Is anyone else staggered by the many levels of corrupt, money grubbing, abhorrent behaviour on display in this latest FIFA scandal?

Sepp Blatter was either grossly incompetent not see the corruption going on right under his nose, or he was in on it; there's no option C here. Either way, he should have stood down. Now he's saying Europe are running a hate campaign against him. Really? We just made all the evidence up did we? This man's level of hubris blows my mind!

And the FIFA sponsors are no better. VISA, Nike, McDonalds, EA Sports, etc....most have come out and with a "tut, tut, this is wrong" response but none of them are making a stand and pulling out of their sponsorship deals. Too much money to lose to their competitors. They only have morals providing it doesn't hurt their bottom line.

And all this is without mentioning the many poor slave labour souls who are dying on building sites in Qatar just so 22 men can kick a bag of air around in a few years time. Truly disgusting.

Oh, and kudos to the States for having to balls to take a stand and expose this. They've not exactly been a shining light on the world stage of late, but everyone here in UK is genuinely applauding (if a little embarrassed that we didn't do something ourselves).

DaveT said:

Oh, and kudos to the States for having to balls to take a stand and expose this. They've not exactly been a shining light on the world stage of late, but everyone here in UK is genuinely applauding (if a little embarrassed that we didn't do something ourselves).

I don't think it's strictly true that we in the UK did nothing. In 2010 Panarama broadcast a programme highlighting the corruption and this was followed by a huge Sunday Times starting in 2011 and continuing until 2014 when it said it had "hundreds of millions" of documents that proved evidence of bribery & corruption.

The attourneys were from the US and it'll be interesting to see if Michael Garcia's report (either the original version or the "legally appropriate version") ever makes it into the public domain. I think this has been a genuinely worldwide effort as the Swiss & the Germans have been involved too & many others i suppose. We should be proud of the fact that so many countries were involved in trying to establish the truth.

The fact that no sponsors have pulled out is embarrassing. People should boycott them. Some of the sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Visa raised concerns in 2010 but did no more than that. There is no way that a single person in any of these companies couldn't have known that something was going on. Blatt too...how he kept his position goodness knows. I do wonder if people were frightened of what he might do if he were ousted and started talking? Hopefully he'll bow out gracefully and retire or something. I doubt it though.

Unfortunately I believe that corruption plays a massive part in sport and I wish that they'd taken a much harsher stand so that others watching got worried. Sadly I don't know if a few arrests will get too many palms sweating...guess we need to see what they're sentences are. Interesting times ahead for football.

[Edited 5/30/15 5:09am]

DaveT said:

Is anyone else staggered by the many levels of corrupt, money grubbing, abhorrent behaviour on display in this latest FIFA scandal?

Sepp Blatter was either grossly incompetent not see the corruption going on right under his nose, or he was in on it; there's no option C here. Either way, he should have stood down. Now he's saying Europe are running a hate campaign against him. Really? We just made all the evidence up did we? This man's level of hubris blows my mind!

And the FIFA sponsors are no better. VISA, Nike, McDonalds, EA Sports, etc....most have come out and with a "tut, tut, this is wrong" response but none of them are making a stand and pulling out of their sponsorship deals. Too much money to lose to their competitors. They only have morals providing it doesn't hurt their bottom line.

And all this is without mentioning the many poor slave labour souls who are dying on building sites in Qatar just so 22 men can kick a bag of air around in a few years time. Truly disgusting.

This post is absolutely spot on all the way through. Great post

I know that some secondary schools have been doing GCSE work about Quatar getting the World Cup which I applaud. This can be expanded on massively now after what's happened. We need to make sure the young are fully aware of the truth as so many just see the glamorous, overpaid lifestyle of the players and not the grubby, backyard dealings that lie in their shadows.

maplenpg said:

DaveT said:

Is anyone else staggered by the many levels of corrupt, money grubbing, abhorrent behaviour on display in this latest FIFA scandal?

Sepp Blatter was either grossly incompetent not see the corruption going on right under his nose, or he was in on it; there's no option C here. Either way, he should have stood down. Now he's saying Europe are running a hate campaign against him. Really? We just made all the evidence up did we? This man's level of hubris blows my mind!

And the FIFA sponsors are no better. VISA, Nike, McDonalds, EA Sports, etc....most have come out and with a "tut, tut, this is wrong" response but none of them are making a stand and pulling out of their sponsorship deals. Too much money to lose to their competitors. They only have morals providing it doesn't hurt their bottom line.

And all this is without mentioning the many poor slave labour souls who are dying on building sites in Qatar just so 22 men can kick a bag of air around in a few years time. Truly disgusting.

This post is absolutely spot on all the way through. Great post

I know that some secondary schools have been doing GCSE work about Quatar getting the World Cup which I applaud. This can be expanded on massively now after what's happened. We need to make sure the young are fully aware of the truth as so many just see the glamorous, overpaid lifestyle of the players and not the grubby, backyard dealings that lie in their shadows.

