Blatter under investigation

[FiNeRaIn]

International football is crap anyway, we need to boycott fifa. Withdraw out of it. Enough is enough.

[Ian Royal]

*shock* Qatar's bloke and *gasp* Jack Warner are to be investigated fully. Blatter does not have an investigation to answer apparently.

Looks like Sepp is hanging Warner out to dry as a fall guy, unsurprising given he's the most unbelievably obviously corrupt of the lot.

But look who Blatter has got to wield the knife in Warner's back; Chuck Brazier of the USA.

Who stands to gain most if Jack Warner is kicked out of his position as head of CONACAF? (Here's a clue - the USA are also in that Federation....)

Finally, what happens if Bin Hammam IS found guilty of corruptiuon? No 2022 for Qatar. Any bets for which country WOULD get it in there place? (Here's a clue - the USA have all the stadia already ready, according to a certain Mr C Brazier.....)

Cynical? Moi??

Seriously, you couldn't make it up could you?

The sooner FIFA is scrapped and a new governing body is constitued to run World football, the better.

That is spectacular.

Surely we, and possibly the other big contenders for 2022 would also be ready particularly with at least 10 years lead time. We managed the Euros in 96 and since then there's been a lot of new stadia... Millenium, Eastlands, Emirates, Olympic stadium, not to mention Wembley...

[Mr Angry]

*shock* Qatar's bloke and *gasp* Jack Warner are to be investigated fully. Blatter does not have an investigation to answer apparently.

Looks like Sepp is hanging Warner out to dry as a fall guy, unsurprising given he's the most unbelievably obviously corrupt of the lot.

But look who Blatter has got to wield the knife in Warner's back; Chuck Brazier of the USA.

Who stands to gain most if Jack Warner is kicked out of his position as head of CONACAF? (Here's a clue - the USA are also in that Federation....)

Finally, what happens if Bin Hammam IS found guilty of corruptiuon? No 2022 for Qatar. Any bets for which country WOULD get it in there place? (Here's a clue - the USA have all the stadia already ready, according to a certain Mr C Brazier.....)

Cynical? Moi??

Seriously, you couldn't make it up could you?

The sooner FIFA is scrapped and a new governing body is constitued to run World football, the better.

That is spectacular.

Surely we, and possibly the other big contenders for 2022 would also be ready particularly with at least 10 years lead time. We managed the Euros in 96 and since then there's been a lot of new stadia... Millenium, Eastlands, Emirates, Olympic stadium, not to mention Wembley...

Except, Europe's turn was 2018; FIFA want to spread the word (and get lots of backhanders in the process) which is why Brazil have it in 2014 (South America's turn) why we bid for 2018 (Europes turn) and why Qatar got 2022 (Which the US and Australia also bid for).

There will be hand wringing, "with regret we cannot allow 2022 to go to Qatar" and then the US gets the nod with FIFA (eg: Blatter) deeming it unnecessary to hold another bidding process.

[Royal Rother]

I live in hope of a Fake Sheikh sting from NOTW.

[Ian Royal]

Course, sorry, I got mixed up with which one we went for.

[Mr Angry]

That Blatter news conference was just ; the guy is either totally deluded or believes that he is fundamentally untouchable.

Oh, and LOVE the grovelling "explanation" by the FIFA official who had emailed Jack Warner to say that Qatar had "bought" the 2022 WC; his explanation? "I was referring to their financial clout which allowed them to lobby the delegates so effectively".

Possibly the best euphemisim of the day!!

"Here, Mr ExCo delegate, let me "lobby" you with this brown envelope stuffed full of $100 bills......."

[Ian Royal]

FA and SFA telling FIFA to suspend presidential elections for the time being.

Bet Blatter loves the British Isles.

[Far from the royal crowds]

Chuck Blazer has now been rewarded for exposing the corruption in Fifa. He's been sacked by Warner's replacement, the acting president of Concacaf!

Now that's how to encourage further whistleblowers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13608081.stm

[Royal Rother]

You'd be hard pushed to make it up. Hopefully the blood letting will continue until they've all fallen on each others swords.

[Royal Rother]

You'd be hard pushed to make it up. Hopefully the blood letting will continue until they've all fallen on each other's swords.

[LUX]

I'm guessing I'm the only one who cannot give a toss about this story. Maybe Blatter etc are bent, they may well be, but having this as the lead item on BBC news over a prolonged period is an absolute fcking disgrace.

The whole thing also smacks of English bitterness over not getting the World Cup.

Get over it.

[Tails]

Agreed. This wouldn't receive the same amount of interest if it were something like the IOC.

[Barry the bird boggler]

From Yahoo...

Blazer sack attempt ahead of FIFA vote
Wed, 01 Jun 07:21:00 2011

As FIFA prepares to decide whether to re-elect Sepp Blatter as president on Wednesday, there was an attempt to sack whistle-blower Chuck Blazer from his position as general secretary of CONCACAF.

While FIFA shudders in the aftershock of bribery allegations, sponsors' disquiet and growing calls for reform, Blazer - the man who's whistle-blowing led to the suspension of two senior FIFA executives including Blatter's only rival for the presidency Mohamed Bin Hammam - was sacked.

An hour later, however, the regional body for North and Central America and the Caribbean declared that move invalid, saying the acting president's attempt to remove Blazer had been "unauthorised".

