precedents.
VAR failed because it is not fit for purpose. The penalty wasn’t initially given. The ref was pressurised by the VAR team to give the it. A situation where a goal is awarded from a free kick that should have obviously gone to the other team & the VAR team are unable to intervene is ridiculous & proves further that VAR is not fit for purpose. I stand by my initial comment that France are World Champions because VAR failed. France being the better team doesn’t change that. France scoring three more goals is irrelevant because with a VAR system that was fit for purpose their first goal would never have stood & the rest of the game would have been completely different.
Of course the game could have panned out differently with France scoring 5 or 6. I don't agree with VAR for the same reason I don't agree with the systems used in rugby, both union and league, not every game has the systems in place.
I’ve said from the off that France may well have won anyway. My statement simply states that the reason France won is that VAR failed. I’m sure they would have preferred to have scored 5 or 6 fair goals & be crowned World Champions without the need for questions to be raised. The every game scenario will raise it’s head in the FA Cup next year with different rules for different grounds.
I've managed to live with the controversy in 1966 since when envious Jocks, and others with no sense of geography, says were down to a " Russian linesman ". Who knows if that goal hadn't been given play might have been different and we would have scored another 3.
Oh...talking about bribery again...it looks like you just can't accept and live with the fact that largest country of the world is absolutely worthy to take and make great any finals. By the way, maybe you don't know voting results. USA, Germany, France voted for Russian bid like a lot of others who were "bribed&corrupted" (like you tell), a lot of others voted for Spain/Portugal and only noncorrupted England and Japan voted for each other. It's very funny to read. Thanks a lot )))
Had there been no VAR at this World Cup, the penalty probably wouldn't have been given and France would have won 3-2 instead of 4-2.
Wheels within wheels as my dad always used to say.Though he normally did that when I sas right and he didn't want to admit it.
Pussy Riot have been charged for disrupting the WCF, the max fines are shockingly Rugby Leaguesque, just 10K Roubles or £121, I thought they'd have been Novichoked at least!
Like us in 1966. Though it will be pointed out, correctly, the game would have panned out differently as the restart of play would have been differrent. Of course that may have meant England and France scoring more than what they did.
Now the World Cup is over, who know without googling, who is still the only player to score a hat trick in two World Cup finals? One of may all time favourite players and an example of great players not always winning a load of trophies.
