Blatter resigned

[Rob2012]

"Elsewhere, the downfall of Blatter has sparked an avalanche of claims about major decisions taken by Fifa in recent years. The German newspaper Die Zeit reported on Friday that the then chancellor Gerhard Shröder supplied arms to Saudi Arabia in return for support in Germany’s World Cup bid, in which it defeated South Africa 12-11 in the final round in controversial circumstances. The claims, also reported in Der Spiegel, alleged that the government lifted arms restrictions days before the vote in order to make the shipment and help swing Saudi Arabia’s vote to Germany"

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/05/fifa-scandal-arms-germany-deal-saudi-valcke-warner-delaney-ireland-henry?CMP=share_btn_tw

[StefanMUC]

"Elsewhere, the downfall of Blatter has sparked an avalanche of claims about major decisions taken by Fifa in recent years. The German newspaper Die Zeit reported on Friday that the then chancellor Gerhard Shröder supplied arms to Saudi Arabia in return for support in Germanys World Cup bid, in which it defeated South Africa 12-11 in the final round in controversial circumstances. The claims, also reported in Der Spiegel, alleged that the government lifted arms restrictions days before the vote in order to make the shipment and help swing Saudi Arabias vote to Germany"

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/05/fifa-scandal-arms-germany-deal-saudi-valcke-warner-delaney-ireland-henry?CMP=share_btn_tw

That's actually not new, has been reported before, but of course very difficult to prove that this was decisive. The 2006 vote always had a bit of "hautgout", and if all other elections before/after were rigged, why should Germany stand out like a beacon of honesty? Blatter was not happy that Germany won, but that's no indication at all that the bid was clean.

[zekekelso]

And I wonder what the Irish players think of all this now.

Probably wondering where their share of the cash went.

[Faster]

He's no longer needed there. Besides, he's not even a voting member anymore. The IOC only keeps him for courtesy's sakes -- as they try to do with the heads of all the important federations. But he is already a lame duck. The IOC probably told him to not show up.

No Blatter is a full member of the IOC, as is Issa Hayatou and Lydia Nsekera

"Elsewhere, the downfall of Blatter has sparked an avalanche of claims about major decisions taken by Fifa in recent years. The German newspaper Die Zeit reported on Friday that the then chancellor Gerhard Shröder supplied arms to Saudi Arabia in return for support in Germany’s World Cup bid, in which it defeated South Africa 12-11 in the final round in controversial circumstances. The claims, also reported in Der Spiegel, alleged that the government lifted arms restrictions days before the vote in order to make the shipment and help swing Saudi Arabia’s vote to Germany"

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/05/fifa-scandal-arms-germany-deal-saudi-valcke-warner-delaney-ireland-henry?CMP=share_btn_tw

Nothing new. There has been claims of trade quid pro quos in voting for major sporting events for at least two decades now.

[Roger87]

And these news confirms my pessimism. There can't be relevant changes if the heart of the institution (National associations) is still rotten. The corruption has been expanded beside Blatter and his guards.

[Ikarus360]

^^ Which is why many of us agree FIFA must dissapear and a new organization being born from its ashes.

[Durban Sandshark]

You think so?

Sounds to me like FIFA has more money than sense here - they should've just ignored the FAI. Refereeing mistakes happen in football. It was incredibly frustrating that Ireland lost that tie because of that goal, but since when were FA's taking governing bodies to court over on field decisions?! That sounds like a ridiculously slippery slope to me.

So instead of sticking to common sense and ignoring FAI's claims they did what they do best and offered cash. And Ireland accepted.

Neither party comes out of it well. And I wonder what the Irish players think of all this now.

Surely FIFA obviously has lots of money. More money than sense, as you say. Did the refs miss this? Yeah, blatantly! And there was righteous indignation over it with the officials should have ended up apologizing for the mistake. Even with that goal, Ireland still had to score and then later for the win. This is the very first time I read about paying to a national federation over something on-field that could adversely impact them for a while as compensation. Suing on the FAI's part would not have been wise.

As far as the Irish players, we still don't know. For one thing, coach Roy Keane doesn't want to publicly talk about for now. However I can guess he's not thrilled over this because it makes the FAI look bad.

[Roger87]

^^ Which is why many of us agree FIFA must dissapear and a new organization being born from its ashes.

