Doesn’t want to spend his last few years in jail though does he.
England should be given the 2018 World Cup instead of Russia, the former Uefa president Lennart Johansson has said.
Johansson, who lost the 1998 Fifa presidential election to Sepp Blatter, says the 2018 and 2022 World Cup awards should be reviewed in the light of the new corruption charges.
Johansson, 85, speaking after seven Fifa officials including two vice-presidents were arrested by police in Zurich ahead of extradition proceedings to the USA, told Swedish newspaper Sportbladet: “I expect they will reconsider the (World Cup) decisions. Blatter himself has said that the decision to go east wasn’t proper. I am sure the initiative will now be taken to make a new decision.
“England haven’t had it since 1966 and it’s considered ’the motherland of football’, whatever we might think. They are worthy of the attention.”
He added: “I’m not surprised at what is happening. Blatter will obviously ensure that he wins the election in his own way. I think it’s unfortunate that the world’s biggest sporting movement has such a leader at the top, I really do.”
The Russia 2018 organising committee head, Alexey Sorokin, insisted he was not concerned about the criminal investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and said there was no point in even discussing the idea of a re-vote for the tournaments – something Fifa has also ruled out.
He told Sky Sports News: “We have repeatedly stated that we’re not afraid of any investigation. We cooperated with the investigation that was going on for about two years which was headed by Mr (Michael) Garcia. We submitted all the facts, all the papers, we submitted our testimonies – we did everything the process wanted us to do. We don’t know what else we can contribute to that.
“We repeatedly said the process was transparent and that we’re not concerned with any investigations. It’s just strange there’s a chance to go through the same thing again, where everything was seemingly closed.”
Asked if he was worried about a re-vote, he added: “No, because we are so deep in the preparation, we’ve done so much. Our government, our country, has done so much already for the preparation of an excellent World Cup, I don’t even want to discuss it with anyone.”
On Blatter’s future, he said: “We wish the current president all the success in the elections.”
Blatter will not attend this morning’s Fifa medical conference in Zurich and nor is he expected to attend the meeting of Uefa’s member association heads after that, a Fifa spokesman said.
Fifa’s chief medical officer, Jiri Dvorak, said Blatter sent his apologies at being unable to attend the medical conference.
Dvorak told delegates: “President Blatter apologises for not being able to come today because of the turbulence you have probably followed in the media.
“He said he has to fulfil his duties in the management of the situation which is probably more important than to come to us, so he sends his sincere apologies.”
I accept that my stance is contrary to that of the great John Delaney but I’m pledging my support to Sepp Blatter. I hope he wins the vote against Prince Ali tomorrow.
Strong, decisive leadership is imperative for football and President Blatter is the only man who can deliver this.
FIFA has never been the same since Sir Stanley Rous was ousted in 1974.
In this hour of crisis, leadership is needed from the Home of Football. Is there any way at this late stage that David Gill could be put on the ballot paper for tomorrow?
There’s a serious whiff of white man’s burden in the coverage of this and the gallant Western countries trying to grab enough votes to outflank those pesky and corrupt Africans.
Let’s not forget that the governments of the UK, the US and Australia had their heads up the arses of FIFA’s executive committee trying to win their bids. Gordon Brown went and met Jack Warner in trying to win the 2018 bid, despite knowing that he was basically a ticket tout. It’s tough luck that they can’t be as flagrant in your bribing but that doesn’t make them much better than everyone else.
So, both Bandage and Putin have weighed in behind Blatter, that’s good enough for me.
[QUOTE=“Tim Riggins, post: 1150496, member: 1382”]There’s a serious whiff of white man’s burden in the coverage of this and the gallant Western countries trying to grab enough votes to outflank those pesky and corrupt Africans.
