Sepp, you have failed ...

Sepp Blatter: Fifa president calls for zero tolerance towards racism

Fifa president Sepp Blatter says football's world governing body will "have failed" if it does not adopt a zero tolerance approach to racism.

Uefa opened a disciplinary case against CSKA Moscow this week after Manchester City's Yaya Toure complained of being racially abused by their fans.

Blatter said: "If we are not able to go zero tolerance, we have failed." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: Sepp, you have failed. You farmed out this serious issue to a committee lead by Jeffrey Webb who is asking why there are not more managers of color in the UK, when another serious racial incident occurred (and Platini started to blame the referee!) ... Sorry folks I called this one in 10 Matches is not enough.

Sepp you have failed, in failing to follow through on your words of points reductions, suspensions, or relegations for racists.

Sepp you have failed, in actually thinking that a handshake is a cure for racism.

Sepp you have failed, in bolstering a simple (5) match ban for racism. Are you serious? We are still at (5) matches?

Sepp you have failed, to not take a proverbial hammer to these people, and expel them, forever. You want to make an impression, suspend the next player guilty of this behavior for all eternity with no opportunity for a reprieve. You will get everyones attention, and get wide support for it.

Sepp, you have failed.

My definition of insanity is ...

Sepp Blatter: Fifa president hints at increased term

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has given his strongest hint yet that he plans to stay on in the role past 2015 and finish "his mission".

The 77-year-old Swiss, head of the world governing body since 1998, also wants to increase the term for a president from four years to eight. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: I am a fan of term limits personally. Even in cases where the leadership is exceptional, and remains so, there is a need to build a "bench" to allow others to be ready to take the reigns when the term naturally expires.

In the case of a leader who is not performing, term limits clearly help to minimize issues that are created by a failure of leadership ... which I believe is the case here.

While good in principle, age limits on FIFA referees serve the same purpose where particular physical prowess is required to manage matches at the international level. The issue becomes in my opinion, that I think the window is a bit too small currently. Optimally a term window allows the leader to learn, grow, and become optimally effective in the role. In the case of the FIFA referee, with mandatory retirement at 45, I believe one skill set just coming to play, that of life experience to manage the international player.

I would opine this skill set is just coming around at age 42 - 48, and at a time when physical fitness does not diminish significantly ... and I mean statistically significantly based on published reports ... to effect the performance. So while the head of FIFA has overstayed his welcome, I think their refereeing core is being cut short just a bit too early.

Super Romario to the Rescue!

Romario launches another FIFA attack

Brazilian congressman and former soccer star Romario has launched another attack against FIFA, calling president Sepp Blatter ''a thief'' and secretary general Jerome Valcke ''a blackmailer.''

The comments from the former Brazil striker came at congressional hearing promoted by a tourism and sports commission on Tuesday.

He continued his attack against Valcke with a post published on his website on Wednesday, saying the FIFA official isn't the ''best person to do business'' with Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox Soccer.

Kicking Back Comments: Still waiting for FIFA to "officially" comment on this one.

Plenty of Qualifying Action

Belgium, Switzerland, Germany book Brazil spots

Belgium, Switzerland and Germany joined the Netherlands and Italy at next summer's FIFA World Cup but there is still plenty to be decided on the final day of qualifying.

Belgium, Switzerland and Germany booked FIFA World Cup berths with a game to spare but the automatic qualifying places in four of Europe's nine groups will go down to the wire.

The Netherlands and Italy became the first European teams to get to next summer's finals last month and victories on Friday for Belgium, Switzerland and Germany ensured they joined them. But there is still plenty to play for when qualification concludes on Tuesday, as four group winers and the eight best runners-up destined for the play-offs will be finalised. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of UEFA.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Belgium's berth is particularly welcome who has not been at a major international tournament since around 2002.

2014 is looking to be filled with some classic sides ... and I'm sure won't disappoint.

Philippe Auclair Strikes Again

Revealed: The full extent of FIFA’s Qatar 2022 shambles

“Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Voilà.”

Sepp Blatter’s statement at the conclusion of last week ExCo in Zurich seemed unequivocal enough. This irritating matter would be laid to rest. The football world could now concern itself with more pressing matters, such as the forthcoming 2014 World Cup tournament, the build-up to which hasn’t exactly been trouble-free so far. Once the circus has left Brazil, there’ll be time, plenty of it, to assess the consequences of what the FIFA president presented as a fait accompli. Well, perhaps; and perhaps not. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Yahoo! Sport.

Kicking Back Comments: Voilà he says as if to announce satisfaction for the thing to be completed. Nothing can be further from the truth as this article clearly demonstrates.

A Very Cool Site

So again cruising the internet superhighway, I happen to run across "FIFA Referee News."