But still you have most of the rotten apples to make the new institution (National teams). Whatever this apple is in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Vanuatu or Cameroon, keeping it intact will infect the group. Without a serious cleaning from the base, it won't make a difference. That's what I'm against of these short minded propositions without seeing the real issue of the corruption.

[arwebb]

Potentially, a very significant statement

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33041467

[Rob2012]

Subhuman...

Fifa's Jack Warner 'diverted $750,000 from Haiti victims fund for his personal use'

The former Fifa official Jack Warner has been investigated by the FBI for allegedly diverting funds away from the Haiti aid effort, it has been reported.

According to the BBC, US prosecutors have drawn up papers which allege that Warner personally received $750,000 raised in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The money was donated by Fifa and the Korean Football Association, and reportedly went into a bank account personally administered by Warner in his then-capacity of president of Concacaf, the football confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Claims about the Haiti fund, which comprised of $250,000 from Fifa and half a million dollars from South Korea, were first made by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) in 2012, after Warner had stood down in the midst of a probe by the Fifa Ethics Committee.

The TTFF then claimed that the money was paid into one of its accounts that was only controlled by Warner himself in his capacity as a special adviser.

And the US Justice Department now alleges that the money was placed in that account “at Warner’s direction” and that it was ultimately put to his “personal use”.

More @ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fifas-jack-warner-diverted-750000-from-haiti-victims-fund-for-his-personal-use-10306675.html

[ofan]

Warner makes Blatter look like Mother Teresa.

[baron-pierreIV]

Unbelievable. Maybe Warner was afraid that the funds might get into the hands of the discredited Duvaliers...therefore decided to 'safeguard' the funds instead??

[Roger87]

Well people will awake for a horrible hangover if all of this is true. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/blatter-may-seek-stay-fifa-boss-source-tells-235740302--sow.html

Blatter may seek to stay as FIFA boss, source tells Swiss paper

GENEVA (Reuters) - Sepp Blatter may seek to stay on as the president of FIFA, a Swiss newspaper quoted an anonymous source close to Blatter as saying on Sunday. The report comes less than two weeks after Blatter resigned as head of the world soccer organization.

The Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper said it had information that Blatter had received messages of support from African and Asian soccer associations, asking him to rethink his decision to step down.

Blatter was honored by the support and had not ruled out remaining in office, the anonymous source told the paper.

FIFA did not immediately reply to an emailed request from Reuters for comment on the newspaper story.

Blatter said on June 2 he would step down as FIFA president in the wake of a corruption investigation, having led soccer's world governing body since 1998.

FIFA is expected to pick his replacement at an emergency meeting in Zurich in December.

Blatter's renewed interest in the job was also a reason for the departure of Walter de Gregorio as FIFA's director of communications, since he had argued for a completely new start and advised Blatter to go, the Swiss newspaper said.

De Gregorio declined to comment to the newspaper.

(Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by John Pickering)

[StefanMUC]

Well people will awake for a horrible hangover if all of this is true. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/blatter-may-seek-stay-fifa-boss-source-tells-235740302--sow.html

Sepp Blatter, the Nigel Farage of football. And exactly as egocentric and hypocritical.

[zekekelso]

The same folks who overwhelming voted for Sepp in so many elections are the same people hooting for the new guy. Not sure why anybody would expect meaningful change.

The same folks who overwhelming voted for Sepp in so many elections are the same people hooting for the new guy. Not sure why anybody would expect meaningful change.

[Ikarus360]

I said it once, and I said it again. FIFA is so corrupted at this point it needs to be destroyed and rebuilt again. Like zekekelso said, as long as the people who voted for this lardass remains, nothing will change.

Coming from a country on which everyone was so naive thinking the death of the major corrupter was going to solve everything, when in fact time proved that the people who followed him were far worse than himself and ended up being worse rulers, I understand very well what's happening and what's going to happen to FIFA now.

[Daze]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/sepp-blatter/11673751/Sepp-Blatter-considering-staying-on-as-Fifa-president.html

:lol:

[Rob2012]

Oh, FIFA :lol:

Fifa says Nobel board’s termination of relationship against ‘spirit of fair play’

‘This action does not embody the spirit of fair play,’ says Fifa statement

Fifa has accused the Nobel Peace Centre of failing to “embody the spirit of fair play” over its decision to end its involvement in their joint Handshake for Peace initiative.

