I see he won by default as all the opposition stood down... Would be tragically hilarious if he actually has had the audacity to chuck all his opponents a bung to stand down in the midst of the current scandal. He'd probably get away with it.
The question for me is what came first - the bribes of some countries, or the culture which made it necessary? Seriously, did anyone here begrudge Africa their first World Cup in 2010? With Mandela and Tutu batting for them, South Africa's PR was excellent. A country with a dirty past, trying hard to put it right - who really begrudged them that World Cup? Let's face it, on a level playing field, they'd have got it fair and square. South Africa have already been implicated in info the FBI have, but if FIFA had been a level playing ground, would they have needed to pay those bribes? We could say the same about South Korea and Japan who held a bloody good competition but maybe had to pay bribes to get it because without it, they wouldn't have. Russia and Brazil could say the same. (Qatar is admittedly a different matter with their summer heat). What came first? - that's the question. If you're going to succeed in a dirty business, you have to play dirty - it's forced onto you. One thing I do like about the U.S.A. is that their judges are very common sense people - witness the Jack Dempsey trial for decking two muggers (fined $1). I'm pleased the U.S.A. are involved with this. I think they'll very likely get to the crux of it - and nowt between death row and a $1 fine is beyond them. I rather like that.
You have to admit he is one willy operator, but like most of his ilk overconfidence will be his downfall, even though I agree in principle with what he is trying to do he is going about it the wrong way imo, and EUFA, or the USA will oust him.
Some old biddy on Radio4 just called him Brett Slapper She was congratulated for the best spoonerism on R4 in years
The hardest part to take in all this is the French and Spanish voted for Blather, the Russians and their friends would be the obvious ones but those two are unbelievable. Secondly, he has not done anything worth having for European football but concentrated on the money side of the game to pour into developing countries, especially poorer African nations, and they all have a vote of course just the same as the Euro countries. UEFA pulling out of tournaments will only guarantee a S American or African country will be world champions regardless. Jule Rimet and Stanley Rous will be spinning in their graves, but if there is a footballing god he will strike Blatter down. The only possible thing which may break his stranglehold on FIFA is a huge loss of revenue from the sponsors he has built up over the years and the handouts will dry up but this will take so much time. He has all the scruples of a Wall Street banker so let them take him on at his own game because football as we know it is lost with him at the top.
Two UK banks have started internal reviews into whether they were used for corrupt payments by Fifa officials, the BBC understands. Barclays and Standard Chartered, together with HSBC, were referred to in the FBI indictment of seven senior Fifa officials last week. Meanwhile Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham has called on England to boycott the next World Cup. However, Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said it cannot act alone.
There's been times before when England didn't qualify for the Finals. The World Cup carried on without us. Doing it alone is an absolute non-starter, just an empty gesture. It would achieve nothing except hurting England.
Without all of the Uefa teams it's not a world cup. It's the copa america. Platini needs to force the issue.
Fifa crisis: South Africa 'admits $10m football payout' 31 May 2015 From the sectionAfrica please log in to view this image South Africa was chosen ahead of Morocco to host the 2010 World Fifa vote: Why Africa backs Blatter Corrupt Fifa official blogged travels Fifa scandal 'a disaster' for sponsors South Africa did pay $10m (£6.5m) to a football body led by Jack Warner, a figure at the centre of Fifa corruption allegations, local media say. Danny Jordaan, head of South Africa's FA, is quoted as confirming that the amount was deducted from a Fifa payment to the country in 2008. A subsequent letter requested that money to be sent, instead, to the Caribbean Football Union, reports say. South African officials deny it was a bribe to secure the 2010 World Cup. But US prosecutors insist South Africa made an illegal payment after the government promised $10m to Mr Warner - then a Fifa vice-president - in exchange for the "Rainbow Nation" becoming the first African country to host the World Cup. Fifa chose South Africa as host ahead of Morocco. please log in to view this image The Fifa crisis dominates Sunday's South African newspapers Danny Jordaan could not be reached for comment on Sunday, but he is quoted as insisting the money was paid to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) in 2008 as South Africa's contribution towards their football development fund. The BBC's Andrew Harding in Johannesburg says unnamed officials have confirmed that the payment was made to support football development among members of the African diaspora - something which does make sense in the political context of the time. The latest reports come with Fifa - the governing body of world football - in crisis. Senior Fifa officials face a string of bribery charges. Its head, Sepp Blatter has not been implicated but has faced calls to stand down. He was re-elected as Fifa president on Friday. In other developments: Two UK banks have launched internal reviews into whether they were used for corrupt payments by Fifa officials, the BBC understands Sepp Blatter's daughter Corinne has told the BBC that there was a conspiracy against her father who is not corrupt and has "earned every penny" English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has called on the president of Uefa to show strong leadership to unite Europe behind a collective boycott of the 2018 World Cup.