And on Wednesday morning the head of the German FA Theo Zwanziger said he did not expect the re-election of Blatter to be delayed - and called for the governing body to re-examine the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

"There is a considerable degree of suspicion that one cannot simply sweep aside, and I must expect that awarding this World Cup under these conditions needs to be examined anew," he told German television, referring to Qatar.

The Blazer incident, the latest fiasco including figures that govern the sport, magnified the chaos surrounding FIFA's congress in Zurich where the FA are leading calls for the presidential vote to be postponed. Political alliances have been torn apart and Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey has called for swift FIFA reform.

Asian anger is growing too, with local media reporting that numbers within the Asian ranks were angered by FIFA's handling of Bin Hammam, the Qatari head of the Asian Football Confederation, suspended following bribery allegations.

"We are planning to make our voices heard," Nepal's AFC vice-president Ganesh Thapa told Singapore's Straits Times. Mohamed Hammam has been a great leader for Asia. (What FIFA has done) is not fair play."

Meanwhile, Blatter insists football is not in crisis even as sponsors voice their dismay at the ugly underbelly of the beautiful game.

The drama crossed the Atlantic late on Tuesday when the CONCACAF region's acting president Lisle Austin - standing in for the suspended Jack Warner who was implicated in the cash-for-votes scandal highlighted by Blazer - sacked Blazer as general secretary of the region's football body.

Blazer had "grossly insulted" Caribbean delegates by suggesting they were all being investigated for bribery, said Barbadian Austin, who is viewed as a close Caribbean ally of Warner's.

Blazer swiftly responded with a statement issued by CONCACAF's media department in New York that said the move was "unauthorised" and that the American remained in office.

CONCACAF issued a statement saying: "Under the CONCACAF Statutes, jurisdiction over the general secretary rests solely with the CONCACAF executive committee which has taken no action.

"Further a majority of the executive committee Members have advised Mr. Austin that he does not have the authority to take such action."

Earlier, beleaguered president Blatter had told the opening ceremony of the Congress that FIFA faced dangers, while delegates gathered in sombre mood talking of little else but the impending gloom surrounding the organisation.

The crisis at FIFA, which Blatter preferred to call "a little difficulty" on Monday, has triggered responses from around the world but it is still not certain how FIFA's normally compliant delegates will act when congress opens for business on Wednesday and Blatter is expected to be re-elected for a fourth term.

Among those backing moves to stop him were FA president Prince William, who was "fully supportive" of the proposal and "considers the transparency of the international governing body to be integral to the good governance of the game", said a spokeswoman for St James's Palace.

Swiss President Calmy-Rey told delegates in no uncertain terms what she thought of the FIFA crisis, urging the governing body to "take seriously the many criticisms voiced about corruption and a lack of transparency.

"It is important you examine them swiftly and take the necessary measures to reform your governance. It is of the utmost importance because your organisation should be an example not only to young people but to the world at large.

"What is important is to restore full confidence in the organisation; let not money spoil your ideals," she added. Poignant as Calmy-Rey's calls for reform were, more concern to FIFA may be the views of sponsors.

Visa Inc and Emirates Airlines were the latest of FIFA's most important sponsors, or 'partners' as the governing body calls them, to express disquiet at recent allegations of corruption, following in the steps of Coca-Cola and Adidas who had earlier voiced concern.

"The current situation is clearly not good for the game and we ask that FIFA take all necessary steps to resolve the concerns that have been raised," Visa Europe said in a statement.

Emirates airline expressed its concern saying it was "disappointed with the issues that are currently surrounding the administration of the sport".

The only way Blatter will not be given a new term is if the Congress proposes and passes a motion to call off the election with the support of 75 per cent of voting delegates.

That, though, is unlikely to happen. Since Blatter became president the governing body has grown rich thanks to its ability to generate billions of dollars from television rights to major tournaments as well as sponsorship deals with large corporations.

Call for a postponement of the presidential vote refuse to die down, however, and the reasons are clear.

In the space of a few days, Qatar has been tainted by suggestions it bought the 2022 World Cup; the head of Asian football Bin Hammam and CONCACAF chief Warner have been suspended over bribery allegations; and Bin Hammam withdrew from the presidential race, leaving Blatter to run unopposed.

FIFA's general secretary Jerome Valcke has since said he did not mean to suggest Qatar had used bribes to get the World Cup, Qatar has flatly denied any wrongdoing, Bin Hammam has launched an appeal against his provisional suspension.

As a result, the calls for reform have only got louder. "They should postpone the election and really clear up everything, take some time and then hold a new election," Sylvi Schenk, sports advisor for the Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, told Reuters.

[Far from the royal crowds]

Agreed. This wouldn't receive the same amount of interest if it were something like the IOC.

But then, the IOC only emerge from their vaults once every few years for the press to take pot-shots at. This has been daily business for FIFA for at least the last 10 years

[Tails]

In any case, excellent excuse to take down the Swansea headlines from Monday.

[papereyes]

I found this funny.

[Tails]

I'm happy that despite the inevitable 'failure' to action any immediate change - the symbolic gesture by the FA in voicing their concerns would be exactly what I would have done.

[Royalee]

I hope the oxf*rd dies soon.

[PieEater]

Given he's 74 why on earth would he want to keep working for another 4 years. Presumably he's made a mint from backhanders, why not retire and enjoy it?

[The Surgeon of Crowthorne]

International football is crap anyway, we need to boycott fifa. Withdraw out of it. Enough is enough.

I liked a comment I saw on the Beeb's web site:
"England should follow Scotland's lead and never play in the World Cup again"