Gould on Al Jazeera: "Only Blatter's mum thinks he's got any credibility now!"

As FIFA bow to overwhelming pressure to publish the Garcia Report, Jonny reacts on Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned TV network broadcasting from the nation FIFA awarded its most controversial World Cup to.

Jonny believes whatever the uproar, there's no turning back and no chance of a revote - and Rusia and Qatar will stage these competitions. 

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all. The world game needs a moral backbone

The lawyer and the footballer are out of their depth. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini are treading water while the world game swirls around them.

Bigotry and corruption consume their tooth-decayed organisations and both are exposed as weak and ineffectual.

And that's even before considering the vacuum of leadership at our own Football Association. 

England has been challenged by an act of antiestablishment fascist defiance in a Premier League fixture. 

Nicolas Anelka gave a quenelle salute, reviled by most French society, when scoring for West Bromwich Albion on the 28th December. Three weeks into the New Year and the FA finally acted on what is a very serious transgression committed by Anelka.

Copycat quenelle's have been performed at Jewish holy places, next to unknowing victims and even by Samir Nasri at Manchester City's training ground entrance.

Weak Albion insisted Anelka should play until the FA sanction him, knowing full well he'd be charged and punished, because in their words it caused offence only in "some quarters".

Imagine if one these salutes were performed at Churchill's statue or Big Ben? Anelka and Nasri's vile action are a clear challenge to British society too and it seems, everyone with the power to do something would rather look the other way.

"Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all. They'll burn down the synagogues at 6 o'clock and we'll all go along like before". 

Football has a leadership crisis and the search for strong, politically-savvy, incorruptible heavyweights ready to confront the problems should begin now.

FIFA is almost beyond redemption. The discredited Executive Committee sold its soul to a medieval political ideology and Russian gangsters. And the only guarantee about Brazil's World Cup is most of the football will be crap.

But UEFA has a realistic chance of doing something constructive, positive and enlightened.

The quality of football in the Champions League elevates UEFA not just to the top of world football but to represent a constituency of interest and people almost to a level of church or nation and a mandate to combat racism - the biggest challenge to football since hooliganism in the 80’s.

Every year persistent racism, mostly but not exclusively from the east, diminishes world football’s outstanding competition. Its destructive power is a stain on the continent and its nationhood and if UEFA refuses to get tough with the imbeciles they will end up ruining it for the rest of us.

There are many examples but here are two illustrations of how useless UEFA are.

In March last year Manchester City players Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure were subjected to monkey  chants during a game at Porto.

The next month City were ‘up to 60 seconds’ late returning to the pitch during half time of the game at Sporting Lisbon.

UEFA fined City more - 50% more - than Porto.

In October 2012 England Under 21’s played a European championship qualifier in Serbia.

England’s black players were racially abused THROUGHOUT the game. At the final whistle fans invaded the pitch and scuffles broke out.

Serbia are serial offenders yet the Serbian FA escaped with a £65,000 fine. Four players and two coaching staff were suspended and ordered Serbia U21’s to play their next match behind closed doors. UEFA also suspended three black England players.

So much for UEFA’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards racism.

Eight clubs have been ordered to play games in closed or partially closed stadiums because of racist chanting in the first four months of THIS SEASON.

The problem is growing and UEFA’s refusal to ban clubs and countries from tournaments sends the wrong message.

UEFA argue the punishments are line with their rule book. Well, it’s your organisation why not introduce different rules?

And it is no use looking to the President for leadership. Michel Platini was one of those on FIFA’s Executive Committee who voted for a summer World Cup in Qatar because France’s President at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy, told him to.

The President of UEFA ignored what was best for football and voted for Qatar because it was in the best interests of France and Paris St Germain who were subsequently bought by Qatar.

Is it co-incidence that Platini’s lawyer son, Laurent,  then landed a highly paid job with Qatari Sports Investments?

Does Michel Platini strike you as the strong, politically-savvy, incorruptible heavyweight we need to take on the cancer of racism?

Do you feel safe in the hands of football's administrators when dumb players show such defiance? 

Me neither.

FIFA about-face means the end of goal-line controversy

Lampard's goal crossed the line so blatantly.

It's an about-turn from FIFA we never thought possible during the reign of Sepp Blatter.

