Mihir Bose's Blog, page 31
June 10, 2015
Sepp Blatter planning to kick Britain on his way out of FIFA
Sepp Blatter planning to kick Britain on his way out of FIFA
London Evening Standard
Sepp Blatter plans a drastic restructuring of FIFA, which could see Britain losing many of its privileges on football’s governing body.
Blatter’s reign of the crisis-hit organisation is set to end later this year with reports today that the election of a new FIFA president will be held on December 16.
Domenico Scala, head of FIFA’s independent audit and compliance committee, says before Blatter leaves he hopes to push through reforms which he considers “his legacy”.
Central to this is reducing the FIFA executive which has 24 elected members.
It is thought that the executive could be cut to 15 and that is where Britain could suffer.
London Evening Standard
Sepp Blatter plans a drastic restructuring of FIFA, which could see Britain losing many of its privileges on football’s governing body.
Blatter’s reign of the crisis-hit organisation is set to end later this year with reports today that the election of a new FIFA president will be held on December 16.
Domenico Scala, head of FIFA’s independent audit and compliance committee, says before Blatter leaves he hopes to push through reforms which he considers “his legacy”.
Central to this is reducing the FIFA executive which has 24 elected members.
It is thought that the executive could be cut to 15 and that is where Britain could suffer.
June 4, 2015
Andrea Pirlo is a football genius! Prandelli backs Juventus star to shine against Barcelona in the Champions League Final
London Evening Standard
Cesare Prandelli is famous for measuring his words very carefully. But when I ask whether his former club Juventus will beat Barcelona in Saturday’s Champions League Final he does not hesitate.
“Juventus have played an extraordinary championship,” says the former Italy coach.
“They won Serie A by 17 points over Roma. They won the Coppa Italia and now they are in the European final. I think the odds on Juve winning are just as good as Barcelona.”
Bookmakers clearly disagree. Barcelona are 8-13 while Juventus are as long as 5-1 but Prandelli believes there is one man who could upset these odds. “Andrea Pirlo is a football genius. I’m sure he’ll come up with something in Berlin on Saturday.”
For all Pirlo’s magic, Barcelona possess Lionel Messi, who has scored 58 times in 56 games this season and hit possibly the greatest goal of his career last week against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey Final.
Cesare Prandelli is famous for measuring his words very carefully. But when I ask whether his former club Juventus will beat Barcelona in Saturday’s Champions League Final he does not hesitate.
“Juventus have played an extraordinary championship,” says the former Italy coach.
“They won Serie A by 17 points over Roma. They won the Coppa Italia and now they are in the European final. I think the odds on Juve winning are just as good as Barcelona.”
Bookmakers clearly disagree. Barcelona are 8-13 while Juventus are as long as 5-1 but Prandelli believes there is one man who could upset these odds. “Andrea Pirlo is a football genius. I’m sure he’ll come up with something in Berlin on Saturday.”
For all Pirlo’s magic, Barcelona possess Lionel Messi, who has scored 58 times in 56 games this season and hit possibly the greatest goal of his career last week against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey Final.
June 3, 2015
Sepp Blatter’s Fifa ‘children’ will continue his work
London Evening Standard
One of the great ironies of Sepp Blatter’s spectacular fall is that it is the authorities of the country he worked so hard to convert to football that have brought about his downfall.
Blatter was central to the organisation of the 1994 World Cup in the USA and is believed to have voted for them to host the 2022 tournament, while he appeared as shocked as the rest of us when the Gulf state won the right to host the biggest sporting event on the planet.
What Blatter did not realise until last Wednesday, when Swiss police acting on behalf of the US authorities arrested seven FIFA officials, was that the entire bidding process which led to Russia and Qatar winning their respective bids had released forces he could not control.
One of the great ironies of Sepp Blatter’s spectacular fall is that it is the authorities of the country he worked so hard to convert to football that have brought about his downfall.
Blatter was central to the organisation of the 1994 World Cup in the USA and is believed to have voted for them to host the 2022 tournament, while he appeared as shocked as the rest of us when the Gulf state won the right to host the biggest sporting event on the planet.
What Blatter did not realise until last Wednesday, when Swiss police acting on behalf of the US authorities arrested seven FIFA officials, was that the entire bidding process which led to Russia and Qatar winning their respective bids had released forces he could not control.
May 31, 2015
Uefa warms up substitute: a rival cup
Sunday Times
EUROPEAN football’s governing body, Uefa. could consider promoting a rival competition to Fifa’s World Cup as part of an overall plan to break ties with Sepp Blatter’s organisation.
Officials led by Michel Platini, Uefa’s president, will meet this weekend in Berlin where their showpiece event, the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Juventus, takes place.
