Boycoutt?

[The Fish 10965]

82.65% of the people who responded to a BBC poll said that they would support a boycott of the World Cup by England, in an effort to force FIFA's hand.

 

Would you?

Edited November 17, 2014 by The Fish

[Andrew 4857]

Sure, alone it would make no difference, they would revel in the fact we were doing it in fact.

But, if the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Italy also took part (The German FA are threatening that UEFA may leave FIFA) then it would do the business.

 

It'll take something massive to get it to happen, hopefully the long term good of the game can override the desire for short term gain that pervades football.

[David Kelly 1260]

Given that we are shit and have no chance of winning a world cup then it would be no hardship to me at all to see us boycott. FIFA have it in for us already though so like Andrew says it would achieve nothing unless other big federations joined in. FIFA desperately needs changes though so I would love to see that happen.

[The Fish 10965]

Sure, alone it would make no difference, they would revel in the fact we were doing it in fact.

 

But, if the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Italy also took part (The German FA are threatening that UEFA may leave FIFA) then it would do the business.

 

It'll take something massive to get it to happen, hopefully the long term good of the game can override the desire for short term gain that pervades football.

Dan Roan (BBC) says that Spain and Portugal are unlikely to lend their weight to any action as they've come out fairly unscathed despite big questions about their 2018 bid.

 

Mind, saying that, if Barcelona and the Madrid teams decide they don't want to risk their players in Qatar they might be able to put sufficient pressure on the Spanish FA?

[Park Life 71]

There's quite a bit of fuss in Germany regarding this and I can see them supporting a boycott and perhaps someone like Holland.

[PaddockLad 17653]

The only way to achieve change is for the sponsors to withdraw en masse.... but when Emirates and Sony did this they were replaced by, of all companies, Qatar Airways

[Andrew 4857]

Dan Roan (BBC) says that Spain and Portugal are unlikely to lend their weight to any action as they've come out fairly unscathed despite big questions about their 2018 bid.

 

Mind, saying that, if Barcelona and the Madrid teams decide they don't want to risk their players in Qatar they might be able to put sufficient pressure on the Spanish FA?

 

Barcelonas involvement might hinge on the Catalan independence carry on, they might not even end up in the Spanish league anymore, unlikely the Spanish FA would let them go tbh but they're threatening it.

[Park Life 71]

It's time we got these police state and savage Arab countries out of football. Pretty much slavery going on in the gulf states. Arsenal and Man C say goodbye to your money fuckers.

[PaddockLad 17653]

There's lads dying every month in Qatar on the construction of the stadiums, this after having their passports confiscated and wages withheld i.e. basically slavery, all with Blatter's blessing...then turns a blind eye when people trying to expose this are incarcerated in Qatar...

 

http://rt.com/news/185780-qatar-world-cup-workers/

[The Fish 10965]

 

The two whistleblowers whose anonymity was effectively blown by Fifa’s summary of its ethics probe into the 2018 and 2022 World Cups have submitted formal complaints over their treatment at the hands of investigators.

Phaedra Almajid, the whistleblower who first made serious allegations about Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, said her identification had threatened the safety of her family. She has now written to Michael Garcia, the head of the investigatory arm of Fifa’s ethics committee, to protest at her treatment.

Her intervention comes amid growing disquiet about the way whistleblowers who spoke to Garcia under condition of anonymity have been publicly traduced by Hans-Joachim Eckert, whose 42-page summary was then disowned by the New York attorney.

Bonita Mersiades, the former Australia 2022 executive who also gave evidence to Garcia on three occasions under condition that her anonymity would be protected, has also submitted a formal letter of complaint to Garcia. “It says much about Fifa and those inside their tent that they felt it necessary to engage in a denigration of the two women who had been courageous enough to say something,” said Mersiades in an article for the Guardian.

“It is one thing to discount our discussions and the evidence – an investigator is entitled to do that - but it is extraordinary to single out two individuals and detail (mostly incorrectly) the contact with Mike Garcia, especially when we were assured in writing and in person that our dealings with him were confidential.”

In the letter from Aljamid, seen by the Guardian, she said she had agreed to speak to Garcia despite no longer working in football but did so “in the belief that the true facts known to me are important to the purposes of your investigation”.

