More Anti-US Sentiment ... from Qatar

From the Gulf Times seen here:

“I am not interested in football at all, and believe that it is getting more world attention than it really deserves. But when the voting process put Qatar against the US, I hoped that Qatar would win,” Sheikh Qaradawi said in his Friday sermon at the Omar bin al-Khattab mosque at Khalifa South town. The US president had said that FIFA had taken a “wrong decision”. It was a very bad comment by Obama. This means that he was intervening in a decision that should be made through voting. It seems that America wants to have the monopoly on everything in the world from politics to sports,” Qaradawi said.

England Declares War With FIFA

England set to go to war with FIFA after 2018 World Cup vote snub

FURIOUS England last night began their backlash against double-crossing FIFA chiefs for the 2018 World Cup bidding shambles.

FA chairman-elect Roger Burden announced he’s quitting before even taking up the role he was due to fill later this month – because he can’t trust FIFA executives.

And England have also pulled the plug on June’s friendly in Thailand as they prepare to substantially scale back their international goodwill
commitments and try to form a “coalition of the good guys” in world football.

Burden, infuriated by several FIFA bigwigs who promised their vote to England before reneging at the last minute, made his shock quit announcement in an open letter to FA Board members. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of the Daily Record.

The morning after

Well folks here we are together again. Here are some thoughts about yesterdays World Cup voting.

Please note, these are personal opinions and should not reflect on any organization I represent in any way.

Just to recap here were my predictions:

2018:
1. Russia
2. England
3. Iberia (Spain/Portugal)
4. Belgium/Netherlands

2022:
1. USA
2. Australia
3. Qatar
4. Japan
5. Korea Republic

As we have learned here were the actual results from FIFA:

2018:
1. Russia
2. Iberia (Spain/Portugal)
3. Belgium/Netherlands
4. England

2022:
1. Qatar
2. USA
3. Korea Republic
4. Japan
5. Australia

Two things are clear from comparing the two to me, in hindsight.

First, I tremendously underestimated the vitriolic rubbish FIFA can spew and just how insular they all are. Let's think about it for just a second. England is the modern creator of football, and had one of, if not the, best bid for 2018, yet only garnered 2 votes and were knocked out after the first round of voting. The England bid committee is bent, and I don't blame them. Not because they lost, and not because of what the BBC press did in uncovering systemic corruption in FIFA (in fact I applaud it, and they too are holding their heads high), but rather in the bold face lies that the FIFA EXCOMM told them throughout the process. With this I agree with the England bid team, the FIFA EXCOMM needs to have the fortitude to tell the truth, but am not surprised some took the cowards way out.

Second, I underestimated the political component of the bidding. I can not explain the Qatar vote too many other ways. Yes there can be bold faced corruption. One article stated, tongue in cheek, that the reason the presentation started about 30 minutes late was the tire burst on the wheel barrel Mr. Blatter was using to transport cash to his bank account courtesy of Qatar. A softer view may be that as Mr. Blatter departs as president of FIFA he has brought football to places in the world that may have never dreamed of it in their lifetime. Japan, Korea, Africa, and now Russia and the first ever World Cup in the Middle East.

There is a less soft side to this as well and it is that the US may again be shunned by the world as we continue to lose stature on the world's stage, not just with FIFA. In particular is there a possibility for some of the US's current popular views on Islam to be a cause for this? I agree this may be a bridge too far, but I don't discount it. Is this "the world" telling the US "we accept Islam, you should too?" Maybe it is really just the money as Qatar may be a foothold into a very wealthy region of the world.

After all, some had said that the US had the best bid, and the least risky certainly as compared to Qatar who has the most risky bid. Or was it the fact that Qatar is said to be dedicating all the used stadias to poor countries? Did FIFA ignore that the US is one of the most generous countries is the world for giving to such organizations? We could go head to head all day and get more mystified by the choice.

Was it just time for something different?
Something creative from FIFA?

We may never know for sure, but as I sit here, it may just be a little of everything that did not go our way.

I will say there are some folks who have ideas about it though ... from Twitter:

... and yes, that one is the real LD. Ouch.

... and no, that is not the real Blatter ... but it is funny.

So what now? Should US Soccer take some action on the bid committee that spent millions on a landslide vote that did not go our way?

That one may just happen on its own.

