What RG3 Can Teach Us Referees

To put this in context, take a look at this story from USA today detailing the unknown peril Redskins coach Mike Shanahan caused by sticking with hobbled rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III until his sprained right knee buckled for a second and final time in the fourth quarter the wildcard game the Redskins played against Seattle the other night.

I happen to think this was a reckless act by the coach to not pull RG3, even if, and there is no evidence to suggest this, Robert wanted to stay in. The result, regardless of what it is, is just not worth it to jeopardize the health of your franchise QB, for a single win that would not amount to much more.

Now, lets face it, referees are professional athletes too, and while they are not getting knocked around like an NFL player, the training, if done right, is grueling. Heap on top of this a steady match schedule of (3)+ matches for a couple days a week, and you get a seriously fatigued body that still has to go to school/work.

One thing that a athlete, like a referee, must learn is the difference between "hurt", and "injured." This line is different for everyone and there is no proscribed formula for when one transitions from one to the other.

For example, I have spoke here about how I am training for cycling events later this year, and working with a pro cyclist and my doctor to do it (yes a bit extreme, so says Madam X). I'll be honest, I hurt all the time. I am always fatigued, and at times, really run down from being on the bike as much as I am (which is no where near where a pro would be ... I am a rank amateur by all stretches).

Why don't I stop?

Because I know it is just fatigue, and my body is adapting to the higher workload of the training. I am able, after years of training, to know the difference between just being hurt, and actually being injured ... as I have experienced both.

Being injured stinks. It is hard to heal, mentally and physically, and the record is filled with folks (like me) who challenge an injury too soon and cause a worse injury, or in extreme cases, don't return.

So what's the lesson you ask from RG3?

If you are injured, don't referee. You are doing a disservice to yourself, and The Game, all at the same time. You can do nothing more than further injure yourself, prolonging your return, and not do the job you need to.

This is not easy, believe me, and even more so during a match. There are times however, if you are injured, you must call in the 4th, or AR. It was part of my pre-game discussion for years, and while it only happened (during a game) once ... the team was ready, and we dealt with it as smooth as possible.

After all, we're only human.

The Fans Giveth, and The Fans Taketh Away

NHL fans react to tentative labor agreement

Fans have felt the brunt of NHL labor feuding with a canceled season in 2004-05 and 113 days of a lockout this season.

Fans came back in droves in 2005-06, but there is worry about a backlash after a tentative agreement has been reached.

"After the last lockout, the NHL had painted on both blue lines, 'Thank you fans,"" Philadelphia Flyers fan Lisa D'Angelo said by email. "What are they going to paint this time: 'Thank you fans again.'" ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: At the end of the day for any profession, it is the customers (i.e. the fans in this case) who make or break a league.

To dive into that just a bit, what responsibility, if any (generally), do we think referees have in this?

If you answer was "none", reconsider, if you want to work at the professional and international levels.

It's Up to the Referee?

Boateng: FIFA must do more

Kevin-Prince Boateng has insisted he will walk off the pitch again if he is racially abused and criticised FIFA for not doing more to tackle the issue.

The AC Milan midfielder walked off during a club friendly on Thursday, followed by the rest of his team, and has warned he will do it again with the backing of club president Silvio Berlusconi.

Speaking to CNN, Boateng said: "I don't care what game it is - a friendly, Serie A or Champions League match, I'd walk off the pitch again and I think everyone would support me. ...

See the whole article here, from Fox Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: I agree with Boateng. There is no place for racism at all, in The Game, or otherwise.

From the article there was some significant "buck passing" though ... and all of it was passed to the referee.

From Boateng:

"I said to him if it happens again I'm not going to play anymore. The referee said 'don't worry' but I said I do worry, it's not very nice."

and, from FIFA:

"A FIFA spokesman said: "It would be for the referee to report and the disciplinary committee would have to look into it.""

This last bit is nonsense as if it was clear such activity took place, FIFA could deal with it outside of a referee report. To say they can do nothing without a report is cowardly. Certainly an investigation is in order for such nonsense.

Makes me wonder though ... right now the LOTG speak of sending off for "foul and abusive" language. Clearly racial epithets fall into that category. What about less clear cases? What is a referee to do then?

Will we soon see "foul, abusive, and racist" in the LOTG? Possibly an IBD on point?

