Why Did Russia and Qatar Win

[Citius Altius Fortius]

One hand washes the other

Blatter awarded World Cups regarding how he can secure/achieve his FIFA presidency

[aluz]

One hand washes the other

Blatter awarded World Cups regarding how he can secure/achieve his FIFA presidency

Exactly.

[Sir Rols]

Well, Sepps' finally owned up ... it WAS collusion! And yet, it makes no difference that he admits now that the bidding broke FIFA's own stated rules!

Fifa president Sepp Blatter admits Spanish and Qatar World Cup bid teams did trade votes

Fifa President Sepp Blatter has confirmed that the Qatar and Spain-Portugal World Cup bids colluded to trade votes in the contest for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Telegraph Sport first disclosed allegations of collusion between the two bids in September last year but they were denied by both bids. A subsequent investigation by Fifa’s ethics committee said that there was insufficient evidence to take any action.

On Monday, however, Blatter told the BBC that the two bids had colluded, though he insisted it had made no difference to the final outcome, which saw Russia and Qatar win the 2018 and 2022 tournaments respectively.

“I’ll be honest, there was a bundle of votes between Spain and Qatar,” Blatter said. “But it was a nonsense. It was there but it didn’t work, not for one and not for the other side.”

Blatter’s admission is the first time that a senior Fifa executive has conceded what was an open secret in the latter stages of the bid, and his insistence that it did not impact the outcome will be challenged by those in losing bids, particularly in the 2022 race. The deal between Qatar and the Iberian bid was thought to be worth seven votes, which was exactly how many Spain-Portugal received in both rounds of the 2018 voting.

If, as Blatter claimed yesterday, Qatar received the same seven votes, it provided more than half of the 12 they required to win.

Blatter also attempted to clarify when the Qatar tournament would be played.

Last month he said “expected” the event to be shifted to winter because of the 50 deg C temperatures in summer, but said yesterday he was responding to comments from Michel Platini and Franz Beckenbauer, and it remained scheduled for summer.

“Who said first that we should play in winter? It was Franz Beckenbauer, second Michel Platini and the world footballers’ union (Fifpro). I am not in favour of one or the other. What I did say, winter is not only January or February. I think for the time being the matter is on ice. Everything is settled now for summer and all the 64 matches will be played in the territory of Qatar.”

The Telegraph

[Aronious]

O.M.F.G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is takes my breath away. I could write at great lengths as to how bloody angry I am at Sepp and FIFA right now but I honestly do not care any more. This is totally unspeakable.

All loosing bids should be asking for their entry fees and costs back from FIFA.

[Faster]

Aaron what's the point? FIFA is a law on to itself and this entire process is disturbing and disgusting. What is the point to complain, to rally the limit troops against Blatter. Who on the Executive Committee could stand against Blatter and win while proposing transparency and moral uprightness? Qatar won to placate bin Hamman but it seems to have only embolden him to become President. He would be no better than Blatter. The only people with integrity on the Executive Committee left office by choice or through collusion organized by bin Hamman. There is not a single person in the world that is in a powerful enough position to exact any sort of tangible change within FIFA. And the other confederations take too much joy in the fall of UEFA for them to consider standing with the major members of UEFA against Blatter and even than whom would they put forward as a presidential candidate? FIFA is f*cked three ways from Sunday and Blatter has systematically destroyed any and all opposition to his rule and the rule of any one of a number of Blatteresque successors. And the sponsors will not pressure FIFA to change and the tournaments are not in nations that are so politically upright that underhandedness would be a major scandal. Out of the three future hosts none of them have the level of transparency and discourse that would allow for a Salt Lake City style scandal that would shame FIFA so thoroughly to the core that they would have to act.

It is a sad state when a Korean was the last pillar fighting against Blatter’s regime given the track record of Korean officials in other sports scandals.

[baron-pierreIV]

Anybody think Blatter did this to undermine and embarass Hammann? Maybe create a recall vote of 2022?

[Rob2012]

O.M.F.G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is takes my breath away. I could write at great lengths as to how bloody angry I am at Sepp and FIFA right now but I honestly do not care any more. This is totally unspeakable.

