FIFA

joeyclams · Post by **joeyclams** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:02 pm

Dave Zirin at the Nation is doing some great articles on FIFA and soccer in general. His latest:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/208865/se ... socialflow

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 5:59 am

Fuck Qatar, let them pull the World Cup - billions in wasted money is a small price for that misbegotten country to pay.

2022 is far enough in the future for a new tournament based on a similar format. I'm sure that legally, it would be a nightmare to create, but if the big boys decided to back out of the qualifiers starting in 2020 and created their own, the chaos that would ensue would be great to see.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:22 am

Baloney · Post by **Baloney** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 6:39 am

govmentchedda wrote:Figo for President.

This, then we'd get the old offside rule back

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:18 pm

Tom 1860 wrote:
Hang on here, a I being called a proper right winger?

Not at all. Be happy you don't have to listen to the idiotic bullshit, or at least not as much as we do. Some people, wrapped in 'Murican patriotism, think we need to continue having our soldiers killed (and killing exponentially more innocent Muslims) in order to make the deaths of those who have already fallen meaningful. We were just making fun of that line of "logic." I'm sure we all agree with you 100% on the disgusting treatment of workers by the Qataris. They quite literally view the Indonesian, Bangladeshi and other workers as sub-human animals.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:21 pm

FBI looking into the awarding of WC 2018 and 2022.

On a side note, my oldest watched the Jeremy Schaap special on FIFA a few weeks ago with me. He now does a mean Sepp impression. "The winner to organize the Two Twenty Two FIFA World Cup is Qatar!"

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 1:39 pm

The Sybian wrote:
Tom 1860 wrote:
Hang on here, a I being called a proper right winger?

Not at all. Be happy you don't have to listen to the idiotic bullshit, or at least not as much as we do. Some people, wrapped in 'Murican patriotism, think we need to continue having our soldiers killed (and killing exponentially more innocent Muslims) in order to make the deaths of those who have already fallen meaningful. We were just making fun of that line of "logic." I'm sure we all agree with you 100% on the disgusting treatment of workers by the Qataris. They quite literally view the Indonesian, Bangladeshi and other workers as sub-human animals.

I meant to tip this in when it came up earlier: The Qatari overlords refused to allow the Nepalese workers to return home in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in April. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/05/nepales ... earthquake" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Two things about this:

1) The article mentions that WC workers, in particular, were not allowed to leave due to pressure on the companies/slaveholders to complete projects on schedule. I'm just going to reiterate what I said yesterday: These fucking slime are going to push as hard as they can to get these venues up as soon as possible, simply as a means of forcing FIFA (and its sponsors) hands from a contractual and legal standpoint. Everyone just saying "fuck Qatar, pull the event from them" are being pretty naive. I'm not saying it's not going to happen, especially as more and more comes out from the DoJ/FBI investigations, but Qatar is obviously not going to go out quietly.

2) Knock me over with a feather re: folks not really knowing just how bad things are for the workers. This story about the earthquake got very little coverage, and it's incredibly hard to document exactly what's going because... Qatar. BBC and other reporters are being locked up or more routinely just not given access.

Someone joked about keeping the WC in confederation by giving it to N. Korea. The reality, very sadly and maddeningly, is that in many ways, Qatar isn't all that far off. This was one of the reasons many people were freaking out about both Russia and Qatar... Once they got the bid, there was going to be very little anyone could do to uncover or to even discuss all the horseshit we knew was going to go down.

In so many ways, it's really fitting that their collective hubris about these bids is going to be what brings the whole thing down.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 5:03 am

The Irish FA was paid to shut up after the Henry handball put France in the World Cup over the Irish.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/s ... e24816616/

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 5:35 am

So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:20 am

rass wrote:So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?

Holy fuck, that makes me irate all over again. I cannot imagine how angry Irish soccer fans will be.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:25 am

Also, the fact that a local NYC station reported this story this morning as in relation to a "handball by a French player" while showing pictures of Henry really shows the level of impact that the MLS has around here.

Though just before that, the same station reported the final score of last night's NBA game as 105-98, so maybe they just suck.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:32 am

rass wrote:So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?

And worse at math.

(I don't get the FIFA side. Either it's a blown call and you don't pay out on blown calls or its acknowledgment of match fixing known at the highest levels, right?)

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 6:32 am

tennbengal wrote:
rass wrote:So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?
Holy fuck, that makes me irate all over again. I cannot imagine how angry Irish soccer fans will be.

That was my thought - if the Irish FA had any credibility, they would have gone public with this the day it happened. What would FIFA do? Kick them out of world soccer?

