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Football, law breaking, organised crime and plain old bias

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

They were an icon against fascism, a club representative of a people, more than any national identity could ever be.  We saw commonalities between Barcelona and our own heritage.  While we did what we could to earn a seat at the top table, they packed out the biggest club stadium in Europe and were invariably second, third, or sometimes first in the football money league.

Catalan prosecutors have revealed that over a 17 year period, Barcelona paid €8.4m to the former vice-president of the Spanish refereeing committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, and his company.  The payments are not disputed, the former referee VP, claims the club employed him to ensure fairness.

He said, “I saw [Barcelona presidents] at most six times a year so they were calm that there were no decisions against FC Barcelona in the arbitration committee, that everything was neutral.”  The club claim they paid the money for Negreira to compile video reports to compliment information required by coaching staff.

Former Barcelona presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, face corruption charges, the former recently spent two years in prison on separate charges before being acquitted on appeal.  The club’s current president, Joan Laporta, has not been indicted, although the story has a long way to run.

Compared to what happened in Scotland – disguised renumeration and undisclosed contracts to dodge taxes and gain a sporting advantage, paying millions to a referee chief – even if you accept either parties’ version of events, is on a different level.  Perhaps only Juventus can compete with what for so many of us was an iconic bastion of goodness in the game.

Although corruption exists in football, it is rare to see payments directly between parties who should never have such commercial dealings.  More commonly, this type of payment would go through a third party.  The industry is a heady environment for ambitious lawyers, who make up a sizeable portion of the players’ agent industry.  They commonly invoice significant fees to club and can easily pay equally significant fees out for other professional services.

You may know it goes on, but even if you had all the paperwork, proving what happened was something sinister can be impossible.  Which is why this is so shoddy, lazy, even.  It is time for us to stop pretending modern sport is some bastion of 19th century ethical endeavours and accept that law breaking, organised crime and plain old bias cannot reach our fields.  To believe otherwise does our athletes and the paying customer a disservice.

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  1. Greenpinata on

    My friends in Celtic,

     

     

    Great to hear all the stories from those on their way to Liverpool.

     

     

    The last time I was down there we had a brilliant time. I remember the bus was stopped entering Liverpool and this big huge Sergeant Flanagan got on.

     

     

    Told us to enjoy the party, drink and be merry but trouble would be clamped down immediately. He set the tone for a great occasion ( regardless of what the result would entail)

     

     

    This was one of the first times I witnessed self policing, and it worked.

     

     

    Enjoy the festivity and the welcoming atmosphere bhoys and ghirls.

     

     

    COYBIG and YNWA.

     

     

    PS : For those of us unlucky not to be in Merseyside, watch on Liverpool FC TV or You Tube.

  2. David66 on

    Good morning all from the Good n the Bad.

     

     

    Nailed on studs ffs myself, AOW and Bankiebhoy must be the youngest in here.

     

     

    This stud is out of here.

     

     

    Laters

     

     

    D :)

  3. Melvin Udall on

    For all those in Liverpool for today’s game, get yourselves to Fitzgerald’s after. Best Celtic bar down here. 😃👍🏻🍀🇮🇪🥃🍻

  4. EmeraldBee \o/ A Double Niner!! on

    According to the cover of yesterday’s Daily Ranger, as published in one of Phil’s articles, Galatasary are leading the race to sign “Shut Yer Hole Fat Boy”! This must be the slowest race on earth. Egg-and-Spoon or Sack Races would be faster.

     

     

    What a parody of a former newspaper!

  5. Burnley78 on

    Canamalar

     

     

    Just roll your sleeve up and take the jab.

     

     

    Boris and his mates wouldn’t mislead you.

     

     

    Government advisers would never misinform.

     

     

    They wouldn’t seek force it on the population and censor alternative views without good reason.

  7. Burnley78 on

    Worried about our impending winger crisis.

     

     

    Jamsie

     

     

    Abada

     

     

    Haksa

     

     

    All potentially injured for a few weeks.

     

     

    Maeda almost certain to play midweek in Japan.

  8. An Tearmann on

    Best Wishes today to ex cqn legend of the paragraph BroganRoganTrevino&Hogan who later today marries his partner Ruth.

