Really sick ... or something else?

Ricardo Teixeira out as head of Brazilian soccer

SAO PAULO – Ricardo Teixeira resigned as head of the Brazilian soccer federation and the 2014 World Cup organizing committee on Monday after a contentious 23-year stint in charge of the sport in the country.

The announcement ends an era that mixed success on and off the field for Brazil, with allegations that Teixeira took kickbacks from former FIFA marketing partner ISL in the 1990s.

The 64-year-old Teixeira, one of the most powerful men in Brazil, went on medical leave last week. Now, the Brazilian federation said he was leaving for good to look after his health and be with his family. Last year, he was hospitalized because of an intestinal inflammation. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox News.

Kicking Back Comments: I feel for Teixeira as diverticulitis is no joke and from what I know, can be excruciatingly painful. That said, it may be a convenient excuse to exit stage left before FIFA opens a(nother) investigation into his activities as president of Brazilian soccer.

I will say this, FIFA is being more active in following through on corruption as again evidenced by the lost appeals of Amadou Diakite and Ahongalu Fusimalohi. While this came from CAS it would seem clear that FIFA is looking more actively at the scene.

Now, it has a long way to go, and while it has flicked a few boogers with some obviously corrupt members, it still needs an external board to look at Sepp and pals to get to the heart of the matter. I maintain that until that happens, FIFA is hopelessly tainted.

Head scarfs and goal line technology look to be in

IFAB approve goal-line technology and hijab

By Mike Collett

BAGSHOT, England (Reuters) – Goal-line technology was approved in principle by the soccer’s lawmakers on Saturday and could be used for the first time at FIFA’s Club World Cup finals in Japan at the end of the year.

The eight-man International Football Association Board said that the technologies of two companies, Hawk-Eye from Britain and GoalRef, a German-Danish company, would be subject to further tests until a final decision was taken at a special IFAB meeting in Kiev on July 2. ...

See the whole story here, from euronews.com.

Kicking Back Comments: I admit to being mixed. I believe the hijab is a "no brainer" and one that should have been done long ago. Goal line technology, not so much.

Assuming these systems work ... and that is a big IF. Hawk-Eye will need another referee probably in a booth somewhere to determine goal/no goal, and Goalref that uses a special ball and magnetism to determine if a ball has crossed the line - shades of the Fox glow puck. How oh how are the LOTG going to be adapted with a "time out" to check if that is the case or not? That part will be interesting.

My last remaining question, if we adopt the technology route is, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? For the first time "the machine" makes a mistake ... and it will eventually ... where does that leave us?

Brazil 2014? Are we sure?

Brazil And FIFA

By Justin Shaffer - SEATTLE, WA (Mar 5, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Over the weekend, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke triggered a very public back and forth with Brazil over the current state of readiness for the 2014 World Cup, going so far as to say that Brazil needed a “kick up the backside”. Valcke's statements touched on the slow pace of Brazil’s infrastructure improvements, stadium construction delays, and FIFA’s demands for changes in Brazilian laws.

“I don’t understand why things are not moving,” Valcke told reporters. “The stadiums are not on schedule any longer... and why are a lot of things late? The concern is nothing is made or prepared to receive so many people. I am sorry to say but things are not working in Brazil.”

Brazil’s sports minister, Aldo Rabelo, called Valcke’s comments “inappropriate, offensive, and unacceptable.” The ministry went on to say that a letter will be delivered on Monday to FIFA president Sepp Blatter informing him they will no longer deal with Valcke and asking that FIFA appoint a new representative.

Valcke hit back, calling Rabelo’s comments “juvenile” and accusing Rebelo of ignoring the issues at hand. Needless to say, this is not where FIFA expected to find itself in March of 2012. ...

See the whole story here, from ussoccerplayers.com.

Kicking Back Comments: I question Mr. Valcke's credentials to be overseeing a project of this magnitude. You would think that someone who is responsible for organizing the WORLD CUP in a country would have some operational experience doing such, yes? Nope. Mr. Valcke is a sports journalist, then eventually became a CEO of a sports channel (source).