It is a little bit concerning as, similar to referees being used as drama critics to sniff out if a player is simulating an action or not, will we now be forced into the moral police, to try to decipher when one individual is racially attacking another, or just having fun in a way that is personal to the players themselves?

While the referee certainly bears responsibility to maintain decorum betwixt the players, at what point does a referee get into trouble for going too far and sending off someone who they thought were acting in that way?

I'm not sure, but what I do know is this is a problem that needs leadership from the top down, not everyone heaping on the referee and waiting for their match report before taking action. 

2013 Northeast Regional Futsal Championships

It's that time again, Futsal Championship time!

Last year I attended and wrote about the 2012 Northeast Regional Futsal Championships, which I likened to finding buried treasure in my backyard.

Well folks, we have that opportunity again.

The 2013 Futsal Regional Tournament will be from January 19th to the 21st at 675 Canton Street, Norwood MA 02062.

It promises to have something for everyone. Great Futsal, great officiating, and just a ton of fun. There will be  (50) or so Futsal referees from Massachusetts, (2) FIFA FUTSAL referees and the (as in the only one) FIFA FUTSAL Referee Instructor. A rare take for all.

All 204 games will be played in a single facility from 7:00am to 10:00pm on 19th and 20th . Semi finals and the Finals are Monday the 22nd from 7:00am to 4:00pm.

Come take a look, it promises to be an excellent tournament. Look here, for more information.

Soccer Night in Newtown

MLS, US stars to participate in "Soccer Night in Newtown"

The tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, affected the entire nation.

It had a particularly strong affect on Houston Dynamo president Chris Canetti. Within days of the shooting, Canetti, a native of Guilford, Conn., knew he wanted to do something for the Newtown community.

On the Monday after the shooting, Canetti got in touch with one of the only people he still knew connected to the Connecticut soccer scene: Eric Da Costa, head coach of the Quinnipiac University soccer men's soccer team. (Canetti is an alumnus of Quinnipiac.) Da Costa got the ball rolling, reaching out to youth soccer people in the area, including the Connecticut Football Club youth program, and suddenly things were in motion.

See the whole story here, courtesy of MLS.com

Kicking Back Comments: An amazing story, and a generous offering by so many involved in The Game at the highest level.

At Least I'm not a Little League Umpire

For those following the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, there was a recent lawsuit filed by a CT attorney named Irving Pinsky.

While I am going to stay far, far away from the merits of the suit, he recently decided to withdraw his $100M lawsuit against various defendants, on behalf of one of the surviving students.

Now in defending his decision to withdraw, he spoke about the public pressure he was under. He detailed the complaints and death threats he has received since filing the complaint. In doing so however, he used a very odd analogy. From the article:

He declined to elaborate, though said "we reserve all rights to bring up this request again," in spite of complaints and threats he says he's received.

"I always figure no matter how many death threats I get, it's less than what the little league umpires get," said Pinsky.

He's kidding right?

Now I agree that youth referees of all sports deserve special praise for their time spent, and things can get heated for certain. However, what would seem to be an "off the cuff" remark, serves to trivialize the seriousness of the Newtown tragedy and the legal action action he brought in response to it.

Weather the action has merit is yet to be seen. His analogy however, has none to me.

Sepp Blatter: MLS is not making me enough money

Well lets start the year off right together.

As most know I have no professional love for Sepp Blatter, and his recent comments about MLS further supplement my feelings on the matter.

While I agree with a singular point in his rant about MLS, that point being the league should align itself with the world's international schedule, everything else is rubbish.

Read the full article, and certainly watch Steve Nichol's comments for the full story, but when doing so, ask yourself what is his real motive here?

My opinion ... money.

FIFA made millions and millions in the 1994 World Cup. So much so bonuses in the $5M range were given to some of the hosting committee members.

How much did the US make for hosting? A $10B loss (source). In fact nearly all countries lose money in hosting, where FIFA walks away with all the cash.

Another source of revenue for FIFA is transfer fees. Right now FIFA takes about 10% of all transfer fees (source), and certainly would want to see its fair share of these revenues from the US to begin to transfer abroad. Not just the "poultry numbers" we are putting up now. Here are some of the finest we have abroad right now, per Forbes.

