World Cup 2010 Blog: FIFA To Create Anti-Corruption Committee (Wink, Wink)

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FIFA To Create Anti-Corruption Committee (Wink, Wink) Posted: 03 Jan 2011 11:47 AM PST This sounds more like spoon-feeding some of the internet’s finer football satire sites, and if Sepp’s legacy is overwhelmingly known for one thing, it will be providing the internet and blogdom for an incessant stream of content. But yes, FIFA will be creating an “independent” anti-corruption committee. To be chaired by Jack Warner, vice-chaired by Luciano Moggi and a unicorn, and featuring a parliamentary system stocked with club owners from the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group. Seppspeak: He aims to present the project to FIFA's congress of 208 football nations in June, where he will stand for presidential re-election seeking a fourth four-year term in office. "This committee will strengthen our credibility and give us a new image," said Blatter, who acknowledged last month that FIFA "can't go on like this" after the World Cup voting process damaged the governing body's reputation And then came the punch line. "I will take care of it personally, to ensure there is no corruption at FIFA," Blatter said. The room then looked around confused before bursting into rapturous laughter, with the stenographer closing the bracket and documenting these minutes as oMg jk ROFLMAO!!!. FIFA: What’s in an acronym?

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Howard Webb Honored For Missing Easiest Red Card Of 2010” plus 1 more

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Howard Webb Honored For Missing Easiest Red Card Of 2010 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:40 AM PST Best tackle of 2010, no doubt about it – at least for our purposes of entertainment. Not quite the best refereeing decision, since it only merited a yellow card from Howard Webb, which is arguably one of the worst decisions of the year – certain when relative to the stage of the game. The queen has nonetheless offered Howard Webb an MBE in this new year. Probably for something more than just one game, but that one game included one of the worst decisions of 2010. There’s a joke in here about England’s World Cup standards, too. But she was probably just offering up an an excuse to post a Ninja De Jong clip. God save her, etc.

Landycakes Goal Wins ESPN’s Top Play of the Year Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:30 AM PST Soccerball doesn’t get much pub in the States outside of World Cup years and, occasionally, the Premiership, so it’s a rather big deal when ESPN tabs a football goal its play of the year. And I’m not sure how official this is – ’twas simply the top play in their year end review, which is probably enough. The goal was uberdramatic, but Landon’s still got a long, long way to go before he even approaches the lofty levels of the Iniesta baby-making stratosphere. (Though he does seem to be a bit more hands-on in his efforts, if ultimately unsuccessful.)

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Burning Diego With “Messi’s Better”” plus 1 more

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Burning Diego With “Messi’s Better” Posted: 30 Dec 2010 01:01 PM PST No matter how high the years climb, one never gets too old for pettiness. Julio Grondona is the president of the Argentine FA and a man of 79 years. He’s also the man responsible for canning Maradona’s ass after his all sizzle, no steak World Cup showing in the summer, among other things, and they’re beefing, as you’d expect with Diego – the man’s ribeye is never far from the grill. And Julio, who presided over the AFA during Maradona’s career, is throwing his own barbs. Like the fact that Messi’s better. This is very much a case of the older sibling and younger sibling getting into a fight of equal blame, but the older sibling getting into more trouble because he should be acting the part. Maradona, second best: Grondona's comments are a dig at Maradona and part of a feud. Last week Maradona said he was taking Grondona to court, accusing him of spreading false information about his problems with drugs and alcohol. Maradona says he has been clean for six years and Grondona has suggested otherwise. "Messi is the best No. 10 in the history of Argentine football," Grondona told Radio 10. "Messi, Maradona, Riquelme and Veron are from another planet." In an interview last week, Maradona accused the 79-year-old Grondona of being senile—calling him "gaga" in Spanish—and suggested he was receiving treatments several times a year at an expensive Swiss clinic. Which just isn’t true…yet.

Australia The Latest To Be Outed In A World Cup Probe Posted: 30 Dec 2010 11:30 AM PST There’s no question things at FIFA are less than kosher – it’s the dietary law equivalent of McDonald’s dipped in Burger King. However, even those loosely involved are likely on the gray-ish side of things, including those up in arms over the World Cup 2018 & 2022 bids. Take Australia, which reportedly spent $8m-per-vote on their bid for World Cup 2022. It failed, which is the bad news, but on the other hand, they only spent $8m. (Australian dollars, which are very close to its American cousin; €6m euros or thereabouts.) Continuing with its proud patriotic tradition of outing crap related to FIFA, the British media strikes again. The Oceania region official is allegedly taped claiming Australia’s soccer chief, Frank Lowy, got Canberra officials to do his bidding – and claiming Canberra gave AusAid to Oceania in return for its support at the ballot in Geneva, reported the Herald Sun. The tapes were recorded by a reporter from Britain’s Sunday Times who was sent to New Zealand posing as a lobbyist. The official allegedly says the Rudd government splurged $8 million on soccer in the Pacific to secure Oceania’s support. He allegedly says: “Australia (FFA) have never given us anything. What they did was they pushed the Rudd government because Frank Lowy won’t ever spend a dime. He gets other people to do his spending for him. “That’s how Lowy (Australia’s bid leader) was able to get us $8 million through the Australian government. It’s direct assistance to football in Oceania. “They are playing dirty tricks as much as any other person is. In FIFA it’s a dirty game altogether. “The Rudd government signed a three-year assistance to regional football deal with $8 million through AusAID.” So they went through alternative channels to achieve their goals of not keeping things on the up-and-up. The rumored number via the gospel that is Twitter is that it cost Qatar $10m per vote for their successful World Cup coup. Thus we can deduce that everyone else for 2022 bid something less than $10m – with the US bidding $8,000,001m, just to be assholes. With the next bid not until closer to 2020 and inflation to consider, the prospective bidders best starting saving their change – $25m might not get it done the next time ’round.

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