     

     

    All the best Jim and Ruth,take care and the very best of luck and good fortune.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  9. Big Jimmy on

    AN TEARMANN on 25TH MARCH 2023 10:17 AM

     

    Best Wishes today to ex cqn legend of the paragraph BroganRoganTrevino&Hogan who later today marries his partner Ruth.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    All the best Jim and Ruth,take care and the very best of luck and good fortune.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hail Hail

     

    …………..

     

    Yes indeed AT.

     

    May I also pass on my BEST WISHES to the loving couple for Today and the rest of their lives together.

     

    I met BRTH on a couple of occasions at the early CQN Hoots that I attended.

     

     

    ALL the best to them both.

     

    HH.

  10. Big Jimmy on

    FAO SCANIEL…

     

     

    That ole Codger ” BRRB” is sending you my Email Address.

     

     

    When he sobers up ?

     

    LOL.

     

     

    I hope everything is okay SCANIEL Mate ?

     

     

    HH

  13. Big Jimmy on

    DAVID66 on 25TH MARCH 2023 8:56 AM

     

    Good morning all from the Good n the Bad.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Nailed on studs ffs myself, AOW and Bankiebhoy must be the youngest in here.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    This stud is out of here.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Laters

     

    ……………….

     

    AYE DAIVD Mate….THREE Silver NAILS holding each of the Six Studs on each Boot.

     

    I KID ye NOT.

     

    LOL.

     

     

    Have a great Day with your Grandson…and please pass on my Birthday Wishes to him.

     

    OH….To be young again….

     

     

    HH Mate.

  22. Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession on

    SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 24TH MARCH 2023 6:28 PM,

     

     

    I note now you appear to requalify your position with respect to what can/might be useful information and considered worthy of discussion, with your introduction of one of the few research papers where review is incomplete, by Dr Campbell. You provide only points that question its veracity. While you acknowledge it was considered by Dr Campbell as interesting attempt to open study into the subject. That the introduction of this as your only example, implies his use of incomplete or unreviewed research is his MO.

     

    I suggest that until you do more research on the material he discusses you refrain from doing the man further injustice.

     

    The study you refer to “The Grundy study on mRNA” was not included in my original link, that you advised you had no time to but would look at later. When I opened this discourse, I identified the research that took place in Taiwan with a sample base of approx. 5000 school children. So I can think of only one reason you introduce this, it only functions as a tool for you to select material that supports your attempted control of the narrative? Straw man much?

     

    It demonstrates your tendencies to try and control narrative and to confirmation bias when it comes to assessment of what is useful research.

     

     

    The original link, you previously advised you did not have time to look at was,

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYz-yelhkYE&t=928s

     

     

    The research being reviewed in the link by Dr Campbell

     

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9813456/

     

    Was fully peer reviewed before publication in their National Library of Medicine.

     

     

    So, the points you go on to make, about the “The Grundy study on mRNA” and focus on your own tangential discussion about “right wing” adoption of incomplete data are irrelevant to the discussion I opened with you and serve only as a distraction to allow you to make points you want to control the narrative with. Again, straw man much?

     

     

    What is a concern is/was most peoples immediate acceptance and support for decrees made by unqualified politicians in authority and their handpicked “experts”, with all dissenting qualified experts cancelled and labelled crackpot. Acceptance based on no research or even educated discussion about how people could best protect themselves and those around them.

     

     

    Some points that made me think that nothing they said was all questionable and the issues I did my own research on from various sources including public announcements by officials, many government and research institute organisations.

     

     

    The history of previous attempts to get the use of mRNA approved had all failed with the exception of one case that required prolonged DNA investigation into each patient to refine the exact match prior to administering the treatment.

     

    That Pfizer demanded and were ceded liability waivers from governments pertaining to any side-effects of their “vaccine”.

     

    That the Pfizer representative publicly confirmed no research was done into whether the vaccine inhibited transmission and subsequently admitted it did not.

     

     

    You apparently accepted that the Sars Covid-10 “vaccine” is/was more efficacious than natural immunity, where was the research for that?

     

    You probably still accept that the “vaccine” actually works as a vaccine even after it has been demonstrated that people contracted the same strain of the virus on more than one occasion after being fully “vaccinated” and boosted.