They definitely ceded any right to the moral high ground here.

They seem a tad upset in Ireland by this news. http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2015/060 ... nt-to-fai/

Here's a quote from the Irish FA -

"FIFA's settlement with the Association has at no time influenced the FAI's criticism of FIFA as demonstrated by our consistent criticisms of Sepp Blatter. Furthermore the settlement was made without any conditions other than confidentiality."

John Delaney was the head of the Irish FA -

At the time of the incident in 2009, Delaney was quick to stress that money was not of interest to the FAI, saying "it's not about money. This is about sporting integrity."

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:09 am

Glad to see this is a big enough story to spawn ridiculously off-base political cartoons.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 8:41 am

The basic deal with the FAI-FIFA thing:

* This was a HUGE deal when it happened. Not so much in the US, where were just happy to be going to South Africa and were probably playing some inconsequential friendlies. But for the rest of the soccer world, this was THE MATCH and it was a massive scandal. Made all the more scandalous when Henry admitted to his handling of the ball and agreeing that there should be a rematch.

* Ireland was threatening legal action. There was massive pressure on Blatter and FIFA to "do something." Massive.

* In the previous WCQ round (2005), a referee made an incredible blunder on an encroachment call on a PK call. The team taking the kick had a player in the box early. Instead of having the PK retaken, he inexplicably awarded a free kick to the defending team. (Actually seems like a fair call, but that's not the point.) So FIFA invalidated the result and they replayed the entire game.

* FIFA wanted no part of replay. To be fair to them, the precedent would've resulted in non-stop bullshit, so they essentially settled with the FAI.

* FAI was crying foul and making a huge deal until, suddenly, they weren't. It was widely assumed at the time that they were paid off to keep quiet.

On the spectrum of shadiness we're hearing about this week, this just doesn't seem that big of a deal. Unless they can prove that a person eventually got rich off of this, it's a lot less of an issue than what Blazer and Warner and others are being accused of straight up graft.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 8:44 am

mister d wrote:
rass wrote:So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?
And worse at math.

(I don't get the FIFA side. Either it's a blown call and you don't pay out on blown calls or its acknowledgment of match fixing known at the highest levels, right?)

yeah not sure I get FIFA's side either. Only thing I can think of is a tight timeline and bad press? Match was played Nov 15 and the draw was made Dec 6? No time for a replay or an appeal or a court case, even if FIFA would have won that court case for sure.

I think it shows FIFA's arrogance. What's 5 million to them? Just pay it out, muzzle the Irish FA, avoid bad press and move on.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 9:40 am

degenerasian wrote:
mister d wrote:
rass wrote:So am I crazy, or does that look worse for the Irish FA than FIFA?
And worse at math.

(I don't get the FIFA side. Either it's a blown call and you don't pay out on blown calls or its acknowledgment of match fixing known at the highest levels, right?)

yeah not sure I get FIFA's side either. Only thing I can think of is a tight timeline and bad press? Match was played Nov 15 and the draw was made Dec 6? No time for a replay or an appeal or a court case, even if FIFA would have won that court case for sure.

I think it shows FIFA's arrogance. What's 5 million to them? Just pay it out, muzzle the Irish FA, avoid bad press and move on.

That was definitely par of it. It would've been a massive headache, as they had started turning the drawing into a big spectacle starting in the 90s. That year I remember Charlize Theron being a big part of the festivities.

But, also, precedent.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:10 am

Germany sends rocket-propelled grenades to Saudi Arabia to garner vote to host in 2006.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sports ... -vote.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now THIS is what I'm talking about.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:14 am

The awarding of the 2006 world cup has always been a bit fishy. Why did that New Zealand dude abstain?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 12:31 pm

Yet another FA "comes clean" about it's dealings with Warner/ExComm hijinks.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victor ... f5967482c2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:54 pm

Is this the start of the whole house of cards collapsing, or will a few scalps be taken and things go back to running the way they always have?

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:19 pm

Pruitt wrote:Is this the start of the whole house of cards collapsing, or will a few scalps be taken and things go back to running the way they always have?

i think the whole house is falling and next FIFA elections will be interesting. It's like a fight for the vacant heavyweight champion of the world.

We have two official candidates already.

Prince Ali and David Ginola.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:34 pm

degenerasian wrote:
Pruitt wrote:Is this the start of the whole house of cards collapsing, or will a few scalps be taken and things go back to running the way they always have?

i think the whole house is falling and next FIFA elections will be interesting. It's like a fight for the vacant heavyweight champion of the world.

We have two official candidates already.

Prince Ali and David Ginola.

and Teddy Goalsevelt!

