Sepp Blatter Rides Again

[Ted Hughes]

I'd be interested to know how many black assistant managers/coaches are amongst the top 4 divisions. Anyone?

[Beefymcfc]

Can I just say 'Well done to Sepp Bladder for apologising', at least he's now admitted that he was wrong in his comments.

[Ted Hughes]

Can I just say 'Well done to Sepp Bladder for apologising', at least he's now admitted that he was wrong in his comments.

Isn't that about the 4th time he's been interviewed since & the first time he's admitted it ? I believe he's gone from his 'no problem on the pitch' stance to 'zero tolerance' in one day. Impressive even by Blatter standards.

[Beefymcfc]

Can I just say 'Well done to Sepp Bladder for apologising', at least he's now admitted that he was wrong in his comments.

Isn't that about the 4th time he's been interviewed since & the first time he's admitted it ? I believe he's gone from his 'no problem on the pitch' stance to 'zero tolerance' in one day. Impressive even by Blatter standards.

Regardless mate, he's admitted his wrong which is more than has happened in the past. It was his last throw of the dice and even brought the South African geezer to bat for his cause (bringing up the Terry call-up was a master stroke), it was actually good to see him really squirm rather than just shake it off.

He's a fossil, odious little man, a reminder of a yesteryear that we all lost faith in. Times have changed and he hasn't got the grace to allow FIFA to move on; FIFA, a group that lives in the pocket of their illustrious leader. How could anyone turn on a person who is lining their countries government and their own pockets, it's just not right.

To be honest, he's an absolute disgrace and although I do believe many of the English media have an alternate agenda, he is just one of those people who deserves everything he gets. Pity it's nothing that he deserves!

Can someone tell me what he ever did on the field of play, why someone I have no regard for in a footballing sense is the biggest power in football - who did he play for again?

[Ted Hughes]

Can I just say 'Well done to Sepp Bladder for apologising', at least he's now admitted that he was wrong in his comments.

Isn't that about the 4th time he's been interviewed since & the first time he's admitted it ? I believe he's gone from his 'no problem on the pitch' stance to 'zero tolerance' in one day. Impressive even by Blatter standards.

Regardless mate, he's admitted his wrong which is more than has happened in the past. It was his last throw of the dice and even brought the South African geezer to bat for his cause (bringing up the Terry call-up was a master stroke), it was actually good to see him really squirm rather than just shake it off.

He's a fossil, odious little man, a reminder of a yesteryear that we all lost faith in. Times have changed and he hasn't got the grace to allow FIFA to move on; FIFA, a group that lives in the pocket of their illustrious leader. How could anyone turn on a person who is lining their countries government and their own pockets, it's just not right.

To be honest, he's an absolute disgrace and although I do believe many of the English media have an alternate agenda, he is just one of those people who deserves everything he gets. Pity it's nothing that he deserves!

Can someone tell me what he ever did on the field of play, why someone I have no regard for in a footballing sense is the biggest power in football - who did he play for again?

Blatter was born in Visp, Canton Valais, Switzerland. He studied in Sion, Switzerland, before he received a degree in business and economics from the University of Lausanne in 1959.

Blatter has had a long and varied career, including posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines S.A., and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. In the early 1970s, Blatter was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organization which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose.

Blatter first entered the world of football in 1973 as president of the Zurich Brown Shirts, though ultimately failed to obtain the required funding and gain enough attention through various large rallies in order to turn the 'club' fully professional.

Since 1975 Blatter has been working at FIFA, first as Technical Director (1975–1981), then General Secretary (1981–1998) before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007, even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him

Sepp Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFA President Lennart Johansson occurred amidst much controversy. Blatter's 2002 candidacy has been marked with rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating with direct accusations of bribery, by a third party, made in the British press by Farra Ado, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and president of the Somali Football Federation, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter in 1998

Amidst internal divisions, FIFA's secretary-general Blatter's deputy and former protégé Michel Zen-Ruffinen drew up a 30-page dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation. The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson, and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but they cleared Blatter of any wrong doing and FIFA had to pay all the costs. An internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter because members of it broke confidentiality agreements. This questionable behaviour led him to remove Zen-Ruffinen from office immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002

Blatter incurred criticism from female footballers in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans, remarks that were apparently ridiculed in the press.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issue a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards, Blatter was said to have lambasted the officiating referee, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee. However, he later regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov. This apology was never given, and the referee was removed from further officiating. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup final in Germany, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium event was noted and criticized in international media. It was claimed that the reason Blatter did not attend was because he was upset that Italy won instead of France. Blatter later apologised and said the reason he had shunned the presentation ceremony was because he was afraid of being whistled.

Controversy came in the British press when Russia was awarded the 2018 event, with England receiving just two of their 'promised' votes; this controversy was dismissed by Blatter as the English showing themselves to be "bad losers". The awarding of the 2022 games to Qatar was also controversial; the illegality of homosexuality in the nation caused Blatter to joke that "I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities", which brought condemnation from retired professional basketball player John Amaechi and gay rights groups.