In a nutshell the US is underperforming as a "FIFA holding." Clearly we should be making far more money for FIFA than we are, and Seppy ain't happy about it. After all (the non-profit) FIFA has topped $1B in revenue in 2010 (source), and the US is just not pulling its weight to add to that coffer.

Of course FIFA profits are "redistributed" to its 208 member associations and development projects ... and little brown envelopes for various influence peddlers ...

MLS is growing at a reasonable rate for competing in such a fierce sports market that the US is. The fact that soccer is the #1 youth sport in the US (as acknowledged by Sepp) is HUGE. How to translate that base, which has existed year on year, into sustained fandom is the question, and there are some smart people (who too are looking to make money, but not on the backs of the poverty stricken) to figure that out.

My money is on the slow steady growth of the men's game in the US. More to do, yes. But what a ride so far!

What Now?

Most New Year's come with moments of reflection and inflection. This year is no exception.

My question is somewhat general in nature, and is meant for us all. What now?

What now for Kicking Back? We are going into year (4) of an unknown number of years. What should happen now? Will we bookend Kicking Back in 2014 with the World Cup in Brazil? Maybe Qatar? Maybe not at all!

This year (2013) is a special year for me personally too as it would have been the year I would have had to retire from the FIFA list, would I have been appointed. I have spouted long about what I think about the age requirement, but for me, about a year from now, no doubt, will be filled with some reflection on a career refereeing, and how that can be leveraged into my "next" soccer career. What then?

How about you all? Each of us has goals that seem to fit well within the boundaries of a calendar year. What about your goals? Personal, professional ... both?

Take some time and give it some thought today. What now for 2013? Where would you like to be a year from now?

Thanks for taking the ride with me with 254 posts in 2012. Let's see what happens in 2013.

Happy New Year!

Kicking Back's Best ... and Worst of 2012

Well folks, it is that time again.

To look back on the year and give my opinion of the best and worst, some of which is even soccer related. Nothing scientific, nothing objective, it's pure speculation and opinion on my part. Your opinions will certainly vary.

So without further adieu:

Best and Worst of 2012:

Goals:
Best Goal of 2012: Danny Welbeck, England v. Sweden Euro 2012.
Unbelievable touch on this one to win the match for England.



Worst (should have been a) Goal of 2012: Neymar, Brazil v. Colombia.
I think this ball is still in low earth orbit and being tracked by NASA.




Fan(atic) (Re)Action:
Best Fan Action: Placing fans' names on Real Sociedad jerseys'. Credit: The 91st Minute.
I actually really like this idea. While it could go horribly wrong, I think it is very clever.

Worst Fanatic Reaction: Live explosive thrown on pitch in Asian Cup Quarterfinal.
The #40 in yellow is lucky they are not calling him "Righty" now.



Commercial:
Best Soccer Commercial: Nike Football - My Time is now.
Very "Matrix" like, and very cool.




Worst Soccer Commercial: EA Sports - FIFA 13.
This was a huge letdown from the FIFA 12 commercial which was great.




On Field Brawl:
Worst Brawl (there are no "good" ones): Bahia v. Vitoria U-13(!) Match.
There are places in the LOTG that speak of "grave disorder", this is such a case.




Referee:
Best Referee (while there are no "bad" referees ... save me this year) to me is Mark Clattenburg. This man was involved in a heated exchange after a Chelsea match, and was hung out to dry as a racist for it.  While all seem to be moving on without any finding of racism whatsoever, the taint remains, and remains on a man who by all evidence has done nothing wrong, and a world class referee who should be destine for the 2014 World Cup. Time will tell of the rubbish spewed after this match hold over to the final selection of referees.

Based on a recent issue involving Clattenburg, it is clear some will continue to use this falsity in any way they can to advantage themselves.


Assistant Referee:
Best Assistant Referee is Richard Nieuwenhuizen. If any who have been living in a cave, or have tragically short memory, Richard is the parent, father, volunteer, and AR, who was working his son's match, when he was beaten on the field, after the match by (3) teenage players, and later died due to his injuries.

A tragic loss by all accounts, and one that will haunt The Game for years to come.

There is simply no other choice to me, Richard Nieuwenhuizen for his selfless service to The Game, that he gave his life for, demonstrates the best in humanity, and the game he clearly loved so much.