Apparently Brazil it thinking in a similar fashion based on the Goal.com article "Jerome Valcke is a bum." That article is a bit more expressive in how some in the Brazilian government feel about Mr. Valcke and how they are insulted with his comments regarding the Brazilian people.

Hmmmm ... this one will be an interesting finish. I am curious to see if ego will rule and FIFA will force Mr. Valcke down the throat of the Brazilian government.

Is there a plan B? I ask that somewhat seriously as with natural disasters (like a year ago in Japan), what is the backup plan?

I say, bring it here =)

Billions in transfers for FIFA in 2011

FIFA processes $3B in player transfers in 2011

GENEVA (AP) -- FIFA processed international transfer deals worth $3 billion (?2.25 billion) in 2011, and said Thursday it will share payment details with UEFA to help monitor European financial fair play rules.

FIFA allowed 11,500 players to make cross-border moves in the first calendar year operating its Transfer Matching System, which aims to curb money laundering and corrupt deals.

The mandatory online project requires buying and selling clubs to input matching information, including payment schedules, before a transfer is approved. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of SI.com.

Kicking Back Comments: There was one part of the article that was funny to me. It had to deal with FIFA saying they wanted to cut an agents fee from an average of 16% to 3%.

Why would they want to do that? An agent actually provides some value to the transaction, and the individual player can no doubt negotiate this fee themselves. Could it be FIFA wants more of the pie?

Again, with such a trust deficit that FIFA is running, it is hard to believe that it would be for anything except their own benefit.

Casper the friendly goal scorer

Ghost Goals That Haunt Soccer
When Is a Goal Actually a Goal?; The Six Arguments Against Technological Progress

It's one of the great mysteries of soccer: In a sport where the objective is to score goals, why do we put up with needless uncertainty about whether the ball has actually crossed the line? Why doesn't soccer use the technological tools at its disposal to objectively determine whether the very raison d'être of the game has actually taken place?

Soccer has a long history of so-called ghost goals. These are situations in which the ball crosses the line and comes back out, but the officials fail to award the score. Usually this happens when it's cleared by the goalkeeper or a defender on or behind the line. Sometimes, a long-range shot will hit the underside of the bar, bounce straight down behind the line and then, heavy with backspin, carom out like a billiard shot. Occasionally the ball does not cross the line but the officials fail to notice and give the goal. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of the WSJ.

Kicking Back Comments: An interesting opinion piece that in spots I share the opinion, spots is thoughtful, and spots is just technically incorrect. It is worth a read none the less. At the end of the day though, while I am a technologist, I am not an advocate for technology in this case. One point that I strongly agree with is that such incidents create drama (the author call it debate ... but that is too narrow for me). Drama is why many tolerate a 1 - 0 match, or a 0 - 0 draw. It is in the knowledge that something unexpected can occur, without the intervention of someone sitting in a glass booth somewhere. Let it be determined by those who "feel" the match, referee inclusive.

Let The Game be. Don't try and fix something that is just fine all by itself.

Would the real FIFA please stand up?

So I was cruising the information superhighway the other day and ran across this ... and the irony was just too rich not to share.

FIFA (the acronym) as we know stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and I do have some fun at their expense expressing personal opinions, mostly out of the rampant corruption that would seem to be, and in some cases proven to be, taking place. There is no place in The Game, nor its governors for such behavior.

I think I may have the answer as the FIFA we know and love may just be a shell company for the REAL FIFA, the Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia. I looked at their mission statement and it would seem to be staggeringly similar ... to sell bull $*^t to the world.

I am obviously joking, but with the recent CAS rulings, and Jack Warner threatening to sue a Trinidad newspaper (in part) for behavior he resigned from FIFA over,  I continue to shake my head every time someone from FIFA speaks as I just can't believe a word out of their mouth.

