... and what better place to start than the master of misogyny, Sepp Blatter! The cameltoe loving scamp has really outdone himself this time, going beyond his par-for-the-course inappropriateness and blundering into the plain unacceptable. His blanket assessment of racism in football has led many to be shaking their heads in disbelief, calling for him to be (finally) sacrificed for the good of the game - and not without good cause. His obvious inability to empathize with ethnic minorities aside, he is a corrupt sleaze who forwent his accountability a long, long time ago. Many British footballers past and present have expressed their shock in no uncertain terms - Mark Bright, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand to name a few. (Not as shocked as I am that Rio Ferdinand is literate). The odds are not long on Theo Walcott coming out and saying something next (that kid has something to say about EVERYTHING. Definitely over indulged as a child...)
However, are we in the UK kidding ourselves a bit here?
Just look at the reception his comments provoked from European media sources. He even has Eusebio, a legendary (black) footballer shrugging his shoulders at his words - albeit a man from Blatters generation, probably fresh from another statue unveiling. No doubt racism was so institutionalized at this time you either had to get on with it or "never finish a game". Sepp is obviously archaic and wrong but it is only the politically correct, sensationalist English who have really gone up in arms about it. This cynic suspects another media driven witch hunt in order to sell papers, but at least they're much more in line with public sentiment.
The man is part Berlusconi, part George Bush. What does Sepp have to fear from the English? Earlier this year, the FA tried to stand up to ol' Sepp and his club and the notion was roundly rejected. Blatter has the knack of binding to him the people who matter - via corrupt practices or not remains to be proven. a la Berlusconi, he remains in power long after an unnatural amount of pressure has been placed on him via his own mistakes, gaffes and suspect conduct (a la Bush). His wriggling and evasiveness on issues of corruption were absolutely standard for a man of his position and people would do well to remember that going after the King is only a good idea if you know you're going to win.
Still smarting from our numerous failures to bring Blatter down, the media and top FA brass are fuelling a shit storm of massive proportions but what chances of it crossing the channel? I am not privy to the goings on at the top but are we unable to take any sort of effective action? Empty words do nothing. Let's go to FIFA's sponsors, let's go to his allies all over the world, let's remove the pillars of his support one by one until he crumbles. We've already achieved FIFA alienation and who knows, maybe Blatters successor will appreciate our good work in bringing this old boy down. Maybe we'll get a shout for the 2026 WC?
Anyone can shout about what is right, good and fair but it takes fox-like cunning to bring another fox down. Are we Boggis, Bunce and Bean? Or can we beat him at his own game? You need to play the game and get to the top before you can change it.
No comments:
Post a Comment