Busacca: We must give referees all they need

Busacca: We must give referees all they need

Massimo Busacca was a referee for 22 years and officiated at more than 100 top-level international matches, with the 2009 UEFA Champions League final among his most notable. The 42-year-old finished his active career this summer to become the Head of FIFA’s Referees Department. FIFA.com spoke with him about this past year and some of the hot topics in refereeing. ...

See the whole story here, from FIFA.com.

Kicking Back Comments: A good interview with one of the greats. There are some interesting tidbits throughout the article, but the best summary is his conclusion ... it is spot on, and far more fundamental than any administrative construct that FIFA hands down.

Did you ever notice ...

... FIFA's "Happy Birthday To You" segment?

Most recent from December 23rd 2012 can be found here, courtesy of FIFA.com.

Did you ever notice that referees are not on there? In fact I have never seen one, ever.

I could be wrong, and hope that I am, but I would think FIFA could find a refereeing legend worthy of posting in this segment, yes?

If you look at the list of FIFA referees for the US here, (notice the new additional folks!) it gives birth year only ... why not  announce happy birthday for those folks around the world that have made it to the FIFA ranks, and those who continue to serve in an active advisory capacity after their active service on the field.

Would seem like a common courtesy to me ... but then again, I may have missed something.

Well, I do know one retired FIFA AR who was born in December, and he is a class act, and longtime friend.

Happy birthday Tommy!!

... and Speaking of American Football(ers)

Friedel extends Tottenham contract

Veteran American goalkeeper Brad Friedel has extended his contract with Tottenham Hotspur until 2014, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.

At 41, Friedel is the oldest player in the Premier League and he is also the only man in the history of the division to start 300 consecutive matches. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of FIFA.

Kicking Back Comments: This is great to see Brad still at it at the tender age of 41. His time in the MLS while too short, was great. A quality guy and a class competitor.

Glad to see players from the US carrying the good name abroad.

Gotta Love St. Stephen’s Day!!

Games and More Games on Day After Christmas

After the confinement and tiring etiquette of Christmas Day, the prospect of soccer on Wednesday offers something of a refuge for Britons. An opportunity to escape the family, the simmering tensions and the dinner table strife, and breathe a sigh of relief, Boxing Day games are a tradition that Britain holds dear. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: I can think of (almost) no better way to start the time off between holidays, than with a whole day of football.

I know what I'm going to be doing today!!

Christmas soccer in Philadelphia, 1912

Christmas soccer in Philadelphia, 1912

Memories of Thanksgiving soccer matches were being replaced with anticipation of more holiday matches in the minds of area soccer fans as Christmas 1912 approached.

Christmas fell on a Wednesday that year and so provided a rare opportunity for a midweek match. The previous weekend had seen some 21 games across three leagues and several different divisions as well as eight exhibition games. Among those exhibition games were teams from the city’s Pennsylvania League and American League, who had no league game scheduled because of the first round of Philadelphia Challenge Cup ties. In cup play, Pennsylvania League champions Tacony were downed 2-1 by current league leaders Victors at Third and Lehigh, their second victory over the Sawmen of the season. Earlier in the year, the Victors had advanced as far as the semifinals of the 1911-1912 American Cup, playing eventual Cup winners the West Hudsons to two draws before losing the third game 1–0 in extra time. ...

See the whole article here, from Philly Soccer.

Kicking Back Comments: This is a great article! I have to say there are times when we forget that soccer in the US has some significant roots too. Also, in poking around this blog, there seems to be some real quality stuff there.

A welcome Christmas present!!

From all of us here at Kicking Back, have a very happy holiday season!

Be Careful FIFA

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, feeling heat over UEFA U21 in Israel, promises to rebuild bombed Gaza stadium

World football boss, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, is feeling pressure over the 2013UEFA Under 21 tournament scheduled to be hosted by Israel, though he thinks the tournament will go ahead.

There has been growing opposition to allowing Israel to host the tournament, including from top world players, following Israel’s November attack on Gaza which killed more than 170 people and injured more than 1,200.

Blatter also promised that FIFA would help rebuild the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City that was badly damaged in the Israeli attacks. ...

See the whole story here, from The Electronic Intifada.

