FIFA arrests (now with improved Blatter/Platini bans!)

[Fartsniffage]

Not to mention that Uruguay and Argentina had (Near-)professional leagues putting them on par with Europe's strongest (England, Spain, Italy, Austria) at the time.

I always did think that was emblematic of England's arrogance regarding the game - don't participate in World Cups, but play the winner afterwards and then claim to be World Champions if they won.

That, and the treatment of English clubs who tried to play in the European Cup. So very "little England".....

[DesAnges]

I always did think that was emblematic of England's arrogance regarding the game - don't participate in World Cups, but play the winner afterwards and then claim to be World Champions if they won.

That, and the treatment of English clubs who tried to play in the European Cup. So very "little England".....

So much squandered opportunity because of close-minded jackasses. That sounds like the English FA.

[Gauthier]

It's like the John Oliver clip I linked said: if the 'Muricans can press the investigation and find something to nail Blatter on (which seems, to this very casual observer, increasingly inevitable,) it will do untold amounts of good for international opinions of the US.

Definitely. This is one of the rare cases when American interventionism and world-police-attitude is being welcomed... well, mostly, I guess.

Is there anyone denouncing it who ISN'T a FIFA official?

[Gauthier]

Incidentally, 'Blattern' is an old German word for smallpox.

Smallpox is practically near-extinction. How long has Ol' Sepp been going strong?

[Geilinor]

Definitely. This is one of the rare cases when American interventionism and world-police-attitude is being welcomed... well, mostly, I guess.

Is there anyone denouncing it who ISN'T a FIFA official?

Putin denounced it.

[Gauthier]

Is there anyone denouncing it who ISN'T a FIFA official?

Putin denounced it.

[Pushing Goalpost]Or ISN'T a government official in a country that likely scored a World Cup due to bribery?[/Pushing Goalpost]

[Dooom35796821595]

Is there anyone denouncing it who ISN'T a FIFA official?

Putin denounced it.

They guy who authorised bribes to get the 2018 World Cup that they are likley going to lose?
I think he counts as an honorary FIFA official in the get Blatt a new mansion department.

[Zeinbrad]

Putin denounced it.

They guy who authorised bribes to get the 2018 World Cup that they are likley going to lose?
I think he counts as an honorary FIFA official in the get Blatt a new mansion department.

I'm telling you, Blatter is going to be Putins new Sport Minister.

[Shofercia]

No. It's been that way for quite a while. But now, thanks to Blazer, the idiot who opted to mock the IRS, it's all coming out. I highly doubt that the 1994 World Cup was honestly awarded either. And if you look at all of the World Cups, just reading between the lines...

1930, FIFA to Uruguay: "hey, we have this idea, you try it!"
After success, FIFA to rest of World: "ok, it works, we're bringing it to Europe!"

You know the time in college when you built something, but didn't know if it would work or not, so you send in the Freshman before going in yourselves? That's how FIFA started out assigning World Cups.

You do realize that Uruguay had the best football team in the world at the time, having won the Olympic football tournaments of 1924 and 1928?

Yes, I do. Hence it was a good test case.

Putin denounced it.

[Pushing Goalpost]Or ISN'T a government official in a country that likely scored a World Cup due to bribery?[/Pushing Goalpost]

That's a bit unfair, since, (I'm guessing here,) all of the countries used bribery, except Uruguay

I'm just going to laugh when someone gets pissed off at the US and publishes everything about the 1994 World Cup.

[Shofercia]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

[Lyrova]

Sepp Blatter will go down criticized as an individual who authorized major bribes. In reality he was a football-loving man who revolutionized the game for two decades. A sad, sad legacy for a brilliant, white-knight career.

[Camicon]

Sepp Blatter will go down criticized as an individual who authorized major bribes. In reality he was a football-loving man who revolutionized the game for two decades. A sad, sad legacy for a brilliant, white-knight career.

Except for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and all-around general corruption that he sanctioned and encouraged. Though, if you consider him to have a "brilliant, white-knight career" in spite of that, then we probably disagree on far more important things.

[Lyrova]

Sepp Blatter will go down criticized as an individual who authorized major bribes. In reality he was a football-loving man who revolutionized the game for two decades. A sad, sad legacy for a brilliant, white-knight career.

Except for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and all-around general corruption that he sanctioned and encouraged. Though, if you consider him to have a "brilliant, white-knight career" in spite of that, then we probably disagree on far more important things.

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

[Camicon]

Except for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and all-around general corruption that he sanctioned and encouraged. Though, if you consider him to have a "brilliant, white-knight career" in spite of that, then we probably disagree on far more important things.

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

Give it a week. There's virtually no doubt that Blatter is involved in everything. You don't become the head of FIFA if you're an idiot, and only an idiot would be so blind as to miss everything that was going on around him for two decades.

It's only a matter of time before the American or Swiss investigations find something, or some other FIFA executive pins him to the wall in exchange for a lighter sentence.

[Gauthier]

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

Give it a week. There's virtually no doubt that Blatter is involved in everything. You don't become the head of FIFA if you're an idiot, and only an idiot would be so blind as to miss everything that was going on around him for two decades.

It's only a matter of time before the American or Swiss investigations find something, or some other FIFA executive pins him to the wall in exchange for a lighter sentence.

*coughcoughJackWarnercoughcough*

[Shofercia]

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

Give it a week. There's virtually no doubt that Blatter is involved in everything. You don't become the head of FIFA if you're an idiot, and only an idiot would be so blind as to miss everything that was going on around him for two decades.

It's only a matter of time before the American or Swiss investigations find something, or some other FIFA executive pins him to the wall in exchange for a lighter sentence.

The latter being far more likely than the former, but then it could just be his word against Blatter's. If Lynch thinks that Blatter might've pulled a Blazer somewhere, she's going to be very disappointed, and will give Republicans even more ammunition against Obama.

[Laerod]

Except for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and all-around general corruption that he sanctioned and encouraged. Though, if you consider him to have a "brilliant, white-knight career" in spite of that, then we probably disagree on far more important things.

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Valcke's involvement was pretty much proof that it's virtually impossible for Blatter to have missed this.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

Even if that were the case, the US would still need concrete evidence to ask Switzerland to detain high-ranking FIFA officials, so cut the bullshit.

[The Qeiiam Galaxy]

Except for the hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and all-around general corruption that he sanctioned and encouraged. Though, if you consider him to have a "brilliant, white-knight career" in spite of that, then we probably disagree on far more important things.

Honestly there's no clear evidence incriminating Blatter for any wrongdoing. It's the impact his name, being at the helm of FIFA while corrupt officials - unknown to him - transformed the game into a criminal enterprise, had on the FIFA sponsors. If anything, their pressure led him to step down. There's no proof anywhere yet that he's done anything wrong. He wasn't even indicted despite a 3-year FBI investigation into his activities.

Let's not forget the fact that the arrests could easily be politically motivated as aftereffects of the US's failed bid for the World Cup.

"The tsar is good, it's the boyars who are bad."

[DesAnges]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

The FA chief executives of all 206(?) member nations have a mass brawl.

[Nazis in Space]

They guy who authorised bribes to get the 2018 World Cup that they are likley going to lose?
I think he counts as an honorary FIFA official in the get Blatt a new mansion department.

I'm telling you, Blatter is going to be Putins new Sport Minister.

He'd find plenty of good friends there.

(Summary: Gazprom hires Beckenbauer to improve its image)

'course, Beckenbauer is also the hero who went on record stating that 'I've never seen a slave in Qatar. Nobody is being chained or whipped.'

[Imperializt Russia]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

"INGERLUNNNND!"

[Dumb Ideologies]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

The FA chief executives of all 206(?) member nations have a mass brawl.

Nah. Gotta keep pushing those frontiers. First World Cup on the moon.

[Imperializt Russia]

The FA chief executives of all 206(?) member nations have a mass brawl.

Nah. Gotta keep pushing those frontiers. First World Cup on the moon.

Antarctica.

Technically neutral territory, can play there in the summer.
Also, cheaper than giving football players astronaut training and developing a semaphore system that works in ¹/₆ gravity.

[Calimera II]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

I really do not know. I am going to buy my 2018 WC ticks as soon as possible.

[Tsaraine]

Anyways, here's my question: what system would you guys use to decide where the 2026 World Cup is going to be?

I really do not know. I am going to buy my 2018 WC ticks as soon as possible.

I'd wait until we're sure where it's going to be first.

Not that I think it's likely Russia will be stripped of the 2018 cup (though I have hopes that Qatar will see its 2022 aspirations drain through its fingers like sand) - since we've get to uncover even half of the swirling shitstorm of bribery orbiting FIFA right now and also because 2018 isn't too far away, three years is a short period in which to organize a major sporting event. So while I think it's highly likely that Russia obtained the 2018 cup hosting through bribery (I'd consider it likely that every world cup host of the past two decades, and probably before then too, obtained the position through bribery of some sort or degree), I'm less certain that they'll lose it.