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:10 pm

Wasn't Ginola's credibility ruined when it turned out his brief candidacy last time was sponsored by gambling site paddy power?

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... addy-power

Ginola, who did not present an election manifesto or name any policies he would put in place as Fifa president, has been paid £250,000 by Paddy Power. The bookmaker has set up a website for public donations towards Ginola’s campaign and has set a fundraising target of £2.3m.

Ginola will be paid the full £250,000 fee even if his campaign fails to get beyond the end of January. Ginola will receive 10% of all pledges if they surpass £1m. A breakdown of costs was published on Friday and the budget included £565,000 for advertising and £100,000 for security.

It was quite revolting to hear him talk about cleaning up the game, when this was the reason he was put forward as a candidate.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:29 pm

By the time the FBI, Swiss and whoever else gets involved is done, I'm just not sure FIFA is going to be in a position to just hold elections and declare a new day.

In the short term, I think it's highly likely that Blatter and just about every current ExComm member is going to be up to his ass in legal problems. Who is going to administer the damn place when the slice off the head of the snake?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:12 am

Fifa movie, United Passions, made $607 in a 10 theater opening weekend.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:21 am

The 19 most ridiculous moments from United Passions

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:29 am

To think, Sam Neill made a movie about modern day dinosaurs that was more believable than this.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:19 am

So, with the initial Holy Shit vibe transitioning into "what next?" mode:

When does the USSF and Gulati become more of a focal point in this fiasco? Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner have been known commodities to those paying attention for well over a decade. Shit, if you tried to watch the US play away WCQ matches, you know how shady the rights buying business has been over the years. And that's just the stuff that was in plain sight... we now know the potential for shenanigans based on the allegations against Traffic.

I'm not implying Gulati or anyone at Soccer House is complicit or directly involved. But there are going to be some difficult questions coming there way as this investigation unfolds.

Post by **Sabo** » Wed Jun 10, 2015 11:03 am

I think I need to buy this.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:44 am

You're kidding.

Report: Sepp Blatter reconsidering his resignation as FIFA president

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:51 am

Johnny Carwash wrote:You're kidding.

Report: Sepp Blatter reconsidering his resignation as FIFA president

Totally believable. Almost cliche.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 10:56 am

tennbengal wrote:
Johnny Carwash wrote:You're kidding.

Report: Sepp Blatter reconsidering his resignation as FIFA president
Totally believable. Almost cliche.

I'm thinking that he is banking on no smoking gun coming out of the investigation(s). Which would be pretty stunning, given how brazen and stupid some of the ExComm people were over the years.

But if he were smart, he'd STFU and let the dust settle. He's keeping a story alive that had pretty much died down over the last week.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 11:36 am

Once these weasels are interviewed a couple of times, a smoking gun will appear.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:27 pm

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 5:36 pm

Could you precis that clip?

Watching US Senators go after another corrupt bureaucracy for two hours might damn near kill me.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 7:42 pm

USSF had no knowledge of bribery but thought some of the meetings were weird.

British jounalist Jennings calls USSF cowards for not stopping Warner.

They also talk a lot about the deaths in Qatar

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 8:03 pm

degenerasian wrote:USSF had no knowledge of bribery but thought some of the meetings were weird.

British jounalist Jennings calls USSF cowards for not stopping Warner.

They also talk a lot about the deaths in Qatar

Sure they didn't.

Or if they did - why didn't they go public? Probably because the lure of good dinners and VIP treatment is too much for the average weasel to act against.

DC47 · Post by **DC47** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:22 am

USSF CEO Dan Flynn caught on tape:

CONCACEF is reputed to be the dirtiest regional federation. Kind of hard to be a part of that group and "see nothing" year after year, I'd think.

Sunil Gulati, the long-time senior officer of the USSF is conspicuous by his absence. Could this be due to his long-time ties to Chuck Blazer?

I've always been curious as to how countries whose soccer federations were not the major winners in the Blatter corruption-athon did not get together to try to expose it. The USA and major European federations that have recently opposed Blatter come to mind. If open opposition and calls for independent investigation really would have led to disastrous recriminations from FIFA (which is not clear at all to me), then perhaps they could have acted sub rosa. Perhaps by working with law enforcement agencies. As is now happening, but not apparently on the initiative of the leaders of any pro-reform soccer federations.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:44 am

I'm in no way excusing anything, but I presume the silence has a lot to do with concerns over getting screwed in countless ways by Blatter and his ExComm cronies. I don't claim to know all the ways you can get screwed by FIFA, but I'm sure if we thought about it we could rip through a list pretty easily.