I've just read a report on the BBC sports pages, regarding Zenit St Petersberg and their fans, who are demanding that the club should have a white players only policy, and no gays allowed. UEFA and FIFA are a waste of time when it comes to doling out punishment for racial abuse or prejudice, as we saw last week when Serbia were given a slap on the wrist. These eastern european clubs get away with murder, as do the Turks and Balkans clubs. The fine given to Serbia was nowhere near what Bednter got fined by the same people for showing his shreddies recently. Only yesterday the FIFA rep for Africa was done was corruption and the bloke who shafted the world to get the World Cup in the desert was banned for life. I think decent well run countries should form a breakaway group and tell FIFA et all to fook off, because they're not worthy and why should paying fans subsidise their lavish bent lifestyle. They're crooks and self interested gobshytes. Wasn't too long ago that the champions league final was played in Moscow, which allowed flights prices and hotels prices to rise by over 1000%, but UEFA wern't bothered as they traveled and stayed for free. Decent fans were allowed to be fleeced by Russian Mafia types. Play and watch the game as it was meant, or fook off and stay away from our game
Relax guys. This is a load of mono-cultural silly little children. Zenit will continue to pick & buy whoever they think will help the club, as would we all. We would take anyone from ManUre if we could afford them & the club thought they would benefit the team. So relax over the sillyness of a small dodgy part of the Zenit supporters family. Of bigger concern would be if Russia had to host a major event or if Zenit had to host major opposition containing black players. UEFA will eventually grow a pair & tell Central & Eastern clubs that they risk being kicked out for such behaviour. This will be highlighted if/when British & other sides actually walk off the pitch in protest during a game. Spherical growing is a two-way street. We shouldn't expect new Europe to grow a pair if we won't!!
I'm a strong believer in fan power, and I do think supporters should be able to influence the type of player that comes into the club (nothing would have given me greater satisfaction than to see a LUST director on the board veto the Diouf signing, for instance). I could understand Arsenal fans wanting more English players in their team, which seems to now be mainly filled with Francophone Africans. However this stuff goes beyond the fans of the club wanting to preserve an Academy focus, a local dedication, or a 'firm but fair' type work ethic from the players that come into their club. A more intelligent and diplomatic fan group would have said that they want Zenit to entirely focus their energies on developing local youngsters rather than buying from abroad, and that would have solved the 'problem' of ethnic minorities playing for them in great numbers. If they come to own their club (which they won't, since they're the bitches of Gazprom who've made a name for them and are going nowhere), and a majority take the decision that black and gay players should be excluded, in my view their decision stands until a majority of their own hit back against it. You shouldn't stop that from happening by law, because they are the rightful proprietors and the people who know their club best. But until then, their voices should not be influential on this issue. And even if a fan takeover did happen, I think the backlash from the rest of football speaking out against it would be extraordinary, and even white and straight players would be put off from wanting to join them, which would force them back into the dark ages of football - quite appropriate because their views are from the dark ages of human thought.
Hi Doc, Big challenge here. Who would these "well run countries" include? I am currently reading "Broken Dreams" all about the English FA, Premier League and the weak attempt by the government to try to do something about the corruption, etc., in the English game. Many pages featuring lovable chaps like Ken Bates and Terry Venables. Read it and feel the hair rise on your neck. It is absolutely shocking - to me anyway!
Jonny Football in this country has been double bent for years. You only need to look at one of our most respected managers who for some reason hasn't worked for years. George Graham should have walked into any job he wanted, but since being done for the bung scandal, he's toast. Why hasn't Curbishley worked for years? Everyone knows that loveable Harry has been on the take for years, so he's the only one able to get a job out of all of them. look at the chairmen that have been allowed into the game over the last 10-years, and see how many of them have ruined clubs. some of these chairmen are wanted in other countries for murder, vice, corruption, racketeering, smuggling ........ We are the only country who allows foreign ownership in football, and I wonder why. Even that bent organisation FIFA state that foreign ownership is all about overseas gambling syndicates and money laundering, yet our FA allow it because it brings money in.
Hi Doc, are you saying the GG has been scared straight and that AC is too honest? I had no idea about Terry Venables until I read the book. It is a shocker to read all this stuff, even knowing going in that it was not exactly clean.
George Graham took the rap and kept his mouth shut over the rest of the crooked dealings, they all need to donate a portion of there overpaid salaries to GG each month.
Be the same as the Poland/Ukraine Euros. Hooligans and racists will be priced out and it will be more of a family atmosphere, with the odd pub attack and flare being lit, but no more disorder than if it were hosted in any country of that economic situation. Not that it will stop the press, the sheeple and the society of technicolour solicitors making a huge fuss about it beforehand.