Let's take the US Soccer referee program as an example (this result does not help us to get a referee to a future World Cup by the way ... never mind the screw-ups within US Soccer that may have caused that in 2010), here is a list of folks who are out or on their way out ... yes folks you heard some of it here first.

Esse Baharmast

Brian Hall

Julia ILaqua
Dave McKee

Paul Tamberino (and getting sued on the way too)
Dick Triche

If this is any indication, we may soon see an exodus from US Soccer corporate as well. This has to be a particular poor result for the US Soccer business in general, and a head or two may roll as a result.

For our part, we will continue to learn from THE game and grow from it, in our backyards, and yes, even in Russia and Qatar.

And the winners are ...

As seen here live just a few moments ago FIFA decided where the crown jewel of tournaments will be played for the next 12 years.

As we have learned already, Brazil will be hosting the 2014 World Cup.

For the rest Mr. Blatter was brief in his opening comments saying notably that, "... football is a school of life where you learn to lose."

To be sure there were losers this day and chief among them was England as the 2018 World Cup will be hosted by Russia.

Also a loser is the United States as Qatar will be hosting the 2022 World Cup.

I'll say that I am half stunned, not in FIFA's choice of Russia as it is clear to me that they were going to punish England for the acts of their press, but am somewhat surprised about the choice of Qatar.

It makes me wonder if FIFA went politically correct run amok as FIFA wants to appease the Middle East, or if FIFA took the time to stick it to the US at the same time.

Stay tuned for more reactions ... as I am sure there will be some significant ones.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Kicking Back's take: Mr. Putin is trying really hard to make sure FIFA does not get confused between England and Russia and giving the EXCOMM a clear choice between those who are "friends of FIFA", and "those who are not."

It all smacks a bit hollow to me as "election fraud", and Putin would seem to go hand in hand. 

Putin Sees Conspiracy in Criticism of FIFA

MOSCOW — Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin, responded angrily to allegations of corruption in world soccer’s governing body on Wednesday, suggesting that some members of the body were being “smeared” in an effort to undermine his country’s bid to host the World Cup in 2018.

Russia has been locked in a battle with England and several other countries for the right to host the World Cup, and political intrigue has intensified in the run-up to the vote in Switzerland scheduled for Thursday, which will also decide the host of the 2022 tournament. A public affairs program broadcast on the BBC this week accused officials from FIFA, soccer’s governing body, of taking kickbacks and other wrongdoing, the latest in a spate of similar allegations.

“Regretfully, we have recently witnessed an obvious campaign against some members of the FIFA Executive Committee,” Putin said at a cabinet meeting in Moscow. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of the NYT.

Want to see the bids themselves ...

... all you have to do is go here. Courtesy of FIFA.

PK's Predictions

Programming note:
This release is going out earlier than usual to avoid any conflict with the actual decisions as I am curious to see how close we come to the actual decisions from FIFA.

So here we are on the precipice of the decisions for the next two World Cups. All the parties are gathering in Zurich as we speak and practices are occurring in the lead up to the final presentations before the FIFA committee, sans (2) voting members.

Here is the schedule of events for this week at FIFA. Interesting to me is that the 2022 bids are coming first, and the 2018 bids last, also the order of the bidding countries.

My predictions for 2022 (Australia, Korea Republic, Qatar, United States, Japan):

Courtesy gousabid.com

The winner: United States ... but only by a nose. I don't think it's the star power such as Morgan Freeman and Bill Clinton that will be joining the bid team that pushes this over the edge for them. At the end of the day, I believe this is about two things, money and infrastructure. You could even say they are the same thing and it comes down to money.

At the end of the day, lets face it, FIFA is a business, and business is there to make money. There would be no greater opportunity to do so than the US. While Japan and Korea are in a similar boat in ability to make money, there are logistic and political issues in play, as well as just recently being there, that make this choice, I believe, less attractive than others to FIFA.

My runner up is Australia. I think the "Socceroos" made a significant impact in 2010 and this, along with the available infrastructure and climate, make it a runner up to the US. Additionally I believe that FIFA would do well in Australia as far as the ability to make money.

Finally I think Qatar takes 3rd in the voting as while I don't discount FIFA's desire to "share the Cup with the world", there are many things no going Qatar's way when stacked up with these others. Climate is among them as Chuck Blazer's comments about air conditioning a whole country ring true. Infrastructure and political climate is another reason that may militate away from hosting the Cup. Some would say, neither is particularly well developed for the influx of tourists that would flock to the tiny country for the event.

