In case you hadn’t noticed we should be aware of the potential impact of Man City’s legal claim against the Premier League. They are claiming they will not be able to progress without freedom to spend and invest in an unlimited fashion which potentially impacts two thirds of the Prem. Things could turn nasty this summer. What do others think?
Sadly… I can see this dragging things out longer. Essentially, the Premier League were caught napping when City were taken over and hired lawyers smart enough to jet them circumvent most of the rules or do things that there weren’t simply rules for yet. Suspect that this is just more of the same, ultimately they wield more clout (or are trying to wield more clout) than those in charge. Then, if they lead the way, they get to choose the future direction of competitions, leagues in the future.
BREAKING NEWS. Lance Armstrong is suing the Tour de France for banning performance enhancing drugs. More to follow…
The fact that they are even complaining about the way the league requires votes and 14 out of 20 clubs to agree to something is ridiculous. Specifically that City’s suit claims the voting system preserves “the tyranny of the majority” tells you everything you need to know about the club’s hierarchy.
Now it is reported by the Times that the Foreign Office is applying pressure to the Prem to let the 115 beaches by City go to preserve the UK’s trading position with UAE. That means the Saudis (City and Newcastle) can make up the rules to suit and ride rough shod over the other 18 by threatening the UK to cease to trade with the uk!
There was an article in (I think) one of the Sunday papers, about Sheik Mohammed Mansoor's Godolphin horse racing stables: The Dubai (?) royal family has treated the female members of the family despicably - Indian commandos intercepted the ship that the princesses were trying to escape on, then returned the princesses to Dubai, in exchange for an Arab businessman who was wanted for embezzlement, or similar, in India. In short, horse racing is so much 'in hock' to the Godolphin stable, that the owner can get away with almost everything, and racing authorities turn a blind eye to any issues. The article finished by saying that football is heading in the same 'sportswashing' direction as horse racing.
Yes it looks that way. It would be good if we could be told the truth about the value of the UK’s trade with Dubai and there may be other “diplomatic” issues we never hear about.
https://www.thetimes.com/sport/foot...shing-premier-league-legal-football-q88wc7dbw Be aware of the potential devastation being caused by a country that has become the cuckoo in the Premier League’s nest.
Well then maybe the rule allowing all this money from despotic rulers is illegal also and the owners should be kicked out?
Not that UEFA or FIFA arent absolutely bathing in corruption themselves, but you usually get in deep **** with FIFA if your government directly interferes with your league or international team.
Quite easy. Rulers who are involved in the murder of journalists definitely aren't allowed to sports wash their reputations by buying premier league football teams?
Is that the only criteria? I'm not being deliberately awkward btw and agree with you on principle but feel in reality it's way too far gone and most the money in the game is dirty in some aspect. Is it also not a bit hypocritical if we say that certain nations can't own our football clubs due to a lack of morals while we're happy to sell the same regimes arms?
Well I definitely didn’t say it was ok to sell them arms! But there is a real issue here in allowing corrupt regimes to use sport to make them seem above board. Obviously it is too far gone. We gave up any morality a long time ago. But my point was corrupt regimes who are happy to murder dissenters don’t really get to play the ‘well the law says’ card, which was your original point.
Good opinion piece by Barney Ronay in The Guardian on all this. Though I question if he has ever read The Tiger Who Came To Tea. https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...actics-spotlight-autocratic-creep-in-football