The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery claims against Bin Hammam and CONCACAF head Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it, due to a lack of evidence.

Blatter criticised the International Olympic Committee, stating FIFA manage their finances "like a housewife", after the IOC announced it would look into allegations of corruption against Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football.

There being no other nominations, Sepp Blatter ran unopposed in the 2011 FIFA elections.

On 1 June, Blatter was re-elected president for a fourth term, with 186 of the 203 votes in his favour. In his campaign, Blatter had stipulated that, if re-elected in 2011, he would not run again for president.




Not much mention of a football career there. He was 23 in '59 so must have retired early.

[getdressedmctavish]

Look I know its difficult but in a football game you are in a battle trying to intimidate your opposite number.It is violent and players hurt each other. In that context you are going to say things to each other which you wouldn't say in everyday life.At some point racism is maybe going to be an issue but to me it cant be in every verbal exchange.Its unmanageable and likely to lead to silly judgements and I think it will be counterproductive. You are getting into the situation where you have penalties for speaking that outweigh penalties for acts..If you are not careful you get Paul Ince saying he was sacked cos he was black, which is the situation he wants(sensibly) to avoid. Or he goes to a tribunal cos he didn't get the United job. Ofcourse he doesn't. Yet perfectly sensible people call him a twat for expressing his views because they are different to the ones they adhere to, and want to read things into his dismissal and unemployment that probably aren't there, whilst all he wants is to be treated equally . That's the kind of situation you are getting into if you go down the path of wanting to bring the law in to every altercation. The best thing Evra could do is stop kicking people and trying to hurt them.IMOThe idea of Rio as somekind of victim is not one I find particularly persuasive, and he has plenty to say on the matter, imo a lot of bollocks.In short, I reserve the right to think, not be feckin brow beaten every time the word "black" is used.Let's deal with the real racists, the people in all walks of life, but a small minority in the UK in my view, who believe black people are in someway inferior and therefore dont deserve equal and fair treatment, or believe much worse, and act on it. Or lets bring in laws against every unpleasantness and insult. Lets ban Terry for using a disabled parking space. No, it's fecking excorable, but its not a hanging matter, is it? And lets have some kind of appreciation of degree as we do in every other aspect of life.Because we are in danger of punishing words used in a row more than or the same as a leg breaking tackle. And while we are doing that and being so self congratulatory, the real villains go unpunished.

[Evenmydoghatesunited]

<null>

Fair point

[Ted Hughes]

No, lets not excuse peole from making racist comments, lets fucking hammer them instead.

If you make racist comments on a football pitch, it's because you are racist. You may not think you are; but you are. The reason you don't think you are racist, is because you are racist & therefore think your comments are not all that serious. If you weren't racist, you wouldn't feel the sudden urge to mention someone's race in a heated moment; it wouldn't occur to you but it does, because you don't see a man, you see a black/white man, you see the race before the person because you are racist.

It's not the job of people on the end of racist comments to turn a blind eye, it's the job of the racists not to make those comments in the 1st place. If it takes 100 banning orders in this era, to make the next generation realise it's 100% unacceptable, then it's worth it.

[Slim]

If you can prove it sure, they have a slogan that says "kick racism out of football". Well, how much more literal can you get than kicking a racist out of football, I'd start with John Terry, horrible cunt of a man anyway.

[Blue Since 76]

If you can prove it sure, they have a slogan that says "kick racism out of football". Well, how much more literal can you get than kicking a racist out of football, I'd start with John Terry, horrible cunt of a man anyway.

If he's found guilty I hope they do. However, at the moment, he's innocent, as is Suarez. Hence they can both carry on playing until anything is proven.

[mr_nool]

Can I just say 'Well done to Sepp Bladder for apologising', at least he's now admitted that he was wrong in his comments.

Isn't that about the 4th time he's been interviewed since & the first time he's admitted it ? I believe he's gone from his 'no problem on the pitch' stance to 'zero tolerance' in one day. Impressive even by Blatter standards.

Regardless mate, he's admitted his wrong which is more than has happened in the past. It was his last throw of the dice and even brought the South African geezer to bat for his cause (bringing up the Terry call-up was a master stroke), it was actually good to see him really squirm rather than just shake it off.

He's a fossil, odious little man, a reminder of a yesteryear that we all lost faith in. Times have changed and he hasn't got the grace to allow FIFA to move on; FIFA, a group that lives in the pocket of their illustrious leader. How could anyone turn on a person who is lining their countries government and their own pockets, it's just not right.

To be honest, he's an absolute disgrace and although I do believe many of the English media have an alternate agenda, he is just one of those people who deserves everything he gets. Pity it's nothing that he deserves!

Can someone tell me what he ever did on the field of play, why someone I have no regard for in a footballing sense is the biggest power in football - who did he play for again?

Blatter was born in Visp, Canton Valais, Switzerland. He studied in Sion, Switzerland, before he received a degree in business and economics from the University of Lausanne in 1959.

Blatter has had a long and varied career, including posts such as Head of Public Relations of the Valaisan Tourist Board in his native Switzerland, as well as General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was Director of Sports Timing and Relations of Longines S.A., and was involved in the organization of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games. In the early 1970s, Blatter was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organization which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose.