This is a great site that "simply" lists the matches that FIFA referees from around the globe have participated in, AND includes a picture (many from the locker room) at some time during the event.

Very cool site that gives a real lens into that world.

Not Going Away ...

Protests disrupt Fifa visit to Brazil World Cup venue

Protesters in Brazil have disrupted an official visit to a football stadium being built for next year's World Cup.

A group of some 50 people stormed the Arena Pantanal, in the western city of Cuiaba, as it was being inspected by the Secretary General of Fifa, Jerome Valcke.

They shouted slogans and held banners criticising the huge amounts spent in preparations for the World Cup.

The incident raises new concerns about security during the event.

"Go home!" and "World Cup for whom?" read some of the banners carried by protesters - most of them striking teachers and postal workers. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: As I have opined in the recent past this issue is just not going away for FIFA. It will be very interesting to see how this continues to heat up and (IMHO) erupts in front of the world in July 2014.

Another winner!

The greatest trick Fifa ever pulled was to issue a Qatar weather warning

The 2022 World Cup is being built by slaves in a non-democracy, but that's not the issue for Sepp Blatter and co.

The indispensable English footballer whose metatarsal will snap four weeks before the 2022 World Cup is currently 12 years old, but Fifa is already worrying stagily about the temperature in which he will perform disappointingly. As for the 12-year-old Nepalese boy whose family are unwittingly saving for the chance to send him off in a few years to die laying the foundations of a stadio-mall, or the 12-year-old Qatari boy wondering not when his people voted for this, but whether they'll ever vote for anything at all … well, it would be much easier if people did not concern themselves with them. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Another hard thinking article from Ms. Hyde. While I clearly get her message here, I don't know if I completely agree with her opinion about "non-democracies." I'll let you all be the judge in reading this most excellent article. 

Tick Tock

FIFA Decision on Qatar Dates Could Come in 2015

After all the talk about changing the dates of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it will be another year or more before any decision is made.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter ordered "deep consultations" Friday about shifting the tournament from the scorching summer heat in the Gulf country, saying a decision on the highly divisive issue might be delayed until 2015.

Blatter also reiterated that the tournament will definitely stay in Qatar, and said he will travel to the desert nation to raise concerns over the treatment of migrant workers involved in building World Cup venues, transportation links and hotels.

"The 2022 World Cup will be played in Qatar — that's it," Blatter said. "We don't know if it's winter or summer. I do not know what will be the outcome." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ABC.

Kicking Back Comments: To me "deep consultations" is similar to time wasting. FIFA themselves were crowing about "... anyone can change the (UEFA) schedule 9 years in the future ...", well we now have taken 2 years away from that and are down to 7. That is if we even get that long if the folks looking into the vote don't invalidate the whole thing.

No Qatar for you Sepp in that case I opine.

The move would seem an old political trick to let the heat blow over (every pun intended) and then have the discussion. It is similar to a conference committee, where issues of government are put to die a slow death. Next best thing is a study or task force.

What's that? FIFA Agrees to Set up Qatar World Cup Task Force?

I'm shocked.

Any bets?

FIFA Meets to Debate Winter 2022 World Cup

FIFA opened a two-day board meeting Thursday that will discuss whether to move the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from the traditional summer dates.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been pushing for a switch but will likely meet opposition from Europe and the United States. They want FIFA to consult widely before agreeing to a change from the usual June-July slot to avoid the extreme heat in the tiny desert nation.

Officials from Asian and African confederations also said Thursday they have not yet talked formally about Blatter's proposed switch.

"We haven't had that discussion in (Africa)," FIFA board member Hany Abo Rida of Egypt told The Associated Press. "We're waiting to hear the explanation from the FIFA executive."

Blatter has raised the possibility of starting the tournament in November, while UEFA President Michel Platini prefers January. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ABC.

Kicking Back Comments: Let the games (officially) begin. When FIFA comes back and says they are moving the tournament, the issue becomes legally ripe and we'll start to see the fallout.

FIFA remembers Ghanaian World Cup referee

FIFA remembers Ghanaian World Cup referee

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has expressed his sadness following the passing of Benjamin Dwomoh, who refereed at the FIFA World Cup in 1982.

Dwomoh's passing follows that of two other stars of the game - George Alhassan and Emmanuel Quarshie - in recent weeks. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ghanafa.org.

Kicking Back Comments: Credit where credit is due, these are very kind words from Sepp in honoring a clear patriot of The Game.

Giving up early?

Fifa have made 'a mess' of 2022 World Cup in Qatar, says Hugh Robertson

Hugh Robertson, the sports minister, has condemned Fifa for making "a mess" of handing the 2022 World Cup to Qatar but sees no option other than moving the tournament to the winter.

