FIFA scandal grows

[Nigels Tackle]

Today the FA suspended support for Platini's bid to replace Blatter:

FA statement read: "The FA wishes Mr Platini every success in fighting these charges and clearing his name, and has no interest in taking any action that jeopardises this process. "However, notwithstanding the above, at the Uefa meeting on Thursday, the FA learned more information relating to the issues at the centre of this case from Mr Platini's lawyers.

"We have been instructed that the information must be kept confidential and therefore we cannot go into specifics.

"As a result of learning this information, the FA Board has this morning concluded that it must suspend its support for Mr Platini's candidature for the Fifa presidency until the legal process has been concluded and the position is clear.

"A decision can then be taken on who to support in the presidential election on 26 February 2016."

UEFA continues to support Platini, saying he has to have the chance to clear his name, but a new contender has emerged in the race to lead Fifa - Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

but we'll tell you this so that you can all speculate. got to love the fa!

[Dameerto]

There should be rules in place for these situations - if the fricking president is suspended from all football activity then support for his election should be automatically suspended as well. It doesn't imply guilt it's just common...sense...

[Hazy2]

Surely we can sue UEFA now for all the FFP corrupt shit ?? Really hoping Blatter and Platini end up behind bars the fat fucking bent bastards !!!!

MCFC and PSG should be asking where the fines went.

[zuricity]

It's widening now. They have extensive details of the World cup in Germany. Beckenbauer, Netzer amongst others being reviewed . According to the NZZ this morning..

In a separate article , they reckon UEFA will be next for deep investigations.

[Tokyo Blue]

It's widening now. They have extensive details of the World cup in Germany. Beckenbauer, Netzer amongst others being reviewed . According to the NZZ this morning..

In a separate article , they reckon UEFA will be next for deep investigations.

You have just made my day, zuricity.

[nottsblue]

I highly doubt our own FA and in particular, Gill, are beyond reproach either.

[Tokyo Blue]

I highly doubt our own FA and in particular, Gill, are beyond reproach either.

Whoever they are and wherever they are, if they are dishonest, clear them all out.

[nottsblue]

I highly doubt our own FA and in particular, Gill, are beyond reproach either.

Whoever they are and wherever they are, if they are dishonest, clear them all out.

Oh, absolutely. These organisations are corrupt and self serving from the top to the bottom. However, history tends to show a new broom sweeps away deadwood, only for more of the same to appear. How to stop this is the big question.

[Dameerto]

Samuels at it again, printing what we all (at Man City anyway) think:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/articl ... tball.html

How dare the FA say they want Michel Platini cleared and relay that message on behalf of English football

The FA wished Michel Platini every success in clearing his name
Platini has been questioned over a suspicious £1.35million payment
How can the FA take sides in what is now a criminal investigation?
Did the FA wish Ched Evans every success disputing his rape conviction?

Retreating, too late, from their unequivocal backing for Michel Platini, the FA noted the local difficulty he was having finding a contract to explain the £1.35million of Sepp Blatter’s largesse that arrived in his bank account four years ago. They concluded with a message of sincere goodwill.

‘The FA wishes Mr Platini every success in fighting these charges and clearing his name,’ a statement read.

And this means? That they still don’t get it.

How can the FA take sides in what is now a criminal investigation? How can the governing body of English football hope for a specific outcome on FIFA corruption? Did the FA wish the Swiss prosecutors success in nailing the crooks at the heart of football?

No. They hoped that a man who accepted a payment of £1.35m for vague services provided more than a decade earlier, with no contract and no apparent invoice, might find a lawyer smart enough to get him off the hook.

Once we are done with Blatter and Platini, we should have a look at this lot. Not for corruption, but incompetence. How dare they relay that message on behalf of English football? How dare they imply that this country’s dearest wish is for Platini to get lawyered up, beat the rap and assume presidency of FIFA?

And for what? To save their skin. To justify the premature support for Platini’s candidacy extended by FA chairman Greg Dyke, when the presidential race was in its infancy. The FA didn’t even know the list of runners, or what they stood for, when Dyke — under the influence of the equally culpable David Gill — declared for Platini.