Platini, the former French star player who became a Fifa power broker, failed to persuade Blatter to step down when the two men met in Zurich on Thursday. He now says that all options are open and this includes Uefa leaving Fifa.
EUROPEAN football’s governing body, Uefa. could consider promoting a rival competition to Fifa’s World Cup as part of an overall plan to break ties with Sepp Blatter’s organisation.
Officials led by Michel Platini, Uefa’s president, will meet this weekend in Berlin where their showpiece event, the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Juventus, takes place.
Platini, the former French star player who became a Fifa power broker, failed to persuade Blatter to step down when the two men met in Zurich on Thursday. He now says that all options are open and this includes Uefa leaving Fifa.
May 29, 2015
Fifa election: Desperate Sepp Blatter calls for unity as he waits to learn his fate
London Evening Standard
Sepp Blatter was fighting for his future as the head of world football today, as he admitted the dramatic events of the last 48 hours had “unleashed a storm” against Fifa.
Blatter made a call for unity as he addressed Fifa Congress here at the start of a day which he hoped would end with him being voted in for a fifth term as president of the governing body.
Although Blatter was favourite to defeat Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, the arrest of seven top Fifa officials as part of a corruption probe has dented his standing. Even if Blatter wins the election, he has a huge job to regain the support of the 209 confederations.
In his opening remarks to Fifa delegates, Blatter said: “The events of this week unleashed a storm. It was even questioned whether this Congress would go ahead but I am appealing for unity and team spirit to tackle the problems.
Sepp Blatter was fighting for his future as the head of world football today, as he admitted the dramatic events of the last 48 hours had “unleashed a storm” against Fifa.
Blatter made a call for unity as he addressed Fifa Congress here at the start of a day which he hoped would end with him being voted in for a fifth term as president of the governing body.
Although Blatter was favourite to defeat Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, the arrest of seven top Fifa officials as part of a corruption probe has dented his standing. Even if Blatter wins the election, he has a huge job to regain the support of the 209 confederations.
In his opening remarks to Fifa delegates, Blatter said: “The events of this week unleashed a storm. It was even questioned whether this Congress would go ahead but I am appealing for unity and team spirit to tackle the problems.
May 28, 2015
Fifa will ignore plea to postpone election despite corruption scandal Routine matter: FIFA chief Sepp Blatter is widely expected to win a fifth term
London Evening Standard
Fifa are set to ignore demands to delay tomorrow’s presidential elections despite the corruption scandal that has plunged the organisation into crisis.
Uefa have called for the vote to be postponed for six months while sponsors voiced their concerns following 24 hours of devastating developments for world football’s governing body.
However, Fifa are working hard to convince everyone that it is business as usual despite the arrests here yesterday of seven top officials including three executive members, indicted by US authorities on corruption charges.
This is emphasised by the fact that the agenda for tomorrow’s Congress has the election of president listed as the 17th of 19 items.
Fifa are set to ignore demands to delay tomorrow’s presidential elections despite the corruption scandal that has plunged the organisation into crisis.
Uefa have called for the vote to be postponed for six months while sponsors voiced their concerns following 24 hours of devastating developments for world football’s governing body.
However, Fifa are working hard to convince everyone that it is business as usual despite the arrests here yesterday of seven top officials including three executive members, indicted by US authorities on corruption charges.
This is emphasised by the fact that the agenda for tomorrow’s Congress has the election of president listed as the 17th of 19 items.
No matter what Sepp Blatter hears, in his world he is always in the right Fifth term: Blatter will almost certainly be re-elected president of FIFA tomorrow
London Evening Standard
At tea time tomorrow, Sepp Blatter will almost certainly be re-elected president of FIFA for a fifth term. This seems astonishing given that FIFA are now engulfed in the worst crisis in their history.
So how can the 79-year-old, under whose watch much of the alleged bribery took place, not be forced to fall on his sword? The answer lies in the way Blatter has moulded the organisation so that when things go well he gets all the credit but when there is scandal he is the innocent victim of other people’s machinations, even if some of the perpetrators may have been his closest associates for years and he had previously held them up as exemplary men.
The last 24 hours in Zurich illustrate how Blatter has perfected the art of turning from hero, who can sense every change the game needs, to blameless victim, unaware of the dreadful things going on under his very nose. Take the arrest of seven high-ranking FIFA officials in Zurich yesterday having been accused, according to US attorney general Loretta Lynch, “of corrupting the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves,” a process that had been going on for almost a quarter of a century. Three of them are on the executive that helps Blatter run FIFA and one, Jeffrey Webb, has been touted as a possible successor who only a few weeks ago the Swiss was praising extravagantly.
At tea time tomorrow, Sepp Blatter will almost certainly be re-elected president of FIFA for a fifth term. This seems astonishing given that FIFA are now engulfed in the worst crisis in their history.
So how can the 79-year-old, under whose watch much of the alleged bribery took place, not be forced to fall on his sword? The answer lies in the way Blatter has moulded the organisation so that when things go well he gets all the credit but when there is scandal he is the innocent victim of other people’s machinations, even if some of the perpetrators may have been his closest associates for years and he had previously held them up as exemplary men.
The last 24 hours in Zurich illustrate how Blatter has perfected the art of turning from hero, who can sense every change the game needs, to blameless victim, unaware of the dreadful things going on under his very nose. Take the arrest of seven high-ranking FIFA officials in Zurich yesterday having been accused, according to US attorney general Loretta Lynch, “of corrupting the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves,” a process that had been going on for almost a quarter of a century. Three of them are on the executive that helps Blatter run FIFA and one, Jeffrey Webb, has been touted as a possible successor who only a few weeks ago the Swiss was praising extravagantly.
May 22, 2015
Should it be necessary to be British to vote in the EU referendum?
Should it be necessary to be British to vote in the EU referendum?
The Guardian
Scare stories about European ‘foreigners’ having a say in the outcome overlook the fact that many non-citizens can vote in UK elections already. Stranger still, no one – not even Ukip – seems to want to talk about it
The vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union may still be months away, but already the scare stories have started. One that is particularly revealing is the question about who should be allowed to vote in the in/out referendum. The Mail on Sunday reported Tory concerns that one million Europeans who are not UK passport holders could be allowed to cast their vote. Conservative MP Philip Davies told the paper that there was “massive concern that the referendum could be rigged to deliver a desired outcome. But it would be unjustifiable if EU nationals were allowed to take part in this vote”.
Such is the concern that Eurosceptic Tories have challenged David Lidington, the minister for Europe, to make sure these European foreigners are not allowed to vote. At present, EU citizens living in this country can vote in the local and European elections but not in the general election. Tory rebels want the referendum to be run under general election rules. What could be fairer?
The Guardian
Scare stories about European ‘foreigners’ having a say in the outcome overlook the fact that many non-citizens can vote in UK elections already. Stranger still, no one – not even Ukip – seems to want to talk about it
The vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union may still be months away, but already the scare stories have started. One that is particularly revealing is the question about who should be allowed to vote in the in/out referendum. The Mail on Sunday reported Tory concerns that one million Europeans who are not UK passport holders could be allowed to cast their vote. Conservative MP Philip Davies told the paper that there was “massive concern that the referendum could be rigged to deliver a desired outcome. But it would be unjustifiable if EU nationals were allowed to take part in this vote”.
Such is the concern that Eurosceptic Tories have challenged David Lidington, the minister for Europe, to make sure these European foreigners are not allowed to vote. At present, EU citizens living in this country can vote in the local and European elections but not in the general election. Tory rebels want the referendum to be run under general election rules. What could be fairer?
May 21, 2015
England vs New Zealand: We’re a confident side and we deserve to be taken seriously, says Brendon McCullum
London Evening Standard
Brendon McCullum leads New Zealand out for their 100th Test against England today with more at stake than justifying the view from many experts that they are favourites to win the series.
The tourists have only won eight of the previous 99 meetings and have not won here since 1999.
The skipper says his team do not feel weighed down by the burden of history and they are ready to challenge the traditional view of his country among cricket chiefs here.
“History does not figure,” says the 33-year-old on the eve of the two-Test Investec series. “That has no bearing on it. We have to earn the right to win, the right to ask the questions and we are doing that.”
Among the questions they are asking are why they are playing only two Tests here with the majority of the summer reserved for the Ashes.
“It will be nice to have a full series in England,” he says. “It would also be nice to play a Boxing Day Test at home against England.”
Brendon McCullum leads New Zealand out for their 100th Test against England today with more at stake than justifying the view from many experts that they are favourites to win the series.
The tourists have only won eight of the previous 99 meetings and have not won here since 1999.
The skipper says his team do not feel weighed down by the burden of history and they are ready to challenge the traditional view of his country among cricket chiefs here.
“History does not figure,” says the 33-year-old on the eve of the two-Test Investec series. “That has no bearing on it. We have to earn the right to win, the right to ask the questions and we are doing that.”
Among the questions they are asking are why they are playing only two Tests here with the majority of the summer reserved for the Ashes.
“It will be nice to have a full series in England,” he says. “It would also be nice to play a Boxing Day Test at home against England.”
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