Fifa's executive committee is due to decide this week on the principle of moving the tournament, and is expected to agree that it should be switched from its usual time of June and July to earlier or later in the year due to the extreme heat during those months. Uefa's 54 member nations have already backed a move. ...

See the whole story here, from The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: I have to say I am a bit surprised that UEFA, and now Robertson are giving in so easy. I expected a much bigger fight than this. Then again, knowing TV giants are going to go bananas after the vote is taken in the next few days to actually move the World Cup, they may just be playing "kissy-face" with FIFA until the real fun starts.

... and speaking of legends ...

Some of the very best referees in the world then, and best minds in The Game still today.

FIFA Turning Blind Eye to Modern Slavery?

Qatar World Cup 'slaves': Fifa's UK representative 'appalled and disturbed'

Vice-president Jim Boyce calls for immediate investigation into deaths of Nepalese construction workers revealed by Guardian

A representative on Fifa's ruling executive committee has said he is appalled and disturbed by the findings of a Guardian investigation into the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar before the 2022 World Cup and vowed to push for immediate action by football's governing body.

Northern Ireland's Jim Boyce, a Fifa vice-president, called for an immediate investigation into the deaths of dozens of Nepalese workers and the ill-treatment of thousands of others working in Qatar in an £85bn construction frenzy as the country prepares to host the tournament. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: While Mr. Boyce is appalled, something tells me that FIFA as a whole will not be, and let the exploitation continue unfettered so the stadia will be built in time for the Christmas World Cup of 2022.

FIFA croons about Fair Play. Well you know what ... it should include all aspects of football, including those who worked with their own hands to build the place we play.

Another Refereeing Legend

U.S. Soccer Centennial Referee Interview: Vincent Mauro

The international presence of U.S. Soccer’s referees only started to gain some traction in the mid- to late-1980s. Even then, the program’s impact was still very much in its infancy.

One referee who helped gain international attention during that decade and into the next was Italian-American Vincent Mauro. He moved into the officiating realm in 1975, and 15 years later he was best remembered for being a head official during the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Coincidentally, the Pratola Serra, Italy, native earned the chance-of-a-lifetime moment back in his home country. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of US Soccer.

Kicking Back Comments: I have had the extraordinary pleasure to work with Vinnie on several occasions.  One most memorable was just before his departure to the 1990 World Cup, where I ran his line. It was a match I will never forget - ever.

One area that is at times overlooked is that in this era of refereeing (e.g. circa 1990) there were only FIFA referees, no FIFA ARs. Generally speaking, referees at that level only held a whistle, and were generally less practiced at running a line as they were used for their experience as referees.

Vinnie distinguished himself as one of the very best ARs at the tournament (IMHO) and was the mark of a clear demonstration that the US had some of the very best ARs in the world. A tradition I believe that started with him on the international stage.

A true legend in refereeing that US Soccer is lucky to have as a resource.

FIFA Actually Fears someone?

FIFA face IOC backlash over 2022 World Cup

The International Olympic Committee plan to hold discussions with FIFA in order to make sure the 2022 World Cup Finals in Qatar does not clash with the Winter Olympic Games that year.

On Thursday, UEFA's 54 member associations gave their backing to hold the 2022 Finals during the winter as to avoid the extreme heat of the State's summer. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ESPN.

Kicking Back Comments: Even with UEFA backing a winter World Cup, I still think FIFA is in some deep crap here. Sine there is significant commingling of IOC executives on the FIFA EXCOM, it seems clear FIFA wants to steer clear of interfering with the 2022 winter olympics.

So if it does get moved ... it looks like Christmas time.

Boy I hope Fox pulls out. NFL v. World Cup .... it's not even going to be close.

Socceroos fire the first shot

FFA have requested FIFA provide compensation for the $43m spent on Australia's World Cup bid

Billionaire Frank Lowy has taken aim at the world’s most powerful sporting body, FIFA over Australia’s $43m World Cup bid embarrassment.

Lowy, the Football Federation Australia chairman, is still smarting from the embarrassment of Australia’s $43m bid earning just one vote when oil-rich Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

Yesterday he called on the sport’s governing body to pay compensation to Australia and other bidders after FIFA president’s stunning admission that it was "a mistake" to send the 2022 tournament to the
Arab state given the 50-degree summer days. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: The fact that the FFA is seeking compensation is not surprising ... a little early as EXCOM has not taken the vote yet to change the dates, so the issue is legally not ripe yet, but that is not the point Mr. Lowy is making. It is a warning shot.

Now what was surprising to me was FIFA's response to the proposed challenge. In their own words:

However, a FIFA spokeswoman has responded to the news by telling the FFA to forget about the compensation claim. 

"As part of the bidding documents all bidders, including the FA Australia, accepted that the format and dates of the staging of the Fifa World Cup and Fifa Confederations Cup, though initially expected to be in June/July, remains subject to the final decision of the Fifa Organising Committee," she said.