“My cooperation was based on your promise of confidentiality. You have said that, ‘in the course of any investigation, [you are] bound by confidentiality’, and ‘also want to protect anyone who would wish to come to me in good faith’. As an organisation, Fifa has stated that the identities of the people you spoke with - other than current serving football officials or employees - would remain confidential,” she wrote.

Almajid pointed out that the promises of confidentiality were repeated by Fifa’s chief legal counsel, Marco Villiger, just two months ago at the height of a debate about whether Garcia’s report should be published in full.

Ironically, Fifa claimed that one of the main reasons for producing a summary rather than publishing the full report was to protect the anonymity of whistleblowers.

“As I have explained to you and your colleagues, confidentiality was crucial to my cooperation with your investigation, considering my personal circumstances, particularly the safety of my two sons and me,” said Aljamid.

“Not only was Herr Eckert’s summary a crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous description of me and the information and materials I provided your investigation, it directly breached Fifa’s assurances of my confidentiality.”

Like Mersiades, Almajid saw her evidence discredited in the disputed 42-page summary of Garcia’s 430-page report compliled by Eckert.

Eckert said Mersiades, who is not named but is easy to identify from the summary report, provided “some useful information” but claimed “the evidence did not support its specific recollections and allegations” and “further undermined its own reliability” by speaking to the media.

The German judge said Almajid “provided voluminous records and other information” but said there were “serious concerns about the individual’s credibility” and therefore the report had not relied on any information or material she provided.

Almajid worked on the Qatar bid in a senior communications role and was behind allegations aired under parliamentary privilege that African Fifa executives Issa Hayatou, Jacques Anouma and Amos Adamu were given $1.5m each to vote for Qatar. The three have denied the allegations, as has the Qatar bid committee.

She later retracted the claims but has now said she agreed to do so only under duress, after the Qatar organising committee said they would not bring legal action against her for breaching a confidentiality clause in her contract if she signed the sworn statement.

In 2011, Aljamid signed the sworn statement in which she said she had fabricated her original allegations and had not been put under any pressure, or received any financial inducements, for retracting the claims.

She said at the time that the decision was “entirely my own” and that she felt “sorry” and “guilty” for undermining the credibility of the ultimately successful Qatari bid.

“Although Herr Eckert did not name me in his report, he directly identified me and my information by connecting it to my publicly reported statements three years ago. Within hours of publication of Herr Eckert’s summary, I had already been widely identified as one of the ‘whistleblowers’ in German and British media,” she wrote.

“As if identifying me were not enough, Herr Eckert’s report falsely discredits me in order to support his indefensible conclusion that the December 2010 bidding was wholly acceptable.”

She said that Eckert had put her safety and that of her family at risk by effectively singling her and Mersiades out from the 70 plus witnesses who spoke to Garcia, making their evidence easy to identify.

“In any organisation – particularly one with huge resources and global reach like Fifa – protection of insiders who expose wrongdoing is essential to an honest and healthy business. Identifying me and falsely discrediting me sends a message to anyone who may think to come forward that their credibility and protection will be in jeopardy for the rest of their lives,” she wrote.

“I have taken great personal risks to stand up for the truth in a highly politicised atmosphere. However I have found myself betrayed and denigrated for being courageous enough to come forward with critical information.

“My fate reveals much about Fifa and its modus operandi. A culture of silence is rewarded; those who speak out and dare to question the system are not just cast aside, but ironically denied any protection or respect under Fifa’s own Code of Ethics.”

Hours after Eckert’s summary, which effectively cleared Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, Garcia complained that it misrepresented the facts of his report and his conclusions and reported the matter to Fifa’s appeals committee.

In a joint statement, the pair complained that Eckert had broken rule 16.1 of the ethics committee code, which guarantees confidentiality to whistleblowers.

“The summary by Judge Eckert clearly breached all such assurances of confidentiality. Although not named in the report, we were clearly identifiable and within hours of its publication had been widely unmasked as the ‘whistleblowers’ in German, British and Australian media,” they said.

“To compound this situation Judge Eckert used his summary report to question our credibility. This is particularly puzzling as the summary simultaneously uses the same information we provided to form significant parts of his inquiry in respect of the Australian and Qatar World Cup bids.”

 

[aimaad22 4222]

Something has got to give sooner or later. How long can FIFA carry on this shambles?

 

This could provide the push that is needed for other countries to follow suit.