Blatter first entered the world of football in 1973 as president of the Zurich Brown Shirts, though ultimately failed to obtain the required funding and gain enough attention through various large rallies in order to turn the 'club' fully professional.

Since 1975 Blatter has been working at FIFA, first as Technical Director (1975–1981), then General Secretary (1981–1998) before his election as FIFA President in 1998. He was re-elected as head of FIFA in 2002, and was re-elected unopposed for another four years on 31 May 2007, even though only 66 of 207 FIFA members nominated him

Sepp Blatter's 1998 election to the presidency of FIFA over UEFA President Lennart Johansson occurred amidst much controversy. Blatter's 2002 candidacy has been marked with rumours of financial irregularities and backroom dealings, culminating with direct accusations of bribery, by a third party, made in the British press by Farra Ado, vice-president of the Confederation of African Football and president of the Somali Football Federation, who claimed to have been offered $100,000 to vote for Blatter in 1998

Amidst internal divisions, FIFA's secretary-general Blatter's deputy and former protégé Michel Zen-Ruffinen drew up a 30-page dossier outlining allegations of financial mismanagement within the organisation. The dossier alleged that the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner ISL had led to losses of up to $100m under Blatter's management. The allegations were backed by Johansson, and the dossier was handed to the Swiss authorities, but they cleared Blatter of any wrong doing and FIFA had to pay all the costs. An internal investigation within FIFA was halted by Blatter because members of it broke confidentiality agreements. This questionable behaviour led him to remove Zen-Ruffinen from office immediately before the FIFA World Cup 2002

Blatter incurred criticism from female footballers in 2004 when he suggested that women should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic" and attract more male fans, remarks that were apparently ridiculed in the press.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issue a record 16 yellow cards and four red cards, Blatter was said to have lambasted the officiating referee, and said that Ivanov should have given himself a yellow card for his poor performance as a referee. However, he later regretted his words and promised to officially apologise to Ivanov. This apology was never given, and the referee was removed from further officiating. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup final in Germany, Blatter's absence during the prize-podium event was noted and criticized in international media. It was claimed that the reason Blatter did not attend was because he was upset that Italy won instead of France. Blatter later apologised and said the reason he had shunned the presentation ceremony was because he was afraid of being whistled.

Controversy came in the British press when Russia was awarded the 2018 event, with England receiving just two of their 'promised' votes; this controversy was dismissed by Blatter as the English showing themselves to be "bad losers". The awarding of the 2022 games to Qatar was also controversial; the illegality of homosexuality in the nation caused Blatter to joke that "I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities", which brought condemnation from retired professional basketball player John Amaechi and gay rights groups.

The FIFA ethics committee that investigated bribery claims against Bin Hammam and CONCACAF head Jack Warner announced that Blatter will not face an investigation into claims that he knew of the bribery and did nothing about it, due to a lack of evidence.

Blatter criticised the International Olympic Committee, stating FIFA manage their finances "like a housewife", after the IOC announced it would look into allegations of corruption against Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football.

There being no other nominations, Sepp Blatter ran unopposed in the 2011 FIFA elections.

On 1 June, Blatter was re-elected president for a fourth term, with 186 of the 203 votes in his favour. In his campaign, Blatter had stipulated that, if re-elected in 2011, he would not run again for president.




Not much mention of a football career there. He was 23 in '59 so must have retired early.

The Zurich Brown Shirts? You got to be fucking kidding me!

I think I've found their team photo:

[Chopper]

Sepp Blatter is not racist.

White, brown, yellow, colour is unimportant to him. It's the contents of the envelope that matters

[Esky]

In the early 1970s, Blatter was elected president of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders, an organization which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose.

Different times.

Blatter first entered the world of football in 1973 as president of the Zurich Brown Shirts, though ultimately failed to obtain the required funding and gain enough attention through various large rallies in order to turn the 'club' fully professional.

Shocking that the name never caught on.

[Chinners]

I think the whole episode is bollox personsonally included Blatters 'handshake' statement. It appears that there is far less of a racism problem in football compatred to Religion, politics, the general workplace and even school playing yards. It ain't right of course but lets get a bit of perspective shall we, Blatter maybe a twat but there are others that need bringing to task way before him ... this has just made him seem more important in the scheme of things and I'm sure he'll bve grateful for it at the next re-election. He basic comments about things said in the heat of the moment are correct imo. Do I think John Terry is a racist? No. Do I think he's a bit thick and does not think before he says something in the heat of the moment? yes probably. At the other end you have people that use anything they can to get one over people ... Evra, to me, smacks of being that type of person, whats that now his 3rd or 4th alledged claim of racism? Gus was right, not according to the culture abnd law of this country but how the issue is dealt with in his own country, Evra needs to man up and stop being such a baby but thats just in general and not because he is black.

John Barnes was on the other day about this saying thats why he is not treated fairly as a manager because he is black ... utter bollox, nobody wants him as a manager because basically he was/is shit as a manager.