That part is sad as FIFA has hopelessly tainted itself for some time. The dark humor is the other FIFA who sells manure for a living and the irony that both FIFA's share that vision currently it would seem.

What's that about art imitating life?

Another one bites the dust ...

Adamu loses appeal in FIFA World Cup bribery case

Disgraced former FIFA official Amos Adamu lost his appeal against a three-year ban from football for seeking bribes during bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a judgment by FIFA's ethics committee to expel Adamu from football until October 2013.

A panel of three arbitrators said the ban "was even relatively mild given the seriousness of the offense.'' ...

See the whole story here, from SI.com.

Kicking Back Comments: I agree with the panel ... three years? That's it? Well, he'll be back in time for Brasil in 2014. Take a look at the line of FIFA executives going to trial or coming to decision soon at the bottom of the article. Who knew CAS did more than ban professional cyclists found guilty of doping?

Is there a Contador fan in the house? Anyone?

{crickets}

Yeah, didn't think so.

This is a joke ... right?

FIFA panel calls for handshakes

A FIFA expert panel chaired by German legend Franz Beckenbauer has recommended that players should shake hands on the field more in order to improve the game's image.

The issue of the pre-match handshakes has come under the spotlight in recent months with Liverpool's Luis Suarez refusing to shake Manchester United defender Patrice Evra's hand after having being found guilty of racially abusing him. ...

See the whole story here, from ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: Solution to a racism issue, or marketing strategy? Beckenbauer himself answers in the article stating "... it would be a better image ... ."

So again my question ... Why is FIFA proposing this?

Life As a Referee: Part 2

For any who have not seen these videos, it is a revealing look into the life of one of US Soccer's "up and comers" Mark Geiger.

Life As a Referee: Part 1

For any who have not seen these videos, it is a revealing look into the life of one of US Soccer's "up and comers" Mark Geiger.

Word on the street ...

... is FIFA Street 2012 (FIFA Street 4) will be available March 13th, 2012. Check out the trailer below. Looks pretty cool.

Fair and Balanced Indeed

Sepp Blatter, Rupert Murdoch meet after FIFA, Fox seal $425M World Cup TV deal

ZURICH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter met with News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch on Thursday, weeks after their organizations signed a $425 million broadcast deal.

Murdoch later wrote on Twitter that he’d been “with the big chiefs of soccer,” describing FIFA as an “amazing organization.” ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: KA-CHING!!!

More on Beer-Gate from CNN

Don't Get Cute ...

... it will cost you. Just ask Marco Antonio Rodriguez, FIFA referee from Mexico.

Mexican ref Marco Antonio Rodriguez nets a 5 game ban for showboating

Mexico’s FA this week banned referee Marco Antonio Rodriguez for his showboating antics during last season’s Apertura final between Tigres-Santos.

The second leg of the final, held in December 2011, was a complete mess from an officiating standpoint as ref Rodriguez splashed seven yellow cards and three red cards during the 90 minutes. One incident, however, stood out from the rest in the farce. ...

See the whole story here, from 101greatgoals.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Here is the picture:

He's lucky he only got (5) games. The Mexican FA's work may have saved Rodriguez more grief from FIFA. Also, if he was not the Mexican refereeing legend he was, he may not have a badge today.

I admit, it is cute, but there is a time and place, and this was neither.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Scudamore: Hard to respect FIFA

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore believes it is "very hard to have huge regard for FIFA" after the organisation's difficulties over the past year.

A controversial bidding process for the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was beset by allegations of corruption, leading to a long period of soul-searching for president Sepp Blatter.

Former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam was handed a lifetime ban for bribery in July while Jack Warner, a FIFA vice-president and president of the confederation governing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), resigned from all football activity in June having been charged with the same offence. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: A reasonable view from Richard. My question is, short of removing Blatter, what can FIFA do to repair its image?

Carpe Cerveza!! - Says FIFA

This is funny on the surface, but a real issue for FIFA.