 

If it doesnt it'll be a disaster though, for the neutrals anyway. Not many things as entertaining in sport as the English football team trying to compete at the highest level

[Howay 12496]

Sure, alone it would make no difference, they would revel in the fact we were doing it in fact.

 

But, if the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Italy also took part (The German FA are threatening that UEFA may leave FIFA) then it would do the business.

 

It'll take something massive to get it to happen, hopefully the long term good of the game can override the desire for short term gain that pervades football.

This about sums up my feelings as well. This has to end because it's getting more and more blatant, the 2018 vote was bad enough but the 2022 bid may as well have seen Blatter come out and go "okay who wants to give us the most money?", to then turn around and attempt to punish two of the failed bids is fucking shocking. I'd love to see UEFA pull away, at least long enough to destroy what FIFA has become.

Fucking around with the dates is just shocking as well, if they can't host it in the Summer then they shouldn't have it. I've no problem with a middle eastern country having a World cup tournament but at least make it one that has some fucking history in the sport ffs, oh and one that doesn't practice what is basically slavery. Blatter is a total abhorrent prick and I fully expect to hear things coming out about him when he eventually steps down/ resigns/ is forced out of his position.

[ewerk 31201]

A UEFA boycott would heap immense pressure on Blatter. Although his resignation would still be unlikely, who would benefit most from it? Mr. UEFA himself, Platini.

 

It's not beyond the realms of possibility.

[Rayvin 5296]

Would fully support a UEFA move away from FIFA. Needs to happen. FIFA have to be one of the most shameful sport governing bodies on the entire planet - I subscribe to the theory that the conduct their business in the same way that parasites do.

 

As for England, fuck yes I would support that - only after we qualify though so that it fucks up the planning.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Rayvin

[ADP 0]

Dan Roan (BBC) says that Spain and Portugal are unlikely to lend their weight to any action as they've come out fairly unscathed despite big questions about their 2018 bid.

 

Mind, saying that, if Barcelona and the Madrid teams decide they don't want to risk their players in Qatar they might be able to put sufficient pressure on the Spanish FA?

I admire your forethought, but there's nee chance there will be a boycott. While the FA may support it in principle, there's so much sponsorship money invested in it that I'd imagine they would rather put pressure on a publication of Garcia's full report and an uprooting of all the apparent corruption, than risk product advertisement and whatnot. I would love a boycott, I fucking despise what FIFA is now. but it would take something pretty damning to be in the report for it to be a multinational thing. Which, obviously we must push for first.

[OTF 7489]

The ultimate outcome would result in more transparency in any international/World Cup related sponsorship. Electronic Arts may be slightly annoyed if FIFA are made appropriately redundant.

[The Fish 10965]

The ultimate outcome would result in more transparency in any international/World Cup related sponsorship. Electronic Arts may be slightly annoyed if FIFA are made appropriately redundant.

 

Not if they've foresight. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the name FIFA is not the reason that game is popular. They'll just call it something else, just like Champ-Man changed to FM, FIFA will change to "World Soccer Federation" and scores of young England stars will instagram pictures of themselves playing WSF17 or whatever.

 

EA would probably welcome the change as it would bring more attention to that governing body and subsequently allow them more free media coverage.

[Alex 35583]

 

Not if they've foresight. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the name FIFA is not the reason that game is popular. They'll just call it something else, just like Champ-Man changed to FM, FIFA will change to "World Soccer Federation" and scores of young England stars will instagram pictures of themselves playing WSF17 or whatever.

 

EA would probably welcome the change as it would bring more attention to that governing body and subsequently allow them more free media coverage.

[The Fish 10965]

what did I miss?

 

have I been whooshed? I'm very tired and currently pre-coffee.

[Alex 35583]

It was just a very serious answer to a flippant comment.

[essembeeofsunderland 811]

The Euro's are more interesting than the World Cup so have the tournament at the same time as the World Cup and get out of FIFA if that's possibly.

[The Fish 10965]

It was just a very serious answer to a flippant comment.

I've been guilty of that a lot lately. A mate asked if I liked art and I gave him about three paragraphs, when wall he wanted to know is if I wouldn't mind going to his sister's exhibition as a show of support.

 

I realise that even this is a fairly extensive response...

 

Fuck.

[Meenzer 15716]

You, talk too much? I can't imagine that.

[The Fish 10965]

Take it you're not coming over for a coffee yesterday then?

[Meenzer 15716]

Aye, afraid not.