All loosing bids should be asking for their entry fees and costs back from FIFA.

You don't need to ASK for anything back. Countries like England, Australia and the USA who, I would think are net contributors to FIFA's coffers, need simply scale back their international development programmes, stop putting so much money towards FIFA particularly in regions where ExCo members wield the most power (if that means kicking Africa and poorer federations in the nuts, so be it), and instead spend it on their own programmes. If Blatter wants to use ExCo members from poorer CONCACAF Nations, Africa, South America, Asia to shore up his support base, the rich European FAs should simply stop their football development in these regions. Blatter might be able to cope with politics, he might be able to cope with Andrew Jennings, he might be able to cope with The Times and The Telegraph, but if his own ExCo turns against him because those with the money aren't voluntarily giving it out anymore, will he be able to cope with that?

It's time for countries like England to be selfish now. Properly selfish.

[Rob2012]

ECA Member Clubs call for democracy and transparency in world football

Following recent discussions and speculation relating to possible significant changes to the international calendar, such as a "Winter" World Cup, the European Club Association (ECA) would like to express its concern on the way matters of such importance are managed by football's world governing body and underline its opposition to such a disruption.

ECA primarily questions the way FIFA reaches decisions heavily affecting club football without the involvement of the stakeholders concerned and believes that modern football needs democracy, transparency and certainty of rules.

ECA is supportive of national team football but also believes that player's exhaustion through an excessive number of games must be addressed as a top priority. Currently, this is not the case. At present, following a long and exhausting World Cup tournament, national team players are called up again at the start of their preparation for the new season to play friendly matches with their national team purely for commercial reasons.

ECA would like to recall that in 2004 the European clubs accepted to renounce to a Champions League with two group stages thus reducing the match dates from 17 to 13 to allow for more rest for players.

In October 2010, we found out via a FIFA Circular Letter, that the FIFA Executive Committee had decided to add 8 dates (from 38 to 46, plus 20%) over the 2011-2014 period to the international match calendar without any precise reason and without any consultation with the key stakeholders concerned, namely the European clubs. As a result, ECA is not prepared to accept the way this decision was reached.

Looking forward, we propose some new basic principles that we would like to see form part of the future international calendar:

- Certainty of rules that cannot be changed in the course of the cycle.

- A maximum of one international tournament per player per year to address the concerns we have relating to player's exhaustion.

- National team ‘periods' as opposed to national team dates for official or friendly games

- A period of at least 7 weeks without any national team activity following major international tournaments like the World Cup or the Confederation Tournaments.

- The determination of ‘fixed slots' for the major confederation and international national team tournaments.

Commenting on the discussions during the General Assembly, ECA Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated: "The time for monopolies is over. Football needs democracy and transparency. ECA Members all agree that clubs must be meaningfully involved in all decisions affecting club football. Now is the time for change".

Link

Member clubs of the ECA, supporting this statement slamming FIFA

[Sir Rols]

Anybody think Blatter did this to undermine and embarass Hammann? Maybe create a recall vote of 2022?

Well, Sepp apparently wasn't pleased at all by the Qatar choice. It does seem to me there's a real cold war going on in the FIFA ranks.

[Sir Rols]

BLATTER TO FACE FIFA CHALLENGE?

FIFA president Sepp Blatter could face a challenge for his position in May from Asian football supremo Mohamed Bin Hammam.

The news emerged from the Korean tycoon Chung Mong-Joon, who lost his position as FIFA vice-president last month.

Chung revealed on his Twitter account that he lunched with Bin Hammam today and that a presidential challenge may be on the cards.

"It seems he will challenge the FIFA presidential election in June," Chung said.

Bin Hammam is in a position of power after securing his country Qatar as hosts of the 2022 World Cup and retaining his position as Asian confederation president unchallenged.

There has been no confirmation from Bin Hammam and there is a school of thought that he may keep his powder dry and stand in four years' time when Blatter may retire.

Meanwhile, FIFA have come under fire from former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman for setting "a completely false prospectus" at the start of the 2018 World Cup bidding process.