Let’s not forget that the governments of the UK, the US and Australia had their heads up the arses of FIFA’s executive committee trying to win their bids. Gordon Brown went and met Jack Warner in trying to win the 2018 bid, despite knowing that he was basically a ticket tout. It’s tough luck that they can’t be as flagrant in your bribing but that doesn’t make them much better than everyone else.[/QUOTE]
Of course they did. Australia paid Warner half a mil (an inconvenient little truth, highly toxic over here). But this argument about it being a racist agenda against African and Middle Eastern countries is getting a bit old. FIFA like to propogate this idea and I’m sure their great cheerleader Putin will trot it out as well, him being such a paragon of humanity and everything.
But does this mean FIFA are some kind of wonderful, revolutionary, altruistic body, doling out massive money to help football in less developed countries, while those nasty robber barons in Europe and America do everything possible to maintain the status quo? Aside from a few new footballs for some kids in Sierra Leone to pose for the cameras with, is that money actually going to develop football? Is it enhancing the ordinary player or punters life in less developed countries? Is it fuck.
Blatter will win the vote, naturally, but you’ll start to see more and more of those countries jump the ship when they see that they future won’t involve him. Not many senior FIFA officials will be enthusiastic about looking for gifts, grants, or as we call them in Wexford, bribes, at the moment. The whole house of cards could tumble and unless you’re on the right side of where the momentum is, you’ll be caught.
Fun fact: FIFA has 16 more member countries than the UN. Blatter would fucking invent a country if he thought he could get a vote out of it.
@The Selfish Giant is going to have a cardiac arrest when he reads this post.
Where did I defend FIFA?
I just said it is hypocritical of Anglo Saxon countries to only start screaming about FIFA after the 2018 and 2022 votes were decided. They tried to play the FIFA game and got burnt. They shouldn’t have been getting involved in FIFA back then, everyone knew it was a corrupt cesspool. As you mention above the Australians tried to bribe them. The US were relying on Chuck Blazer to deliver votes, the lad who got so fat from eating at 5 star restaurants and FIFA buffets that he had to go around in a motorised shopping cart. The tone of the media coverage and online comments I’ve read has very much been - “Europe should tag team up with Oceania, North America and some South American countries and get rid of evil Blatter, those Africans are so corrupt!”. They are just doing the same thing that the US, England and Australia did, playing the game.
Media organisations crying foul. They could all pull all football coverage in the morning and put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.
Brilliant speech by Mr Blatter at congress. Hopefully that should sway undecided voters. I’ve taken to twitter to launch a counter-attack in support of the main man. Ollie Kay of The Times in London has had a massive nibble already.
+1
In Sepp we trust.
Fuck the Brits.
I’ve had to delete my tweets because I inadvertently criticised an organisation I’ve professional dealings with.
Business comes first. Business before ethics.
Sepp…
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Hmm… What’s all this then?
Were we bought off over the Thierry Henry handball?
Which member of the forum was this
Irish plasterer urinated on French loaves in protest at Henry handball, court told
BY KEVIN BRADY
A drunken unemployed plasterer who was found urinating on the French loaves section of a large supermarket in protest at the infamous handball incident in the France vs Ireland World Cup qualifier, was this week given a suspended sentence, fined and bound over to keep the peace.
Frances “Smokie” Larkin, The Meadows, Killareagh, Co Roscommon pleaded guilty to the incident at Maher’s ValueStore supermarket, Killareagh, one week after the match which Ireland controversially drew after the French goal was deemed to have scored despite a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry.
Staff found the 46-year-old urinating on the Cuisine de France section of the bread shelves in Maher’s, shouting “this will teach ye, ye cheating French bastards,” before he was taken away by local gardai.
Gardai Anthony Flanagan told the court that he had been called to the store at 11.15 on the morning of November 25.
“When I reached the shop, I was informed that Mr Larkin was causing a disturbance in the bread section and when I got there, he was urinating on the French bread section and stamping on a loaf. I later ascertained that the loaves were brioches, a sort of French bread.
“When he saw me, he tried to run away but I apprehended him and grabbed him by the arm. He said ‘that’s for Thierry Henry, guard. If you have any pride in your country, you’ll let me go.
“Then he said ‘that’ll teach them, the cheating French bastards.”
Addressing the court, Angela Roche, solicitor for the defendant said that her client had a problem with drink and that normally he was a placcid character. “It is when he mixes alcohol with his passion for sport that he gets himself into situations like this.
She said that Mr Larkin had become quite agitated with the result of the World Cup match and had worn an “I shot Thierry Henry” t-shirt that was made up in a local t-shirt shop,” she said.
In evidence, Mr Larkin apologised to Mahers store and said that he “had no axe to grind with them,” but that they had been caught up in what he said was “friendly fire.”
He said that he wanted to make a grand gesture to show that the Irish were not going to take the controversial incident lying down.
“The French loaf is the symbol of France and so by doing what I did, I was standing up for Irish pride,” he said.
Mr Larkin had a previous conviction for setting fire to a tennis club shed in his teens, an incident from which he had earned the nickname Smokie.
In his summary, Judge Fergus O’Halloran said that what Mr Larkin had done was despicable and was also a threat to public hygiene.
“You did this without any thought to the consquences for the unfortunate shoppers who had to buy that bread.
“If it was in my power to recommend that you seek help for your alcohol addiction, I would do so and also suggest that you take some responsibility for your temper and inappropriate behaviour.
“We cannot have louts like yourself with half-baked ideas about national pride carrying out acts like this,” he said, before sentencing Larkin to six months in jail, suspended on condition he doesn’t breach the peace for one year, fining him €500 and ordering him to pay €1,000 to Michael Maher for the clean up of the bread shelf areas.
[QUOTE=“TheUlteriorMotive, post: 1150573, member: 2272”]Which member of the forum was this
Irish plasterer urinated on French loaves in protest at Henry handball, court told
BY KEVIN BRADY
A drunken unemployed plasterer who was found urinating on the French loaves section of a large supermarket in protest at the infamous handball incident in the France vs Ireland World Cup qualifier, was this week given a suspended sentence, fined and bound over to keep the peace.
Frances “Smokie” Larkin, The Meadows, Killareagh, Co Roscommon pleaded guilty to the incident at Maher’s ValueStore supermarket, Killareagh, one week after the match which Ireland controversially drew after the French goal was deemed to have scored despite a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry.
Staff found the 46-year-old urinating on the Cuisine de France section of the bread shelves in Maher’s, shouting “this will teach ye, ye cheating French bastards,” before he was taken away by local gardai.
Gardai Anthony Flanagan told the court that he had been called to the store at 11.15 on the morning of November 25.
“When I reached the shop, I was informed that Mr Larkin was causing a disturbance in the bread section and when I got there, he was urinating on the French bread section and stamping on a loaf. I later ascertained that the loaves were brioches, a sort of French bread.
“When he saw me, he tried to run away but I apprehended him and grabbed him by the arm. He said ‘that’s for Thierry Henry, guard. If you have any pride in your country, you’ll let me go.
“Then he said ‘that’ll teach them, the cheating French bastards.”
Addressing the court, Angela Roche, solicitor for the defendant said that her client had a problem with drink and that normally he was a placcid character. “It is when he mixes alcohol with his passion for sport that he gets himself into situations like this.
She said that Mr Larkin had become quite agitated with the result of the World Cup match and had worn an “I shot Thierry Henry” t-shirt that was made up in a local t-shirt shop,” she said.
In evidence, Mr Larkin apologised to Mahers store and said that he “had no axe to grind with them,” but that they had been caught up in what he said was “friendly fire.”
He said that he wanted to make a grand gesture to show that the Irish were not going to take the controversial incident lying down.
“The French loaf is the symbol of France and so by doing what I did, I was standing up for Irish pride,” he said.
Mr Larkin had a previous conviction for setting fire to a tennis club shed in his teens, an incident from which he had earned the nickname Smokie.