Now UEFA’s president has been exposed as the worst kind of FIFA insider, they wish him every success in wriggling out of trouble. This is a disgrace without precedent.

Ched Evans is currently trying to clear his name at the Court of Appeal. Has he been wished every success disputing his rape conviction, too?

Did the FA wish John Terry every success in fighting the charge against him when entering Westminster Magistrates Court in 2012?

And how about Blatter? He denies it all, the same as Platini. Will the FA also be in his corner against these pesky prosecutors?

Of course not — because it is not for the governing body to choose sides in matters of legal process. All they can do is observe dispassionately, hope justice prevails and react accordingly to the verdict.

The stance on Platini represents a radical departure from the neutral position. Maybe the FA also have a fresh take on the £50,000 fine recently administered to Jose Mourinho, by them. Do they wish him every success in fighting their charge against him, too?

And here’s the irony. Even if Platini wasn’t a crook, he would still be a wholly unsuitable president of FIFA, and unworthy of FA support — because he’s not very good. Barely a month passes without further evidence of his poor leadership and inadequate reasoning.

Take the seeding arrangements for the 2016 European Championship. The first phase of qualifying concluded last week. Northern Ireland won Group F, a remarkable achievement. And where will they be seeded in December’s finals draw? Pot four. Above them, in pot three, Romania — the country they beat into second place.

It is the same for Wales. They will be in pot four, too, having finished second to Belgium in Group B. And that may make sense, unless one considers that Bosnia-Herzegovina, who they relegated to third place by four clear points, could yet end up in pot two, if they can overcome the Republic of Ireland in the play-offs.

This is because UEFA co-efficient rankings date back to performances from the 2010-11 season and the most recent qualifying campaign accounts for only 40 per cent of points.

Yet in the Champions League this year, Platini finally conceded that the title winners in major countries should be the top seeds, affording them priority over clubs such as Arsenal, who had amassed significant co-efficient points without delivering a trophy.

Platini came to the idea late, and didn’t extend the new system throughout the seedings, so consistent Champions League failure still counts for more than winning the title in, say, Sweden — but it was at least a start.

Yet, having alighted on the right principle, Platini didn’t care to introduce it to UEFA’s premier international tournament. Northern Ireland’s magnificent performance in qualifying remains inferior to Russia squeaking into second place in Group G, eight points behind Austria. Switzerland finished nine points adrift of England yet can avoid Italy and Croatia. Northern Ireland cannot.

Platini poses as an ally of the smaller nations — diluting the European Championship by expanding it to 24 teams — but still treats them as second class. And this is the man that inspired the FA’s rush to judgment.

So now begins the fight to clear his name. Platini must find a way of validating a £1.35m payment for services rendered between January 1999 and June 2002 that was only put through in 2011, shortly before he announced he would not stand against Blatter in a FIFA election. No paperwork frames this transaction, which Blatter has since suggested was a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ — a revelation that plays fast and loose with both accepted business practice and the English language.

Equally, what was Platini doing to justify such a sum? The Premier League is the most successful football business in the world. Even now, its chief executive is worth a salary of £800,000. Yet Platini could pull in a £1.35m contract close to 17 years ago.

The timeline is even fishier than it sounds. The accepted wisdom is that Platini waited nine years for his payment, but he didn’t. He waited 12. An agreement is made at the start of a working period, not the end. You don’t go to work all year and then find out the terms of your contract. A builder prices the job at the start, not on completion.

Platini would have known what his input was worth in 1999, not 2002, making his reluctance to push for so much as an advance even more curious.

Although not to the FA. They just want him cleared. Maybe they feel the same about the others on FIFA’s grand list of the accused. So why don’t they just come out and say it, to remind us all what they really stand for? Nice and loud, too, so we can all hear.

[blues2win]

A corker of an article. Well done Martin.

[nottsblue]

Superb article. Should be republished in every match programme across Europe for the next two weeks.

Platini is finished

[Im_Spartacus]

Superb article. Should be republished in every match programme across Europe for the next two weeks.