Kicking Back Comments: Careful here ... FIFA is barely able to maintain its own house, never mind wander into the complex situation such as the Gaza conflict.

I am a little surprised FIFA started the ball rolling in the first place ... but am curious what they do now.

Be careful FIFA, as I have said before, this is not your fight, don't go picking sides.

I dunno ...

So this is a story that stems from my recent moving experiences.

I have a contract with a national internet service provider, and lets just say they screwed up my service pretty badly during our move, and made life a lot more hectic than it ever needed to be. (In a nutshell they cut us off accidentally ... I will not comment if I think this was a FIFA conspiracy).

Throughout the process I was on the phone for hours ... yes hours ... trying to unscrew the screwed up situation.

With a couple of the conversations, I would ask a question, and the representative on the phone would say "... I don't know, but hang on and I'll find out ...", followed by several more minutes of awful hold music.

This was repeated (5) times ... yes I counted ... it was five.

Now, I am a HUGE fan of saying "I don't know, but will find out ...", if you are asked a question you don't know the answer to. If you try to make up an answer, it will nearly always backfire on you.

However, there is a point when being honest and saying you don't know, turns into a competency issue. After a couple times of "I don't know" when you are in a position to know, is an issue.

Be very careful with this, as a referee in that position you are expected to know *everything* about the LOTG. Now I'll also say that is an unrealistic expectation as the volume of information is huge and includes not only the text of the LOTG, but also IBD's, position papers, addendum, guides ... you get the point.

Like I said earlier, if you don't know something, you should say "I dunno", but please be careful when you do, as with my service provider who said it over and over, they looked like know-nothing fools by having to repeat it over, and over again.

The flip side is take the time to learn from the experience. If there is something you don't know, find out as quick as you can. I wish I could tell you how many times I have asked a colleague at half time if "... I got it right ..." or "... did you see something different ...".

Now I would not recommend thumbing through the LOTG in plain view at half time, but in a locker room to check on something ... or after a match is certainly fair game.

In all cases, future "I dunno's" on the same topic should not happen. Once you have a chance to learn something new about The Game ... embrace it.

FIFA and Facebook, a costly combination

FIFA suspends agent over Facebook insults

ZURICH (AP) -FIFA has suspended a players' agent for two months for making insulting comments on his Facebook page.

FIFA says the case of Brazilian agent Paulo Teixeira is the governing body's first disciplinary action in which "a member of the football family has been suspended/fined for using social media.'' ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of SI.

Kicking Back Comments: I facilitated a group discussion earlier in the month regarding professionalism, and dedicated a slide to social media being so dangerous as generally, there is nothing stopping anyone from saying anything about anyone.

I have to admit though, even this one surprises me to a degree.

One thing to be aware of is that an individual may be bound by an agreement that would prohibit communicating certain opinions, or for that matter facts about a situation. This particular agent may be in such a situation. Keep in mind too that while the 1st Amendment to COTUS allows me to freely shoot my mouth off, that protection does not exist outside the United States, or to be more specific, such protection is based on sovereign law of the land the author is communicating.

Believe me, even with these rights afforded to United States citizens, you can still get in hot water, or just get challenged for your speech as I have encountered personally from a variety of thin skinned folks since beginning Kicking Back.

To those who may be insulted by my musings ... please relax, read the legal stuff page, and recognize it is just an opinion folks.

SEPP .... DID YOU HEAR THAT ????!???

Ah well, no distinguished service award from FIFA for me ....

Another New Women's League

A new league and another new dawn for US women's soccer

Here we go again: The United States Soccer Federation has announced that a new league known as the National Women's Soccer League will launch in 2013 administered by US Soccer.

The league will begin with eight clubs, the four left over from the recently-extinguished Women's Professional Soccer league (Boston, Chicago, New Jersey, Buffalo) and four new clubs. The names range from overly regional minor league names (Western New York Flash) to cheeky (Portland Thorns FC) to names that have survived all three women's leagues (Boston Breakers). Those clubs will join the Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit, and the as-yet-unnamed Seattle club. ...

See the whole story here, from The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Three strikes and your out, or third time's a charm?

I hope it is the latter, but given the track record of women's professional soccer in the US, I'm not so sure.