The Nobel Peace Centre announced on Monday night that it planned to terminate the agreement as soon as possible in light of the ongoing corruption crisis at Fifa that led president Sepp Blatter to announce he would step down.

But Fifa, apparently taken by surprise by the announcement, said it was “disappointed” to have learned about the decision from the media.

“Fifa is reluctant to accept this unilateral approach on what is a joint initiative between the football community and the Nobel Peace Center (NPC),” it said in a statement. “This action does not embody the spirit of fair play especially as it obstructs the promotion of the key values of peace-building and anti-discrimination.”

The NPC had said it hoped that the Handshake for Peace initiative would continue but said it was not appropriate for it to continue its involvement in the current circumstances.

The decision will have come as a bitter blow to Blatter, who once harboured hopes of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The joint Handshake for Peace iniative, unveiled at the Club World Cup in 2013, involved Fifa making an €800,000 annual contribution to the Nobel Peace Centre.

Fifa said that discussions would continue about how to proceed with the “important initiative” and stressed that it would remain as part of the match protocol at the ongoing Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand and the Women’s World Cup in Canada.

“The Handshake for Peace initiative combines football’s international reach with the simple gesture of a handshake to promote peace and fair play,” it said.

“At Fifa’s tournaments players and officials use the Handshake for Peace to set a good example in front of both the fans inside the stadium and the wider public watching games on television.”

Last week, Interpol ended its own €20m, 10-year agreement with Fifa due to the reputational issues caused by US authorities charging 14 executives, including nine current or former Fifa officials, with money laundering, racketeering and tax evasion.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/16/fifa-nobel-handshake-for-peace-termination-fair-play?CMP=twt_gu

[baron-pierreIV]

FIFA should just fold. About how many gnomes work at FIFA hqtrs in Zurich? 20? 30?

[zekekelso]

A savior is found

Diego Maradona eligió combatir a la #FIFA corrupta y ahora será candidato a la presidencia para realizar un cambio

[Roger87]

If Maradona is the savior - "God helps Us". Nothing against the soccer player but as a politician/diplomatic...

[Ikarus360]

Sepp Blatter: Fifa president says he did not resign

http://www.bbc.com/s...otball/33284185

[Fox334]

Sepp Blatter: Fifa president says he did not resign

http://www.bbc.com/s...otball/33284185

Why am I surprised?

[Ikarus360]

Blatter is a cancer which is destroying Football and must be destroyed inmediatly. Seriously, its as if the guy is saying to us "I'm corrupt, you know i'm corrupt, everyone knows I am, and I dont give a damn. What are you going to do about it?"

[Rob2012]

Blatter and Mugabe ought to get a holiday villa together....

LONDON — Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter has launched another attack on England, claiming that criticism of football’s world governing body during his reign was rooted in envy over the country’s loss of its presidency more than 40 years ago.

Blatter also insisted, yet again, that he was not responsible for the crises that have engulfed the association, suggesting that his detractors would blame him if they could for even the stoppage-time own goal that knocked England out of the Women’s World Cup.

In his latest wide-ranging interview since announcing that he would step down as FIFA president after it became engulfed in the worst scandal in sporting history, Blatter said criticism of him was rooted in envy.

Recalling the dawn raids led by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the arrest of several senior football officials that sent the organisation into meltdown two days before the FIFA congress in May, the Swiss told right-wing weekly Weltwoche: “This envy has been festering for years. Envy is a predicate to jealousy. And jealousy is rooted in love. This can, however, turn to hate. And that’s what happened when this tsunami hit us two days before the congress.”

Tracing the origins of this “envy” back to Brazilian Joao Havelange’s victory over England’s Stanley Rous at the 1974 FIFA elections, Blatter added: “At that point, England lost their supremacy over their beloved sport, and also over athletics … The English suffer by no longer being able to control football. This is where the attacks against FIFA originated.”

Blatter was also quizzed over why he had failed to do more to prevent any wrongdoing within his organisation. He answered sarcastically: “I not only see everything, I’m responsible for everything, even for the English women’s own goal at the World Cup recently ... Am I responsible for climate change, too?”