Platini is finished

Have you seen the extracts from his interview with Le Monde. He ends it by saying 'I am bulletproof'

Not a shred of admission that yes, it might look 'odd' but there is a genuine explanation, Rather (to paraphrase) 'I've done nothing wrong, and besides I don't give a fuck what you think, as I haven't lost any votes anyway'

[Hazy2]

Superb article. Should be republished in every match programme across Europe for the next two weeks.

Platini is finished

Have you seen the extracts from his interview with Le Monde. He ends it by saying 'I am bulletproof'

Not a shred of admission that yes, it might look 'odd' but there is a genuine explanation, Rather (to paraphrase) 'I've done nothing wrong, and besides I don't give a fuck what you think, as I haven't lost any votes anyway'

He is like Del Trotter. this time next year we will be Mwillionares. You know it makes sense...

[blues2win]

Deadline for FIFA President nominations is next Monday. FIFA have now stated unless Platini's suspension is lifted by then he can't stand. Hard to see how the Court of Arbitration for Sport will clear him by then.

[bobadji]

M.S for me is easily the best sports writer around, hated FFP, hated the whole FIFA scandal, very honest and well written. He does a 'debate' column a couple days after his actual main column ripping apart the comment section. Always worth a gander.

[nottsblue]

Superb article. Should be republished in every match programme across Europe for the next two weeks.

Platini is finished

Have you seen the extracts from his interview with Le Monde. He ends it by saying 'I am bulletproof'

Not a shred of admission that yes, it might look 'odd' but there is a genuine explanation, Rather (to paraphrase) 'I've done nothing wrong, and besides I don't give a fuck what you think, as I haven't lost any votes anyway'

Re being "bulletproof", I imagine Blatter thought he was eighteen months ago.

[Beefymcfc]

M.S for me is easily the best sports writer around, hated FFP, hated the whole FIFA scandal, very honest and well written. He does a 'debate' column a couple days after his actual main column ripping apart the comment section. Always worth a gander.

Link?

[zuricity]

Deadline for FIFA President nominations is next Monday. FIFA have now stated unless Platini's suspension is lifted by then he can't stand. Hard to see how the Court of Arbitration for Sport will clear him by then.

They also stated that if he is cleared,they will allow him to stand. Even though the time will have expired for applications. Well, that is how i understood the radio in Zuri last night.

[Wonderwall]

Deadline for FIFA President nominations is next Monday. FIFA have now stated unless Platini's suspension is lifted by then he can't stand. Hard to see how the Court of Arbitration for Sport will clear him by then.

They also stated that if he is cleared,they will allow him to stand. Even though the time will have expired for applications. Well, that is how i understood the radio in Zuri last night.

He is being criminally investigated for something he admits happened and has said there was written contractual evidence to back up his payment claims. He then went back on what he said by saying it was a gentleman's verbal agreement. Why are they allowing this? It's a chance to clear the decks and get the organisation clean. However, I feel it will just replace the outgoing crooks with a set of new wiser crooks.

Disgraceful organisation.

[zuricity]

Deadline for FIFA President nominations is next Monday. FIFA have now stated unless Platini's suspension is lifted by then he can't stand. Hard to see how the Court of Arbitration for Sport will clear him by then.

They also stated that if he is cleared,they will allow him to stand. Even though the time will have expired for applications. Well, that is how i understood the radio in Zuri last night.

He is being criminally investigated for something he admits happened and has said there was written contractual evidence to back up his payment claims. He then went back on what he said by saying it was a gentleman's verbal agreement. Why are they allowing this? It's a chance to clear the decks and get the organisation clean. However, I feel it will just replace the outgoing crooks with a set of new wiser crooks.

Disgraceful organisation.

Indeed this surprised me too when I heard it last night, because they have a deadline for entries. Yet somehow they seem to recognise that Fatinis request could still be upheld if he is cleared before the vote . So what good would that do ?

The sad fact about these events is that in any other circumstance people in Bladders or Fatinis roles would be recommended to resign. These two arrogant arses genuinely believe that they are above the rest (of us)