My predictions for 2018 (Belgium/Netherlands, Spain/Portugal, England, Russia):

The winner: Russia ... again by a nose. This time the issue, I believe, is much simpler, and has to do with ego and pride.

FIFA does not like being challenged. This much has been clear in the days just behind us. Their ethics investigation, while good, was painful for them. Even in the face of new bribery allegations, those involved have scoffed off the allegations and FIFA itself has stated it will not open an investigation. It would seem clear that FIFA just doesn't want to hear about it at this point.

For this FIFA will make England pay dearly for the actions of its independent press, and not allow England the honor of hosting the Cup in 2018 through not voting for who I believe should be the host in 2018.

FIFA has already set themselves up well for this decision trotting out excuse after excuse as to why England should not be allowed to host, paving the way for a not so stunning rejection, should it occur.

My runner up is England however, as there seems to be some level heads on the FIFA EXCOMM and those heads will point to the deserving host, England.

From there, I believe Iberia comes next with a few votes, but also with concerns about unrest in the years ahead as the economic issues of Ireland in 2010 are likely to infect the other smaller European countries in the years ahead. Again, this will impact the ability for FIFA to make money.

Lastly comes the Belgium/Netherlands bid, and the difficulties it would have with logistics and the like in the face of the more powerful bids such as Russia and England.

I am sure these last hours that set the course of international football for the next 12 years will be fascinating, and after the vote, you'll see our take here.

Here we go again ...

Report: FIFA facing fresh corruption allegations

Zurich - Three FIFA executive committee members have been linked to a secret list of payments in renewed corruption allegations affecting football's world governing body ahead of this week's vote to choose the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to a Swiss report Monday.

The daily Tages-Anzeiger reported that the three officials received bribes from bankrupt FIFAmarketing partner ISMM/ISL a decade ago. It based its reports from a list of payments on the books of the firm which collapsed in 2001. ...

Full story continues here, courtesy of Monsters and Critics.

Strike One?

Thanks to Ken for bringing this issue forward.

Scottish referee strike forces 15 weekend games to be cancelled as decisions row threatens to drag on

A bitter strike by referees has forced the cancellation of almost three-quarters of all football matches in Scotland’s professional leagues this weekend.

The six fixtures scheduled in the Scottish Premier League – the country’s top flight – will go ahead following the last-minute arrival of officials from Israel, Malta and Luxembourg.

But all 15 games in Scottish Football League – the three divisions below – have been axed after more than 30 referees downed whistles. ...

Full story here, courtesy of Mail Online.

Law 18 "strikes" again

This title will make more sense after you read the post from Soccer America titled "Mom slaps ref." In what may be an example of a parent gone wild, which frankly it is, there is also a more subtle message in there for those who are looking.

This story (and those like it) go something like this:

1. Experienced referee is officiating a local youth game, usually U-14 or below.
2. Match is going fine.
3. Referee applies the laws in a way that the youth players are not accustom to.
4. Players take exception.
5. Adults take exception.
6. Players and/or adults emote their concerns (constructively or not).
7. Referee does not notice or does not adjust accordingly.
8. Players and/or adults act out.

Now from the onset let me say that this is a pretty general pattern in youth sports and can be applied to just about anything that participants don't like. In this case there is some "magic" in steps 3 and 7 where a referee is doing something players at an age, or really better stated, playing level, are not ready for, and the referee does not recognize and adjust to the level.

I say "playing level" and not "age" as there are some very young players that are sophisticated and coached well that are more prepared than most youth referees in some settings (e.g. Regional Play or some international tournaments such as Dallas Cup). This scenario is not intend to reflect that case. As it turns out, it is the referee who may "act out" in those cases. I will cover that in a future post.

Here, we have the case of a referee who has not adjusted properly, did not recognize, and resulted in upset parents ... to the point of assault and battery.

The "magic" incident was captured in the SA story (interestingly not others that reported it however):

"... playing in a U-10 game in the Atlanta area ... the referee ... didn't stop play after the girl was hit in the chest by the ball and fell down."

The result:

"The mother ... entered the field and slapped the referee because he didn't stop play. The mother left by the time Forsyth County Sheriff deputies arrived. The victim of the slap from the 39-year-old woman was a 30-year-old male referee, whose face was reddened and his lip bloodied." 