Thanks mate. Started supporting Liverpool when I was 8 in 1989 mostly because of John Barnes who was my fave player. I stopped following football in the late 90s though when it became a non-contact sport ruined by rule breaking players (diving, shirt pulling, bitching to the ref, etc) and money.

Only sports I follow now are NFL (not perfect but at least it takes a stand against dodgy fans, players and execs) and MMA/UFC. In the latter I have max respect for Dana White. He's the sort of leader football/soccer needs...absolutely loves the sport and takes no shit whatsover. He's just booted out their most famous fighter (Jon Jones - Lightheavyweight Champ) for a hit and run incident and didn't even think twice.

I think it is common in most of these kinds of things. It is part of big money. The part that is silly is people getting all in a twist over it. I do not see sports as being much different than shows or plays or movies or any other form of entertainment.

Can someone explain exactly what the FIFA issue is? What/who got caught being crooked? I dont really follow "football", so please....

UncleJam said:

Can someone explain exactly what the FIFA issue is? What/who got caught being crooked? I dont really follow "football", so please....

Nine FIFA officials have been arrested for being involved in a $150 million bribery and corruption scandal over the past two decades. To be honest I don't follow football but this is massive news even for a non-follower. Sepp Blatter who is FIFA president was unanimously re-elected despite everyone from Cameron to Obama calling for his resignation. He is behaving unbelievably given that he must have known what was going on. Anyways here's a link:

http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-the-bribery-scandal-means-for-fifa-2015-5?r=US

DaveT said:

maplenpg said:

This post is absolutely spot on all the way through. Great post

I know that some secondary schools have been doing GCSE work about Quatar getting the World Cup which I applaud. This can be expanded on massively now after what's happened. We need to make sure the young are fully aware of the truth as so many just see the glamorous, overpaid lifestyle of the players and not the grubby, backyard dealings that lie in their shadows.

Thanks mate. Started supporting Liverpool when I was 8 in 1989 mostly because of John Barnes who was my fave player. I stopped following football in the late 90s though when it became a non-contact sport ruined by rule breaking players (diving, shirt pulling, bitching to the ref, etc) and money.

Only sports I follow now are NFL (not perfect but at least it takes a stand against dodgy fans, players and execs) and MMA/UFC. In the latter I have max respect for Dana White. He's the sort of leader football/soccer needs...absolutely loves the sport and takes no shit whatsover. He's just booted out their most famous fighter (Jon Jones - Lightheavyweight Champ) for a hit and run incident and didn't even think twice.

I don't really follow football (or any sports) as all my family were such mad sports fans I kinda turned to music instead . However my dad & brother & sister-in-law are all massive football fans so it's kinda hard to ignore. The money it costs to be a fan nowadays astounds me if you think it was once considered the working mans sport.

I don't however think that this is necessarily about football. Bernie Ecclestone has just been in court for bribery and corruption, horse racing has been talked about for years. Boxing too. Cricket has also been under fire I believe. Cycling with Lance Armstrong, Athletics etc... - I'm sure there are many more sports that will be unveiled as being corrupt over the next decade or so. Sadly I doubt things will change anytime soon.

UncleJam said:

Can someone explain exactly what the FIFA issue is? What/who got caught being crooked? I dont really follow "football", so please....

Countries have to bid with FIFA to host the World Cup.

FIFA determines who wins the bid by voting.

FIFA is comprised of representatives from soccer-playing countries. Each country has one representative. Each representative gets one vote. Therefore, Ethiopia's vote is just as valuable as the United States' or Germany's vote.

FIFA representatives from various countries have been selling their votes, or receiving bribes in order to vote for whomever is bribing them.

This is how a non-soccer-playing country like Qatar, where the summer temperatures exceed 120 degrees Farenheit, was able to win the vote for the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

And of course, this has been going on for many, many years. It's highly doubtful that the right to host any World Cup has ever been won without some corruption. In most cases, a lot of corruption.

The United States bid on and lost the vote for the 2022 World Cup.

So we said "F it. We're taking the crooks down".

So that's why Putin accused the US of "meddling". Wow...I watched Blatter's speech yesterday and that cat seemed he didnt have a care in the world, smiling from ear to ear. Counting the money!

Is this any different than the shenanigans that gone on with the Olympics? Still?

Talk about corruption, the NCAA. The United States needs to clean up the more than foot deep manure in our own backyard.

Blatter's quit

I think there's going to have be a fundamental change in the way these events are held. They are huge financial boondoggles for the hosts. Russia lost $$$$$billions on the Sochi Olympics. Almost all of Brazil's soccer stadiums have sat vacant since the 2014 World Cup. And the mayor of Glendale, Arizona said he is no longer interested in Glendale hosting any more Super Bowls. I'm not sure any host has made money on a World/Cup/Olympics/Super Bowl in maybe three decades.

