In line with its series of nursery rhymes updated, I saw a number of popular football chants updated to incororate the FIFA scandal in the June edition of Private Eye. The one I liked particularly now goes: "Who's the bastard, who's the bastard, who's the bastard in the black? Oh, it's the FBI. Sorry officer, I'll come quietly" Also: "You only sing when you.. think it'll get a shorter sentence" Apparently all of these favourites will be released in a "Now That's What I Call FIFA Football Songs 2016" CD The Nursery Rhyme update: Little Jack Warner Sat in the corner With a finger in every pie A surprise lay in store There's a knock at his door Oh look! It's the FBI !
I do browse the jokes in Private Eye when i'm looking around Smiths when i'm down my local High St....good chuckle.
Would you adam and eve it they have finally made that arrest. Years late but they got there in the end. Any bets that nice Mr Blatter finds a way to get out of this one. His cries of innocence have as much ring of truth about them as that Presidential one that went something like "I never had sexual relations with that woman" or Prime Minister one that went something like "They have weapons of mass destruction".
I find it difficult to be surprised about Blatter.....like the media seem able to be with their shock horror headlines.
Didn't you just know what the next line would be in this. "I'm not standing down as President" say Blater. No **** Sherlock you don't say. This bloke has more brass neck than a candlestick. You have to admire his Nero act though in some ways. I see they are also looking into how the award of the next 2 World cups has been decided. I'd save them the bother and expense. There were bribes left right and centre. There you go it's solved. Mind you, with everyone knowing how the system worked, and they would have, then who out of those who applied for them would be innocent? Apart from England of course which goes without saying. Offering "presents" is a way of life in most of the Countries so it's hardly shocking it happens in sport as well is it.
It seems that Sep Blatter's troubles are now over and his reputation restored. He has been endorsed as the right man for the job by none other than Bernie Ecclestone, who is well placed to judge as he himself was twice accused of corruption last year alone. Apparently corrupt payments are a "tax football has to pay" in order to widen the reach of the game across the globe. Lyndhurst follows F1 fan like me and so he will fully understand Ecclestone's reputation amongst F1 fans. As my mother used to say when I'd got into some scrape or other with one of my school friends " a fine pair got togther ".
Bernie Ecclestone knows all about soapboxes.....he needs one to be able to have a face to face chat ....with anyone.....the man is literally a midget....and wields so much power that you wonder how he obtained it and how he retains it.....looks like a nudge nudge wink wink situation to me.....but what do I know.
It's the same old thing, ultimate power corrupts ultimately. I don't follow brum brum cars racing around in circles but I do know of Bernie. It's just another example of the FIFA porblem. One man and too much power is not good. Most people in Blatter's situation would bow out as quietly as possible and count their pennies in retirement. This guy seems to have some sort of mental health problem in grasping the situation. He just ignores it and carries on as if nothing is happening. Perhaps he's a fan of Russian Roulette.
In light of today's elections I thought I would bump this thread for a final time. Shock horror surprise surprise the new man at the helm is none other than Platini's right hand man from the old regime. You really would think they would steer well clear of anyone who could possibly be connected to the old guard wouldn't you. I don't know anything about this bloke but a cynical person would say it seems a bit of a carve up. Will anything change despite the new way voted for before the actual election took place.
Football will struggle to regain credibility until someone from outside football takes charge: someone like a senior ex diplomat, judge or banker. Yes, I know I'll take stick particularly for the last of the three suggestions but those people live and breathe governance and compliance and without the lure of mega-bucks bonuses, I don't see why a banker wouldn't be better than what we've got now. Also, the 2022 World Cup bid has to be re-run. That decision was so ludicrous for it to be certain it was corrupt. Ideally, the Russian bid would be re-run too because voting for 2 World Cups simultaneously was bound to result in vote rigging but it's probably too late to stop it now. Still, at the rate they're going in international affairs and doping, Russia may be boycotted by then.
Sad isn't it. I actually believe that the people on the committee really can't see that people will think it's yet another carve up and same old same old. They are so entrenched in their bribes and being feted they are oblivious to anything else. The time approaches when probably Europe will seperate from FIFA and form their own association. Somebody has to. I don't think anyone will boycott Russia. They should but they haven't got the bottle at the minute and people like the FA don't want to dip out. Too much money involved. Qatar will also go ahead unless the envelopes stop changing hands and somebody developes a backbone.
Agreed, i think the Envelopes will become bigger now for Qatar.. I think the FA should take a stand and not go to Russia or Qatar.. why cant the rest of Europe just have their own tournaments like the one this summer, Fuc k the rest of the world its all corrupt in South America also.. The bungs will never stop.. How many brown envelopes did you see at the council Sensible with the higher people or did they not accept them ?
There are certain parts of this World where bribes, or as they would call them presents, are just part and parcel of how things are done. It has been the same forever in these places and they don't see it as wrong in any shape or form. South America, Africa and Middle East are rife with that kind of thing and always have been. Hence why masses of the populations live in squallor whilst the elite live in penthouses. Having said that though Joe, do you really believe that the UK didn't try to "make selection easier" in their own bid for the competition? We do like to believe we are better than that but in truth we aren't. There is so much money involved these days in these things it is inevitable. The FA will never make a stand because they would have too much cash to lose and that comes before any set of principals.
I read in today's Sunday Times that the reason FIFA have been so quick to pass a package of reforms is that the FBI were threatening to declare it an "illegal organisation", a category in which they'd be grouped together with organised crime, drug cartels etc etc. FIFA's assets would have been frozen in large parts of the world as the Americans are very happy to penalise foreign banks for transactions outside the US between non-American clients! The power of the dollar eh? It's a bit like Monthy Python's proposed tax on foreigners living abroad. Let's hope the involvement of the FBI is a game changer. It was however also pointed out that if Blatter had been able to stand, he would have been re-elected even now thanks to votes from those "certain parts of the world". It was also noted that Infantino's first step had been to hand out millions of dollars to local football associations, apropros of nothing, which is exactly how Blatter got us here in the first place!