The reason the referee gave for not stopping play for 9 year olds:

"According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the ref didn't stop play because the other team was in possession – and waited until the ball went out of bounds."

So ask yourself as referees, are you applying the laws in a way the players recognize and understand? In this case, there may even be a more basic question that needs to be asked ...

Did the players feel safe with the decisions the referee was making?

For me, was the referee technically correct in waiting to stop play?
Yes.

Did they get themselves into trouble by waiting to stop play?
Yes.

So what is a referee to do then, apply the laws as written or modify them for the game at hand?
Both.

Sounds like "double speak" but the referee must apply the LOTG while keeping the interpretations at the level of the players. If not, they will react negatively and put the match in jeopardy.

In this particular case, there is even a simpler message. For a local U-10 match, is a player goes down, stop the play regardless of what else is going on. It is the safest course for these young players.

Finally, while I understand the mom's concern for her daughter. This referee should file the criminal charges, and follow up with a civil suit. Overly litigious? Maybe, but this parent needs to understand the damage she did by committing assault and battery on a match official to herself, and THE game. This would not be about "revenge" (there is no big pay day here folks), but it is about protecting THE game, and ALL of its participants, even the folks in the funny colored shirts.

Send in the Swiss guard

World Cup - Swiss authorities investigating FIFA

Swiss authorities are considering launching a criminal investigation into FIFA over allegations of vote rigging for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to a report in the Guardian.

Six FIFA officials were suspended last week over the long-running allegations of vote trading for the right to host the World Cup, and the Guardian reports that the Swiss Federal Office for Sport is considering a criminal case against football's governing body. ...

Article continues here, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

It ain't the love bug

Special thanks to Ken for pointing this one out.

Man jailed for driving car at referee

LONDON -- The harshest punishment soccer players can usually expect for berating a referee is a suspension or fine -- not 24 weeks in jail.

But then most players don't respond to the threat of a red card by driving a car on the field and at the official.

Amateur player Joseph Rimmer became incensed by a referee's refusal to award a free kick during a February game between Lonsdale and Harrington in northwest England. Rimmer thought he was about to be penalized by referee David Harkness, so he told him: "If you book me or send me off, you know what will happen." ...

Story continues here, courtesy of ESPN.

Thank You

Photo courtesy amoeba.com

On this Thanksgiving Day Holiday (in the US) I wanted to take just a minute to give thanks to you all for the continued support of Kicking Back.

I remain overwhelmed by the response and continued support we receive in our day to day musings about things soccer.

As I sit here today I don't see much of that changing as we continue to make plans for future installments and expanding content of the blog.

For me I will be spending some time to reflect and truly give thanks to so many who make my go round in this life the fun that it is.

For anyone looking to get involved in a match this weekend, here is a state by state listing of some of the tournaments going on this holiday weekend. I for one, will be out on Saturday inspecting a match and likely still quietly digesting.

Best wishes on this day of thanks, and our sincere gratitude to you all for making Kicking Back what it is becoming.

Truer words have never been written

Get a grip FIFA

According to reports England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup is hanging in the balance because of the British media’s investigations into how FIFA (the world football governing body) is run - the findings of these investigations demonstrating a not insignificant amount of corruption throughout the organisation. The Sunday Times accused both Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii of selling their votes determining where the World Cup will end up. FIFA have suspended the two offenders, but apparently the whole incident has poisoned many of the other delegates against the England bid – which had previously been one of the favourites. A BBC Panarama programme also investigating FIFA was shown earlier this week, prompting the chief executive of England’s bid Andy Anson to call the BBC unpatriotic because the further damage it will apparently do to England’s chances. ...

Full article continues here, courtesy of Cherwell.org.

Finally a traditionalist

The title of this great article says it all:

Michel Platini: 'The referee must decide, not a guy in front of a tv'

The Brian Viner Interview: The Uefa president hits out at Sepp Blatter's stance on goal-line technology, justifies the Financial Fair Play idea but says he is undecided over England's 2018 bid

The temperature in Switzerland took a dramatic dive earlier this week, causing almost as much consternation in the sleek, glass-and-steel headquarters of Uefa in Nyon on the shores of Lake Geneva as might a dramatic dive in a European final. On the morning I visit, a blanket of thick cloud hangs low over the lake, for which one Uefa functionary actually apologises. A day earlier, he says, it was positively warm, with vivid views of Mont Blanc. Now, all is grey, chilly, damp, inhospitable. My hope is that the mood of Uefa's illustrious president, Michel Platini, will not match the weather. ...