RodeoSchro said:

I think there's going to have be a fundamental change in the way these events are held. They are huge financial boondoggles for the hosts. Russia lost $$$$$billions on the Sochi Olympics. Almost all of Brazil's soccer stadiums have sat vacant since the 2014 World Cup. And the mayor of Glendale, Arizona said he is no longer interested in Glendale hosting any more Super Bowls. I'm not sure any host has made money on a World/Cup/Olympics/Super Bowl in maybe three decades.

The Super Bowl makes money and it always has. The Olympics and in some instances the World Cup, needs a lot of infrastructure to be built to hold these events. Are people making money? Yeah, but its the countries and taxpayers who are left paying the bills and dept.

maplenpg said:

Blatter's quit

I'm willing to bet he stepped down before the old bill came a-knocking. Would be awesome if they now voted David Ginola in as his replacement

the main PIG is gone

now I hope the new guy in charge hunts down the lesser pigs (which sure are many)

FIFA? Crooks

real football-soccer? go watch Barcelona vs Juventus this saturday...

DaveT said:

maplenpg said:

Blatter's quit

I'm willing to bet he stepped down before the old bill came a-knocking. Would be awesome if they now voted David Ginola in as his replacement

I'd bet my life on it. He had guilty written all over him.

David Ginola might well happen. Interesting times ahead

JoeTyler said:

We've known for years that FIFA is a corrupt organisation. I mean how can it not be when some of the most corrupt nations on earth have an equal standing and have an equal vote in the organisation. Everyone interested smelled a rat when Qatar won the 2022 world cup. Same can be said for Russia too considering who else was bidding.

It turns out that Morocco actually won the 2010 world cup bid but monies were dished out in order to award it to South Africa.

I learned last night on the news that all football associations get the same amount of money, despite the size of association. So Germany, Brazil and Italy get the same amount of money as Qatar, Zambia and Faroe Islands. And this was a Blatter initiative to spread the "love" evenly. No wonder he went unapposed as president for so long what with the organisation made up of a majority of small, corrupt FA's getting millions for "grass root development".

Anyway, I hope more heads roll. Including Blatter's. They are extending their investigation to the 2018 and 2022 bids but who knows what will happen WHEN they find out how corrupt those bids were. Keep the competition there anyway? Give them to someone else? I mean Qatar has started construction already (in which thousands of immigrant workers have died thus far). And this is a world cup that would attract all sorts of compensation claims from national leagues due to it having to be played in the winter months due to the heat (which falls slap bang in the middle of a lot of domestic seasons).

I cant see Qatar holding onto it, and rightly so. It should go to the USA as they were bidding alongside Qatar and have the infrastructure in place by and large so no need for any rushed stadium building. Russia is a tougher one to replace with only 3 years remaining. England could do it. They have the infrastructure already and they were bidding alongside Russia. But everyone hates England (football), including the non corrupt so they probably wouldnt be asked.

TD3 said:

RodeoSchro said:

I think there's going to have be a fundamental change in the way these events are held. They are huge financial boondoggles for the hosts. Russia lost $$$$$billions on the Sochi Olympics. Almost all of Brazil's soccer stadiums have sat vacant since the 2014 World Cup. And the mayor of Glendale, Arizona said he is no longer interested in Glendale hosting any more Super Bowls. I'm not sure any host has made money on a World/Cup/Olympics/Super Bowl in maybe three decades.

The Super Bowl makes money and it always has. The Olympics and in some instances the World Cup, needs a lot of infrastructure to be built to hold these events. Are people making money? Yeah, but its the countries and taxpayers who are left paying the bills and dept.

Yup. The whole thing needs scaling back. Same with the Olympics. Each event tries to be bigger than the last. Now it is at a stage where vast amounts of money is being spent to be the biggest and the best and all that remains are derelict stadia and unused infrastructure that the country neither wants or needs.

Qatar didnt even have a football association and national team a few years ago. Now they are spending billions on state of the art air conditioned stadia, the construction of which is killing hundreds (if not thousands) of construction workers in the process. Where does it stop?

The World Cup needs 5 or 6 decent sized stadia and a good enough transport system to service them. You do not need a state of the art 80,000 seater as a centre piece with an additional few which are arty or look like a UFO has landed in the centre of town. It is essentially a TV spectacle these days. Both Brazil and South Africa will testify to the fact that the revenue generated by visitors to the event itself was less than stellar and not what they thought it would be. Ticket prices inevitably have to be dropped because the locals cant afford tickets and foreign travellers are not there in the numbers they thought they would be. Also, dont forget the amount of revenue lost from people who deliberately avoid going on a summer holiday to a particular place BECAUSE there happens to be a world cup taking place there.

The big money is in the TV revenue and not over designed, arty, space age stadia that hold a gazzilion corporate spectators and 25 locals.

And lets all agree. the Vuvuzela must never be allowed within 10 miles of a football stadium during the world cup.

[Edited 6/8/15 3:47am]