Clearly US Soccer is WAY behind this (as is Canada and Mexico) as each National Organization is subsidizing their entire national teams salaries in the league.

My questions go to what will be different this time? We have tried to ride World Cup winnings in the past, and the league (WUSA) spent itself into oblivion.

For the WPS there were some very committed owners, and some, well one, that seems to have intentions outside of The Game. That said, Wambach and Solo still believe that Mr. Magic Jack is good for the women's game. I'm reserving judgement for right now.

There is no question in my mind that such a league is good for players, youth soccer, US Soccer, referees ... the whole nine.

But ... but ... if they fail this time, are we done? Is this the last time we will try to create a viable women's league for a few generations?

My thinking is yes. 

Again I hope it succeeds wildly (it will be very slow growth though), because if it does not, I don't think we will be seeing women's professional soccer for a long, long time.

Did it really happen?

The Knowledge Christmas special: Did world war one matches really happen?

"Did the Christmas football matches between British and German troops in the first world war trenches really take place?" wonders a sceptical (sic) Sandy Brook.

As you imply in your question, Sandy, most folk raise an eyebrow nowadays at the thought of Tommy and Jerry getting together for a spot of festive soccer on a patch of no-man's land so churned it made the Baseball Ground circa 1972 look like the gardens of Tresco. It seems highly improbable, especially to modern minds conditioned by social media, that petty grudges could be set aside in the name of peace and goodwill to all men. But some contemporary reports suggest that's exactly what happened on Christmas Day 1914. ... 

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: A fun twist on a classic story. Funniest part was this line:

There was no referee, and no score, no tally at all. It was simply a melee – nothing like the soccer you see on television.

I love that personally. If true, you have two countries, nay, a world at war, and you don't need a referee for the match.

A large part of me thinks that referees are horrible for football. I think we may all be surprised what players of good conscience will do when left to their own devices.

Ex Post Facto?

So for the law geeks out there the clause, from COTUS Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3, states (in the most coarse terms) that an adjudicating body can't go back and change the consequences for a crime after the fact.

Like everything else, it is way more complicated than that, but you get the point.

So I was reading that Bin Hammam has been banned by FIFA, for a second time, after being held "not guilty" by CAS (in a 2 - 1 vote).

Take a peek at this article from Business World. Of particular note was the following:

(The first life ban) was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July, but FIFA handed out another life ban on Monday and said he would never be active in organized football again.

I had to laugh at this. So Bin Hammam gets "cleared" by CAS, and FIFA turns around and as soon as he walks out the proverbial door, slaps him with another life ban. Nice.

Why ever would they do that?

This suspension was not in connection with bribery allegations during the election campaign but for "conflicts of interest" while he was president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Now this one was just about laugh out loud funny. How many conflict of interest issues have other members of FIFA, like Sepp, been involved with? Clearly we must be talking about something current, right?

"That report showed repeated violations of Article 19 (Conflict of Interest) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, edition 2012, of Mohamed Bin Hammam during his terms as AFC President and as member of the FIFA Executive Committee in the years 2008 to 2011, which justified a life-long ban from all football-related activity."

So if I'm reading this right, FIFA banned him for life, again, after banning him the first time, and having that overturned by CAS, and based on conflict of interest violations that occurred in 2008 to 2011, yet were only considered conflict of interest violations in 2012.

What?

How seriously can we take these clowns at FIFA?

Really ... I know this is a harsh statement, but come on. Is there a procedure to be followed? This one is such an incredible stretch that it loses all sense of credibility.

Listen, do I think Bin Hammam was caught up in some unethical behavior? My sense is yes, without any evidence, but there is enough smoke circling around to get a picture. Even CAS in their ruling hinted at what they thought was unethical behavior. (Not that I hold CAS in any high regard after the Contador affair ...)

BUT ...

FIFA has to play by the rules here. Clearly they wanted Bin Hammam out, and if I had to guess it was because he had the audacity to challenge Sepp for the presidency. How pathetic is that to take retribution out on a previous opponent by banning him for life, twice, for some procedural, fabricated, rubbish.

How seriously can we continue to take FIFA?

Now is there anything stopping FIFA legally from doing this? Nope, and I recognize that. They can do it.

I also recognize that it is nonsense, and they should really be embarrassed by their conduct.

I suspect they will not be.