I'm really surprised FIFA is going to hang their hat on the "in principle" argument. Even if the contract did not state specific dates (which from previous reporting would not seem to be the case), such a shift fundamentally changes the nature of the tournament, and in essence is not the same product counties bid on.

I hope FIFA starts walking that one back as I expect it is a dead bang loser ... even in front of the notorious inept CAS, who I would imagine would hear the bulk of the issue on moving the World Cup.

By the way, the other day I commented on our representative on EXCOM, Sunil Gulati and how he was certainly well poised to serve our interests. Well, in fine fashion, he has been "stirring the pot" at FIFA over the date change, but like any other masterful politician, is crafting his arguments out of matter other than sour grapes (for the US losing bid).

If there is a revote, I have to imagine the US, and England, are the ones in best position to take the hosting duties. Hat tip to Mr. Gulati,

I'm a doctor, not a World Cup organizer

Just to get warmed up, take a look at this:



Sound familiar?

Now take a look here, where the CMO of FIFA should have stopped after saying these words. Here's the quote from FIFA health chief: Winter Qatar World Cup a must:

D’Hooghe said: “My position is very clear. From the medical point of view I think it will be better not to play during the hot summer months."

He's right of course. It's not good for the players to be exerting themselves in 50C (122F) heat. Only problem is that he started to dismiss that with the technical advances to the stadiums where players and fans could operate in "acceptable" temperatures.

It turned a bit ridiculous when he stated this:

“They will need to travel from venue to venue and I think it’s not a good idea for them to do that in temperatures of 47 degrees or more.”

I appreciate the concern, but somehow I don't see how exposure from air conditioned hotel via air conditioned car to air conditioned stadia is a risk. Even omit the air conditioned trip between hotel and stadia and you get some discomfort, yes, but hardly debilitating.

Michel D’Hooghe, Chair of the FIFA medical committee, who REALLY is a doctor, and seemingly a stand up guy, I believe mixed his professional and personal opinions on this one. If he kept it to a medical discussion, I am with him ... it's hot, we get it. But to stretch that logic into why the World Cup should be moved, if it genuinely does not pose a threat is another matter.

Then again, I'm an engineer, not a meteorologist.

"In principle" my arse

Qatar are in danger of having 2022 FIFA World Cup snatched from them with major pressure on FIFA

Pressure from Europe’s football elite — including the Premier League — as well as the concerns of powerful American TV interests, Qatar’s beaten rival bidders for 2022 and anti-corruption investigators could scupper the project to stage the world’s biggest football tournament in the small but oil-rich desert state.

It is virtually certain that football’s world governing body, FIFA, will announce early next month that the 2022 tournament cannot be staged in Qatar in the summer — as originally envisaged when the World Cup was awarded to the emirate three years ago — because of the dangerously high temperatures, which can reach 40 degrees centigrade. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox News.

Kicking Back Comments: So in the article we see the mounting legal challenges to moving the World Cup to winter of 2022. Fox, Telemundo, EPL, and various bidding association are among them. It would seem clear that if the EX-CO takes the decision to move the Cup, all (legal) hell is going to break loose and FIFA could wind up losing substantial revenue as FOX paid $1BILLION ... for a tournament in the summer (when nothing else is going on in the US sports-wise). It suffices to say they have concerns about bumping into the NFL schedule in winter.

Now from the article we see yet another weak justification from Sepp:

Blatter appeared to attempt to claim last week that FIFA had the latitude to move the event at will, saying 2022 bids were made for a summer event ‘in principle’.

Of course the contracts to host the Cup do not say that, but reportedly actually state June and July in there, as any good contract would.

Sepp's pathetic explanation continues to lend credence to just how arrogant this empty suit is. A single handed belief that he can move a honored tournament that has been played in June and July since the 1930's, to another month.

Now, here is the other side of my mouth, and I loath to make Sepp's case, but ... what about countries like Qatar who can't reasonably host the tournament in that timeframe due to factors out of their control, like the weather. Should they be denied the opportunity to host?

I don't think so ... but this is an issue that should have been disclosed before the bidding even began.  

Maybe 13 is a lucky number after all

USMNT Moves Up To 13th In Latest FIFA World Rankings

FIFA's September world rankings were released this morning, and we found out that U.S. Soccer, after being ranked 19th just last month, jumped six more spots to 13th in the world. The Americans also were able to hold onto the top spot in CONCACAF. Mexico, second in the federation, fell one spot, and are now ranked 21st in the world. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Deadspin.

Kicking Back Comments: FIFA Rankings can be found here.

Honestly, don't put too much stock into them. Brazil is currently 8th, and if you really think that the 7 teams ahead of them are not as good ... after seeing Brazil play a couple of nights ago ... think again.