     

     

    Remind me how a vaccine is supposed to work, I remember they used to call it immunisation? So, what was the last vaccine that allowed only reduced symptoms of the same strain? Did people get reduced infections of polio/measles/mumps/rubella/diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis/influenza/rabies/small pox/yellow fever/whooping cough/hepatitis B/tuberculosis/pneumococcal pneumonia/human Papillomavirus/serogroup A meningococcal/…….

     

     

    Oh wait, I’m foaming at the mouth, maybe that rabies vaccine allows it eh?

  25. mick1888 on

    Excellent article and very insightful regarding flows of money. I’ve yet to see, or hear of, a payment classified as a ‘bribe’…. So we are to believe that such things don’t happen?

  26. Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession on

    BURNLEY78 on 25TH MARCH 2023 9:34 AM,

     

    I took the Chinese jab because I couldn’t get Sputnik, both developed in the traditional method.

  27. setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on

    Canamalar

     

     

    It’s a fit day today so I am not going to bore people any further.

     

     

    But I will leave these two sentences of yours hanging for you to look at again

     

     

    “I suggest that until you do more research on the material he discusses you refrain from doing the man further injustice.”

     

     

    “It demonstrates your tendencies to try and control narrative and to confirmation bias when it comes to assessment of what is useful research.”

     

     

    You sure I am the one with the shutting-down tendency?

  31. setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox on

    So far we’ve had Abada with an injury, Maeda talking about having to manage a niggle and Haksa being taken off at half time by Montenegro.

     

     

    We need to wrap Jota in cotton wool.

     

     

    Hope to see Callum and Greg get through Scotland’s double header uninjured and that Tony remains unused and uninjured- otherwise we could be using Rocco Vata & Bernabei at Ross County to allow recovery time for the injured who were on international travel

  32. Canamalar it looks like OCD obsession on

    SFTB,

     

    Of course I’m sure of it, you are, its your MO, both sentences are accurate and apply to you. As I said your tendency to straw man arguments is the best demonstration of that. I have today and previously posted the links and asked for your opinion, previous requests were blanked and straw man arguments introduced to obfuscate, I suggest that is an attempt at shutting down.

     

     

    If not, shock me, have a look at the links provided and come back without any more straw man arguments address only the presentation and report findings then, tell me the findings are not worthy of informing everyone with young children. That was all I asked originally, as yet you have went to great lengths and wrote considerable amount whilst avoiding the information provided.

  34. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    BRT&H is a standard “go to” on Twitter for me.

     

     

    Hope he and his have a great day.

  35. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Big Jimmy – your betting posts never fail to raise a smile.

     

     

    Please keep ’em coming.

  37. bigrailroadblues on

    Dropping Mrs BRRB off to Parkhead Forge then a leisurely stroll to the Brazen, meeting BelmontBrian and watching Celtic v Liverpool. It’s a hard life. 🍻😁

  38. glendalystonsils on

    BIG JIMMY

     

     

    I had a pair like those only in black (height of fashion-)) ! The studs were made of layers of leather compressed together . The leather wore quicker than the nails , leaving the sharp heads of the nails sticking out . They would be classed as lethal weapons nowadays!

  40. Melbourne Mick on

    DAVID 66/ BIG JIMMY

     

     

    Seeing as it’s a another week until we can see our bhoys

     

    in action, and we’ve discussed the old nail studded boots

     

    which you were required to dubbin by the way, who all

     

    scrubbed the black ash out of their knees under yon big

     

    cast iron fountains they had at the fitba parks back then.

     

    Now that was fun,😡

     

    C’mon own up there must be more than Jimmy and I on

     

    here. 🤪

     

    H H. Mick

  42. Jinkyredstar on

    Melbourne Mick

     

    Early sixties – my first boots – black with compressed leather nailed on studs – I was so chuffed – got them for my fifth birthday in Feb ‘63 – first outing was on the snow covered streets of Gibshill :-)

     

    In later years – black ash pitches – I’m sure I’ve still got some ‘under my skin’ as the song goes.

     

    BTW – recently bought Dubbin for my walking boots.

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