He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune
It looks like Fifa and Sepp Blatter have broken this major rule of both life and business, in that four major sponsors are unhappy at how the organisation is run, according to this report.
How many others will join them?
As after all the rich and powerful, who run such businesses, like to give people a good kicking, just to show you don’t mess with them.
This is one Blatter and FIFA will lose, as you may be able to fool some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
A Good Day For Wales
Yesterday, Swansea got into the Premier League at Wembley and the English cricketers turned a certain draw into an unlikely win at Cardiff.
I wish Swansea well at their new status. Their ground, the Liberty Stadium is certainly up to it, as I found last season. Perhaps, all it needs is a station of its own or better transport from the town centre.
Crisis? What Crisis?
I couldn’t believe that Sepp Blatter said this, but according to this report from the BBC, he did.
If ever there was a case, that when you gotta go, you should go now, this is it.
Barcelona Comes To London
I took these pictures in Trafalgar Square before the match.
Everything was very good-natured. It also seemed to be more about photography, singing and hsving a good time than excessive consumption of alcohol.
It was very busy in Charing Cross station, but where were the signs in Spanish/Catalan. There seemed to be a degree of crowding as fans tried to work out how to get tickets to Wembley.
London should get this right before the Olympics. But then we don’t need to, as all foreigners speak English. Don’t they?
Sorting Out Fifa!
With the Champions League Final going on today, FIFA have missed an easy way of sorting out their problems.
At the match or even at half-time, they could have a genuine shoot-out to see who prevails. After all, FIFA needs a strong person to sort out their problems and one who could survive a shoot-out would have a genuine advantage. On the other hand an innocent spectator might get injured by a stray bullet. But I suppose there is always Paintball guns, providing the gunk inside is indelible.
The shoot-out could also be linked to the match in the event of a draw. But then who’d want dear old Sepp? And some of those involved in the hoo-hahs at FIFA, are probably so bent they couldn’t shoot straight.
FIFA In Meltdown
Hopefully! But accusations are coming thick and fast. Not even the president is immune, if this BBC report is right.
To me, Sepp Blatter lost all credibility, when he failed to back goal-line technology, which in a similar fashion works so well in rugby and tennis. Read his Wikipedia entry and make your own conclusions.
I particularly like this bit.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup after a controversial second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands, which saw referee Valentin Ivanov issuing 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. Also 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.
Let’s hope that FIFA sort out all of the accusations to every real football fan’s satisfaction.
Food At Wembley Tonight
Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live was talking about the overpriced snacks at the stadium. Here’s a letter I sent in.
It’s not only over-priced, but as a coeliac, there’s nothing there that is gluten-free. So the last time I went I starved. Scunthorpe is much better!
I suppose UEFA have got to raise the money to fund their lifestyle someway. So they’re not as much a disgrace as FIFA, but give them time, to either sort themselves out or learn.
The Anonymous Widower 