In his summary, Judge Fergus O’Halloran said that what Mr Larkin had done was despicable and was also a threat to public hygiene.
“You did this without any thought to the consquences for the unfortunate shoppers who had to buy that bread.
“If it was in my power to recommend that you seek help for your alcohol addiction, I would do so and also suggest that you take some responsibility for your temper and inappropriate behaviour.
“We cannot have louts like yourself with half-baked ideas about national pride carrying out acts like this,” he said, before sentencing Larkin to six months in jail, suspended on condition he doesn’t breach the peace for one year, fining him €500 and ordering him to pay €1,000 to Michael Maher for the clean up of the bread shelf areas.[/QUOTE]
Ah ffs :D- That’s @maroonandwhite esque right there.
[QUOTE=“TheUlteriorMotive, post: 1150573, member: 2272”]Which member of the forum was this
Irish plasterer urinated on French loaves in protest at Henry handball, court told
BY KEVIN BRADY
A drunken unemployed plasterer who was found urinating on the French loaves section of a large supermarket in protest at the infamous handball incident in the France vs Ireland World Cup qualifier, was this week given a suspended sentence, fined and bound over to keep the peace.
Frances “Smokie” Larkin, The Meadows, Killareagh, Co Roscommon pleaded guilty to the incident at Maher’s ValueStore supermarket, Killareagh, one week after the match which Ireland controversially drew after the French goal was deemed to have scored despite a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry.
Staff found the 46-year-old urinating on the Cuisine de France section of the bread shelves in Maher’s, shouting “this will teach ye, ye cheating French bastards,” before he was taken away by local gardai.
Gardai Anthony Flanagan told the court that he had been called to the store at 11.15 on the morning of November 25.
“When I reached the shop, I was informed that Mr Larkin was causing a disturbance in the bread section and when I got there, he was urinating on the French bread section and stamping on a loaf. I later ascertained that the loaves were brioches, a sort of French bread.
“When he saw me, he tried to run away but I apprehended him and grabbed him by the arm. He said ‘that’s for Thierry Henry, guard. If you have any pride in your country, you’ll let me go.
“Then he said ‘that’ll teach them, the cheating French bastards.”
Addressing the court, Angela Roche, solicitor for the defendant said that her client had a problem with drink and that normally he was a placcid character. “It is when he mixes alcohol with his passion for sport that he gets himself into situations like this.
She said that Mr Larkin had become quite agitated with the result of the World Cup match and had worn an “I shot Thierry Henry” t-shirt that was made up in a local t-shirt shop,” she said.
In evidence, Mr Larkin apologised to Mahers store and said that he “had no axe to grind with them,” but that they had been caught up in what he said was “friendly fire.”
He said that he wanted to make a grand gesture to show that the Irish were not going to take the controversial incident lying down.
“The French loaf is the symbol of France and so by doing what I did, I was standing up for Irish pride,” he said.
Mr Larkin had a previous conviction for setting fire to a tennis club shed in his teens, an incident from which he had earned the nickname Smokie.
In his summary, Judge Fergus O’Halloran said that what Mr Larkin had done was despicable and was also a threat to public hygiene.
“You did this without any thought to the consquences for the unfortunate shoppers who had to buy that bread.
“If it was in my power to recommend that you seek help for your alcohol addiction, I would do so and also suggest that you take some responsibility for your temper and inappropriate behaviour.
“We cannot have louts like yourself with half-baked ideas about national pride carrying out acts like this,” he said, before sentencing Larkin to six months in jail, suspended on condition he doesn’t breach the peace for one year, fining him €500 and ordering him to pay €1,000 to Michael Maher for the clean up of the bread shelf areas.[/QUOTE]
:D:D
Jesus. That’s the type of fucking ape who reads joe.ie.
I will be referring to these types of people as “Joeys” from now on.
Simple minded types, easily outraged, heavy social media users, think they are mad craic.