Brasil law (not a suggestion or a stadium rule) their LAW, states that no beer, or for that matter alcohol, is to be served at matches. A reason would seem clear that there are security concerns with dealing with a large groups of inebriated fan(atics).

Makes sense, right? Not to FIFA.

Check out this story from Yahoo where FIFA demands, not politely asks, that alcoholic drinks will be part of the World Cup. Look at the quotes from the Secratary General from FIFA, Jerome Valcke, in the linked story.

So Brasil is now being asked to amend its sovereign law to accommodate the money making machine that is FIFA. Amazing b@**$ power FIFA has to alter the very fabric of how a sovereign country does business to line their pocket.

At least they will make money, and keep their FIFA World Cup sponsor Budweiser happy.

By the way, the match schedule is out for WC14, and can be found here (pdf).

One Trillion Dollars!!

FIFA vows tough action on match fixing in soccer

(CNN) -- FIFA's head of security has told CNN that match-fixing in soccer is fueled by an illegal gambling market of up to $1 trillion and says governments must work together to stamp out the problem.

Chris Eaton, a former head of international crime agency Interpol, has been tasked by world football's governing body with breaking up a lucrative underground industry. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of CNN as well as the video from CNN below.



Kicking Back Comments: If accurate (and I have no reason to believe it is not), this is an astounding amount of money. This is certainly a serious security concern. No question. I would think a good place to start is within the halls of FIFA itself as there are plenty of allegations to be looked at. Also it may find itself in a better moral position to investigate such crimes (and they are) with cleaner hands.

FIFA suspend Angolan referee Heldér Martins

January 1 - FIFA has suspended the Angolan referee Heldér Martins, the country's Football Federation (FAF) have confirmed.

FAF told the Angolan Press Agency that Martins had been informed of the suspension but that no reason had been given.

The agency reported that they have requested further information from FIFA for the reasoning behind the ban.

See the whole story here, courtesy of Inside World Football.

Kicking Back Comments: The US has in the past "benched" FIFA referees (and others), officially, and not officially by not assigning them to matches.

Frankly they have every right to do so for good cause, and should, to prevent even a whiff of impropriety by a referee on, or off the field. For those of us involved with US Soccer, have you read the Code of Ethics for Referees?

If not, you certainly should. It can be found here in the Administrative Handbook. A worthy read for all referees at all levels.

TV Rights for Election Help

Former Official Says FIFA Traded TV Rights for Election Help

The former vice president of soccer’s governing world body said that he was awarded World Cup television rights for as little as $1 in exchange for helping Sepp Blatter win elections for the presidency of FIFA.

Jack Warner, who resigned from FIFA in June amid bribery allegations, said in a statement Thursday that the organization awarded him the 1998 World Cup rights in his native Trinidad & Tobago for $1 after he helped Blatter win a "brutal" campaign to become FIFA president.

A former president of regional body CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union, Warner also said he was sold the rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups after helping Blatter get re-elected in 2002, and later bought the 2010 and 2014 rights. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox News Latino.

Kicking Back Comments: Now it will get good. "Retirement" has a way of loosening the tongue.

Can't they just shake hands?

Poyet backs Suarez "to the death"

Former Uruguay international Gustavo Poyet says he backs countryman Luis Suarez "to the death" after the Liverpool striker was banned for eight matches for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Poyet, who spent 19 years playing in England with Chelsea, Tottenham and Swindon, labelled the FA's punishment "shocking and disproportionate" and insisted Suarez had suffered from cultural differences between England and Uruguay. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: Where is Sepp when you need him? Mr. Racism things this can be washed away with a handshake? Why didn't the FA just make the guys shake hands? That would have solved it, right?

Wrong.

I actually think Suarez is the unlucky victim of an FA message to FIFA that "racism will not be tolerated." Even taken at face value the punishment may be seen as excessive, FA is sending the message that "if FIFA won't deal with it, we will."

The FA certainly has an axe to grind with FIFA, and this may just have been the latest installment.