Fabulous article continues here, courtesy of The Independent.

No justice ... It's Gerrymandering folks

A good article from The Independent detailing the personal battles that may be responsible for setting back the England 2018 bid. What got me was not the body of the article however, it was what was reported at the end of it. From the article:

Last night a fresh twist was added to the chaotic bid process when it emerged that Adamu and Temarii could be replaced in time for the vote, bringing it back up its full quota of 24, if they accept their punishments rather than go through a lengthy appeal.

You have got to be kidding me. This is rubbish.

Just when FIFA seemed to be marginally getting their act together after the ethics probe they conducted, they do this.

Now, maybe it's a "trial balloon" to see if there is any appetite for this nonsense, in an effort for FIFA to better respond and understand the people who represent the game they are dedicated to serving.

I don't buy that one.

They are shopping for votes.

This one, if true, is the worse kind of conduct in voting bodies ... gerrymandering. After all, who is picking these "new" voters? By all accounts this may be the difference between England 2018 and Russia 2018 as the African block of votes is decidedly not going Englands way.

This one is a lose-lose.

If you pick voters that are sympathetic to England, it would appear to be a "lifeline" for England. If you do otherwise, that "lifeline" looks like it has a boat anchor attached.

I would opine that there is NO ONE in FIFA who is not tainted by this, or at least influenced to the point that they could be added as the last two votes in time for 02-DEC. Ethics committee where are you?

On a final note, it sure seems this is getting to the boiling point in England as more than one commentator is expressing its frustration anger at FIFA and its processes. See this article from The Independent which states in part:

That's Fifa for you, and as a "made" representative I would have long understood the loyalty we display to our own. When Valcke announced the suspensions of the two executive committee members and four other officials last week – after the cash-for-votes allegations printed in a British broadsheet – I would have figured, "They'll be back". Who knows, they may even one day make it to even higher office. I would put nothing beyond Fifa's recovery powers.

While not all the daggers are pointed at FIFA, many are. In this case, as they should be.

Bush did it

Credit: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com

Politics aside, I caught this article from The Telegraph where FIFA gives yet another reason why England may not get the 2018 World Cup.

This time ... Wimbledon.

FIFA has stated in their report that:

It is a Fifa requirement that no other major sporting event is hosted in a host city during the event period and the fact that the Wimbledon tennis championships take place in London during late June/early July could have an impact on the public attention given to the Fifa World Cup.

FIFA seems to be trotting every excuse in the book to have some grounds to tell England "no", or at least give the remaining EXCOMM members enough pause to do so. As I wrote the other day, I do not think England will get the 2018 nod, but unfortunately this would be for all the wrong reasons as they are as good a host as any to do so. I would opine one of, if not, the best next to the US, who still to me inexplicably exited early.

Overall however England got a good report. Some would say better than others in the running for 2018.

We will see however, the clock is ticking, and things still do not look great for England as the BBC continues to ready itself to air its FIFA corruption documentary.

FIFA Ethics Probe Complete: Justice or Gerrymandering?

Back when FIFA announced its ethics probe into the sale of World Cup votes by FIFA EXCOMM members, and collusion between bidding countries, I was suspicious of getting, frankly, any result.

I have to admit, while I do not believe FIFA took all the steps it should have to remove the doubt from the process, they did more than I expected.

Then again, my bar may have been set so low you could step over it.

From the FIFA media release, the following punishments have been meted out for the vote selling scandal. Note a CHF (swiss franc) is approximately equal to $1 US:

• Reynald Temarii (FIFA vice-president) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of one year. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 5,000.
• Amos Adamu (FIFA Executive Committee member) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of three years. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 10,000.
• Slim Aloulou (chairman of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber and member of the FIFA Players’ Status Committee) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of two years. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 10,000.
• Ahongalu Fusimalohi (General Secretary of the Tonga FA) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of three years. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 10,000.
• Amadou Diakite (member of the FIFA Referees Committee) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of three years. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 10,000.
• Ismael Bhamjee (CAF honorary member) was banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at national and international level for a period of four years. Furthermore, he was fined CHF 10,000.