But it's happened. There'll be goal-line technology on the world football stage in time for the 2014 World Cup Finals.

The Frank Lampard moment during South Africa 2010 will no longer be a feature: it's the end of controversies.

No wonder, they're calling it Lampard's Law!

As Sir Alex Ferguson pithily put it, "goals change games" - and so do disallowed ones. Here's Jonny's announcement of the news on Smooth Radio Breakfast.

listen to ‘FIFA about-face means the end of goal-line controversy’ on Audioboo

Doomed England set up by FIFA's setup

Wills, The PM and D-Beck shown to be out their depth.

England have left Zurich in last place with just two votes, as Russia claim the prize of hosting the World Cup in 2018.

Independent observers may congratulate FIFA on awarding a football nation in need. Crumbling stadia and problems with racism in the fanbase can now be addressed.

Where we failed in naivety, we certainly made up in presentation. But good PR wasn't the currency FIFA dealt in.

Wheeling out the "Big Guns", Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham for the final push ahead of the vote sure looked great.

But as the dust settles on Russia's win and Qatar's for 2022, the white-teethed, blond good guys have been rather made to look like The Three Stooges.

England's bid team, made up of marketing executives and legal experts were from the professional class - and so totally lacked the experience and realpolitik associated with FIFA, the brotherhood of the unaccountable and corrupt, led by Sepp Blatter.

David Dein, who knows his way around football's political corridors and could've wrestled with the best of them, was brought in too late.

Now our bid team are looking for jobs, rather than knighthoods.

The BBC are said to be partly to blame for the Panorama show which outed corruption among FIFA members - but the problem was far deeper than that.



We were totally outclassed by the savvy Russians, who did what they had to do.



Sepp Bellend Blatter

As I sat with friends watching pictures from Switzerland, Ambrose Mendy suggested our bid should've been British. Bringing in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would have softened the edges of the England bid, because frankly, we're disliked in the world.

I'm happy the BBC started the ball rolling on doing FIFA. Now the best of our British media will collude to begin the process of tearing Blatter's house down.

Even before the vote, David Mellor told Panorama that England's function was not to host the Finals - but in cleaning up the world game, starting with FIFA.

It appears we have that apparatus! Let's totally destroy them using the best investigative powers of our journalist class.

And let's use the sheer power of the English language to get the message across the world that Sepp Blatter needs to be sent into retirement in disgrace and totally stripped of his integrity.

Something good's got to come out of this. Perhaps football can be reclaimed by other stakeholders in and around the game.

Click here for the current Top Story. Soccermongery's all about your feedback, so write away, right away!

Goal line technology won't happen till Bellend retires

If like me, you've racked your brains over why video evidence still isn't used in football as it is in tennis or cricket, perhaps this fantasy scenario might make sense of it.

Imagine the World Cup and the football you watch is often subject to betting syndicates. Results are dictated by the flow of money from big gambling rackets in Russia and The Far East.

Imagine the money is so vast, it's influence is bigger than anything visible like federations, leagues, managers, television and sponsorship.

Imagine that four of the twenty-two players are bunged to effect the game's outcome. But also imagine that the referee is the most important person to get at.

Sue me, you discredited, cheating, bent bellend

Imagine football's powers-that-be accepting "tributes" from the syndicates.

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter claims football should be subject to human error and played on exactly the same basis at Soccer City in Johannesburg as it is on Hackney Marshes. There's no video replays there and so none should be used in a World Cup tie either.

It's easy to imagine therefore, that video would take significant control away from the referee and severely curtail the syndicates control over the game.

And it's easier still to imagine that while goal line technology will one day be a part of football, it could only ever happen after Blatter steps down.

Now imagine the stories of corruption in football that would surface once Blatter does go.

Sometimes fact is stranger than fantasy?

It's Sepp Bellend Blatter, so says the South African President's website

Another glaring reason not to use Wikipedia as your only reference point. Someone did in the offices of South African President, Jacob Zuma, with hugely embarassing results.

See how the highest office in the Republic welcomed the President of FIFA:

... and let's just see that at closer quarters!

... well, you should've introduced Video Referees before the World Cup, Bellend!

Also on Soccermongery: That other famous Wiki entry: Thierry Le Cunt Henry