Triesman told an MPs' inquiry into football governance: "I think there will be a time when the contact that I and others had with members of the executive committee should be described in detail because some of the processes I don't think stand up to proper scrutiny.

"When we set off on the bid there was a huge amount of encouragement from FIFA because we could do it, create tremendous returns, organise events of those kind and handle security.

"Had they said at the time that the aim was to break into new territories, then I would have advised the FA board not to start in the first place on what turns out to be a completely false prospectus."

Sportinglife.com

The trouble is, for all those hoping for Sepp's downfall, the alternative may not be palatable either. be careful what you wish for!

[emre]

one word....

[Rob2012]

I prefer:

[emre]

I prefer:

money is the answer .. nothing more

[Mr Tickle]

Can we have our bid money back please.

Apparently it was agreed Russia would host 2018 in 2010 and the USA would host 2022, but 4 votes from Europe wrecked that agreement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34657900

God Im so mad, and then he complains that we are sore losers. He is a complete and utter C**T

[yoshi]

Well it looks like we've answered the thread question. England (& all the other bidders for 2018) have every right to sue for every penny the bid cost

[arwebb]

I'm sure plenty of lawyers would add loss of earnings to that as well.

I have to confess that I was shocked this afternoon when I saw what Sepp Blatter had said. Not because of what he said itself, as I think most of us here at least have believed there was something wrong with the process pretty much from the moment the results were announced five years ago, but because of how it was said and the timing of it. It seems clear that he wants to try to put as much distance as possible between himself and Michel Platini, who we know supported Qatar for 2022, by implying he got what he wanted for 2018, not 2022, and is prepared to go down with the ship if it means taking Platini with him.

The implications, of course, are much wider. Given that any pretence of fairness in those bidding processes appears to have been destroyed, I struggle to see what can now stop most of the countries that lost out from going for the jugular. The clean sweep that football so desperately needs may just have been helped from an unexpected source today. We just need to ensure we get the brush out of his hands and clean him up too.

[Rob2012]

A leading figure behind England’s 2018 World Cup bid has described Sepp Blatter’s statement that the tournament was always destined for Russia as an “absolute scandal”.

Simon Johnson, the campaign’s chief operating officer, believes the Football Association should take legal action against Fifa to recover the costs of a bid it was never going to win.

Johnson is appalled by the claims from Blatter, the suspended Fifa president, that it was agreed before the vote in 2010 to host the World Cup in Russia.

“It’s an absolute scandal,” Johnson said. “I no longer work for the FA but I personally think they should bring an action to recover the costs of a bidding process which was neither fair nor transparent and we’ve now discovered was rigged.

“I think the FA has an obligation to bring an action against Fifa to recover not just their own costs but those incurred by the 12 host cities who were part of the bid, our sponsors, contractors and the government.

More @ http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/oct/29/england-2018-world-cup-bid-fifa-scandal?CMP=share_btn_tw

[mr.bernham]

I'm more pissed off we could have had the games...and that we were meant to. Thanks France...especially given you'd be in the Greater German Reich and speaking German if it weren't for us.

[StefanMUC]

I'm more pissed off we could have had the games...and that we were meant to. Thanks France...especially given you'd be in the Greater German Reich and speaking German if it weren't for us.

Right. That was obviously a relevant argument for a vote 66 years after WW2 ended.

[Frenchy]

I'm more pissed off we could have had the games...and that we were meant to. Thanks France...especially given you'd be in the Greater German Reich and speaking German if it weren't for us.

American buffoons like you need to (re)read your history and remember that if it hadn't been for France you Yanks would all be speaking English!!

[mr.bernham]

American buffoons like you need to (re)read your history and remember that if it hadn't been for France you Yanks would all be speaking English!!

We do all speak English...if anything we should thank France for Louisiana which ensured we would be the dominant nation in the America's rather than Mexico. So thanks for that. France should also thank us for our Revolution because it brought about your revolution and subsequent ending of the Absolute Monarchy, not to mention saving you guys twice from total German occupation.

So we did thank you guys, by keeping your nation in existence. The least you could do in return is give us a World Cup! France is great. And I'm only joking.

Polandball to illustrate what I think just happened: