The football industry is corrupt. You know this, we all know this. The nature of the institutions who govern the sport, combined with the enormous amounts of money the industry is now worth, is a toxic cocktail.
A few minutes ago the Fifa Ethics Committee provisionally banned Fifa president, Sep Blatter, Uefa president (and Fifa vice-president) Michel Platini, as well as Fifa Secretary General, Jermoe Valcke, for 90 days pending an investigation. Former Fifa VP, Chung Moon-joon has been banned from the game for 6 years and fined. Chung and Platini both remain candidates to succeed Blatter as Fifa president – yes, it’s that dysfunctional.
This may be the beginning of the end for football’s great Oligarch Administrators, who lived like Saudi princes, paid for by the money which slushes around the game, but it is far from assured that football is now on the right path. Blatter, the embodiment of everything which is wrong with sport and business to many, remains a hugely popular figure. Some of the games administrators, themselves untouched by corruption, shed tears when he recently announced his decision to retire.
The core problem is one of democracy. Fifa is a democratic organisation, which on the face of it sounds like a good thing, but democracy has its drawbacks. One member one vote affords the British Virgin Islands the same weight when it comes to exercising ultimate control as Germany. Apart from hosting the World Cup once every 40 years or so, Fifa can offer Germany little tangible support, but the governing body can metaphorically pave the streets of tiny nations with gold.
Fifa executives, and Blatter in particular, have enormous patronage under their control. Blatter is personally responsible for the decision to ‘support the game’ in many small nations and protectorates, by funding the construction of expensive stadiums and facilities. These amenities are great for the recipient nations, often well beyond anything the local FA or government could afford. Blatter has been The Great Facilitator to many far-flung entities. That patronage buys loyalty and genuine affection.
The problem is not limited to the Fifa executive. Administrators at all levels of the senior game enjoy control over a degree of patronage. Merely becoming an office holder at your FA makes you a dignitary of some sort. There will be an expense account, doors will open, facilities made available.
Football’s problem is that its structure made it inevitable that corrupt individuals would eventually take control. Cutting the head off Fifa will not be sufficient to change that, the way football funds itself also needs to change – and that would inevitably mean less money going to poor places in the world. If accountability replaces patronage, Blatter’s largess to underfunded Associations would end. The game would be cleaner, but there are 100 FAs with skin in the game who stand to lose, so assume nothing.
Take a look at the work of Joseph Gormley, a Scots-born artist in the US, who has raised over $170k for various charities. His is another great tale in the story of the Celtic support.
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Good finish
Cracking goal son..
Doc does a Gary.
keep it up bhoys
:)
Wow.
2-1
Fletcher
WHAT A GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Gott im Himmel
Hahahahahaha- Steven Talibanski Fletcher scores a peach!!!!
Geordie?
Accordin’ to Wiki/EWTB/EWLM hoopslegend Andy Ritchie scored one goal in 9 league appearances for the Glasgow giants.
Good finish from Fletcher. I still maintain he’s rotten.
Mon zee Germans!!!
Sign that boy.
Just when I was thinking he was a dumpling Stephen Fletcher scores a beauty…. Well done SF and Scotland….. So far.
Hutton assaults Lewandowski
Doc,
Slagged off Ritchie right before assist/ goal.
HH
Andy Ritchie quit football at the grand ole age of 26, and not because of severe injury.
He was ‘fed up’.
Another cracking strike for the second goal.
Ritchie tackled by a polish defender to set it up, best thing he has done tonight.
How did we let go of Marshal .. Same reason we let go of Given’s
No good enough ?
Disappointed with you Careful with that Tax, If ye win ye don’t need the Germans to win, I’d like to see both Celtic Nations through.
Did anyone spot the lad clapping in the crowd with what looked like 4 busted fingers. Poor lad, it looked sore.
Ah, Geordie, understood, see my last post, slagged him again, he didn’t make the pass, he was tackled after taking too long to get the pass away.
Gash tonight.
Just an opinion of course.
:-)
Art of war.
Pay for Sky ? Nae chance.
Doc,
All part of the grand scheme.
If he got the pass away on time Fletcher woulda blown it. ;)
butterflyeffect csc
Doc
Aye, gash with that goal. Think he has earned his cap with that alone. Scotland were floundering before that hit at such a crucial period. Arguably turned the game.
What time you out Sat, since you don’t respond to emails? :-)
HH
CRC
Bob loblaw,
Caught in the wifes purse nae doot :)
North England Annex putting in a good shift.
EVEN LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN TRAINING WITH BARN DOORs.
MWD said AYE
Angelgabriel – good mhan!
Starve the feckers and their pundits fae hun hell…
CC .. Of course id rather see us both through ..
I’d rather .. Scotland and Ireland were guaranteed qualification ..
But when push comes to shove .. I’d rather Scotland were qualified .. Our Celtic brothers stayed at hame :)
The Germans are obviously gonna be there.
Jesus .. Think you know I’ve no hard feeling toward the Emerald Isle .. Apart from wanting to beat you at Football and Rugby :)
Geordie, aye right!
That was deliberate!
:-)
CRC, he has not played well, goal apart, said that earlier.
Might improve of course, but not yet.
Peach though.
ROI scored ..
That’s us fecked!!
BOB LOBLAW on 8TH OCTOBER 2015 9:09 PM
Just when I was thinking he was a dumpling Stephen Fletcher scores a beauty…. Well done SF and Scotland….. So far.
———–
mon the sinn feinners
republic 1 germany 0
CRC! No responding to that either:-)
Ireland are the luckiest mob going
The PROUD Independent Republic of Ireland puts a wee spanner in our Northern English Annexed arses!
MWD said AYE
German Barstewards!!
Forrest looks like he’s picked up an injury, get him off now…
Wee Jamesie takes a knock