It is significantly noteworthy that this action from FIFA now prevents Temarii and Adamu from voting on 02-DEC for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. This is a blow to England in 2018 as Temarii has shown his support for their bid (source). Particularly so as Temarii while he has vowed to appeal the decision, will do so after 02-DEC. Very interesting timing to me ... and another sign that things are not going well for England.

FIFA continued its decision by stating that there was not enough evidence to conclude any collusion between bid countries. This investigation was specifically targeted at Iberia (2018) and Qatar (2022). 

For those interested you can watch the FIFA ethics committee press conference here, or the post committee press conference here. A French boadcast report is here:

It seems that not everyone is applauding FIFA for how they handled this whole thing. An interesting take from PR Week states in part that FIFA has a long way to go from here. While they have done, okay with the investigation, the whole bid process need more work to fully restore their credibility.

Some other pundits agree with this position too while doing something was better than nothing, FIFA has a big hole to dig out of.

As we now race to voting on 02-DEC, at this juncture the big winners and losers to me are:

Temarii and Adamu: BIG losers. For getting involved in this corruption in the first place and trying to personally gain from THE game. The puny fines, suspensions, and loss of voting are the palest of punishments.

Aloulou, Fusimalohi, Diakite, and Bhamjee: Losers. For getting involved at all. They too deserve what they get, and then some.

FIFA: Losers. The punishment did not go far enough for the crimes committed. They continue to demonstrate an uncanny ability to put their head back in the sand in keeping the bidding and vote process secret.

England: Losers. I still believe that they will ultimately lose the 2018 bid for all the wrong reasons.

Sunday Times: BIG winners. Without their reporting it would have been another year of voting corruption with no one but FIFA knowing.

BBC: Winners. While their airing of the FIFA corruption programme may ultimately cost England their 2018 bid, it is not their fault. It is FIFA's myopic view of the world that everything should revolve around them, and those that don't will be cast out.

Iberia and Qatar: Winners. For being cleared of any collusion. While I don't believe there was none, I believe the threshold should be lower for bidding countries than EXCOMM members.

Unfortunately the biggest loser of all is THE game. While I am confident it will be back in all its majesty shortly after the vote, to be marred with such open corruption continues to erode all the good will built up for so long.

I can only hope FIFA takes a proactive approach to correcting these eroding effects, and becomes a transparent organization in dealing with such critical matters of sport. If for no other reason ...

For the good of the game.

BBC called "unpatriotic"

For the "you have to be kidding" file, Andy Anson, the now 2018 bid chief for England (Lord Triesman stepped down after accusing Spanish and Russian football federations of conspiring in bribery, and there was this one too of Sir Dave Richards in 2009) called the BBC unpatriotic. Specifically, regarding the timing of airing the program detailing FIFA's corruption:

To do it the week before the vote - I don't think think it's patriotic.

I am still admittedly confused as it was this investigation that led to the FIFA ethics probe, where it is likely that someone will be found to have done something unethical.

Why is it the BBC's fault they legitimately have found a story and are running with it? I would think that everyone would want to hear about vote fixing and collusion between national bodies of this type.

While England (note not the UK as the venues are for England only), has something to lose, I would imagine so to does Anson.

Take a look here, where in 1994 Alan Rothenberg landed a $3 million bonus for getting the 1994 World Cup in the black (way in the black actually). While admittedly this was an operation role it stands to reason there is a pay day here for some folks. Just take a look at some of the numbers ... and remember this was 16 years ago. Adjusting for inflation, that is about $4.3 million today. Not bad.

Any bets on what Anson is getting? I have no idea, but "for Queen and Country" does not pass the sniff test to me.

Either way, as I have stated before, I support the BBC role in this provided they portrait an accurate picture of what is going on.

If FIFA is petty enough to take out any bad press they get on England, shame on them.

Hello BBC ... It's the PM on line 2

World Cup 2018: Government want BBC to cancel Panorama on Fifa corruption

Senior Government figures believe the BBC should consider cancelling a Panorama documentary about Fifa amid concerns that it could derail England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Sources close to No 10 have told Telegraph Sport that they do not want the programme to be aired as scheduled on Nov 29, three days before Fifa's executive committee meets to decide England's fate. ...

Full story here, courtesy of The Telegraph.