[Archived] Blatter

[American]

MLS owns the contract, so they don't play for the club, they play for MLS.

[philipl]

Septic Blast's verbal confusion gets the Grauniad treatment.

Presumably, what Blatter really wants is the EPL to follow Real Madrid's example and go and pick whatever players it wants from wherever it wants (except Real, Barca, Bayern, Juve and Milan x2) simply because it has the money and the loud moths to do so.

Edited July 11, 2008 by philipl

[thenodrog]

Now racism in it's purest sense is horrible but old Blatter is getting the hounds of hell set on his trail over a remark that imo has more than a modicum of truth and common sense. Not saying he doesn't deserve it overall but this is a witch hunt proper.

Football is instinctive, passionate and impulsive and things said in the heat of the moment are just that and should be viewed as such. I've called and been called all sorts in the past and it's all been forgotten with a handshake at the end. Premeditated insults designed to provoke a reaction are much worse albeit imo rarer.

Blatter said..... "I would deny it. There is no racism," he said. "There is maybe one of the players towards another – he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one. But the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination."

Now I find little wrong with that tbh and certainly nothing to cause the furore that has built up around it.

Just a few points..

1. Who the hell do we think we are to dictate what is right and wrong to the world? We are a tiny Island nation of little consequence so how can we be so presumptious as to decide that we are always right and not to recognise that what we consider wrong can be perfectly acceptable elsewhere and vice versa?

2. The press and media are predictably wheeling out all sorts of nondescript individuals to comment. We have Rio Ferdinand playing a leading role (lest we forget Rio is hardly a paragon of virtue is he after he had a decade+ long adulterous affair, and has also served a long suspended for drugs 'irregularities'. Jason Roberts who suddenly and most mysteriously is on TV more times than Ant and Dec! Why??? I can only presume old Dick Dastardly has plenty of influence and strings to pull from the centre of his web of deceit.

Next up Gordon Taylor, Mick Macarthy, Richard Caborn, Ed Milliband etc etc all lining up to call for his resignation. Reminds me of people who live in glass houses not throwing stones. I'd love to search their phone messages cos I'll wager 90% of the people in the chasing posse will have received and forwarded John Terry/Anton Ferdinand jokes this past few weeks! ..... I'd wager 90% of members here will have too.

Hypocrisy really is reaching epidemic proportions in this country.

[Rovers_786]

The more I think about Sepp Blatter's comments, the more pathetic they seem. How can this man lead world football? He HAS to go.

[Eddie]

The problem is that he said that there is no racism. I would say that racism is a relatively small problem in professional football and it is rarely an issue (although something that should always be taken seriously and punished severely), but the problem for Blatter is that this comes not long after his ridiculous comments about homosexuals attending the world cup in Qatar and on the back of several other comments that could be construed as bigoted or hateful at worst or careless and insensitive at best. They are probably closer to the latter, but well thought out public comments concerning sensitive issues rather comes with the job description of being the President of FIFA.

[Torgeir]

Wenger said something along the same lines after the QPR - Chelsea game, and I don't recall anyone slagging him off. I realise Blatter is President of FIFA but still, Wenger is a big name in football as well. Here's a paragraph from an article from the Independent:

"How much credit can you give to something that is said on the pitch in a passionate situation?" Wenger said. "How deep do you read?" He suggested, with a rather more trivial example than the one currently in the news, that insults on the football pitch are "reflexes" rather than considered speech. "If you have played football, you have said something to your friends sometimes that you are an idiot – but you do not really think that he's an idiot."

During a football career there are quite a few 'heated' situations. Sometimes people say or do silly stuff but I think as long as people can shake hands afterwards and apologise when an apology is due, then one shouldn't read too much into it. There's a difference between one nasty tackle and being a nasty player. However, if John Terry denies having said something racist during a game and it turns out he did, then I think he should get a ban. Professional athletes are paid vast amounts of money too, and probably should be able to keep it within the rules.

I don't like Blatter, but I think this particular hounding is over the top.

Link to article mentioned above:

Wenger offers words of comfort for beleaguered Terry

[joey_big_nose]

The more I think about Sepp Blatter's comments, the more pathetic they seem. How can this man lead world football? He HAS to go.

Quite aside from the appropriateness of Sepp Blatter's comments can we all just pause to give a MASSIVE HI-FIVE to rover_786 for his best sentence yet in grammar, syntax and spelling?

ps. Sepp Blatter saying that there is no racism in football is akin to saying there is no sexual harassment in bars and pubs. Just because a tiny moniority of people do it is not a reason to deny it's existence and deny the need for censure. That was his mistake. And frankly the guy is a high class buffoon who should have lost his job years ago. If he was a person of sense and judgement then I imagine he would get a little more leeway.

Edited November 17, 2011 by joey_big_nose

[thenodrog]

ps. Sepp Blatter saying that there is no racism in football is akin to saying there is no sexual harassment in bars and pubs. Just because a tiny moniority of people do it is not a reason to deny it's existence and deny the need for censure. That was his mistake. And frankly the guy is a high class buffoon who should have lost his job years ago. If he was a person of sense and judgement then I imagine he would get a little more leeway.

Mark Bright and David Davies were both on breakfast news this am condemning Blatter but both admitting that Europe and the rest of the world will not even be discussing Blatters comments as the matter is only considered commentworthy here. It appears to me that the entire issue is being whipped up into a storm by the press and media cos of a need for revenge re:World Cup bid and video evidence etc.

Don't we just shoot ourselves in the foot? I suggest the blame for the World Cup fiasco might just have it's origins in Wapping and not Geneva.

btw "sexual harrassment in bars and pubs" !! and the like is why the human race has proliferated in number and is just another complete load of modern day PC bloody gonads! What a grey area that is. Where do you define the difference between sexual harrassment and somebody simply plucking up enough courage to make the first move? Imho most young people go to bars in order to meet members of the opposite sex it's just that in most cases it's rarely the ones that you want who are attracted to you.

You need to consider the old adage 'faint heart never won fair lady'.

Edited November 18, 2011 by thenodrog

[Reedy You're A Star]

The more I think about Sepp Blatter's comments, the more pathetic they seem. How can this man lead world football? He HAS to go.

I agree with Rovers_786's brother, he has to go.

[Guest Rovers4Good]

There is only one man on this earth who is more deluded than Blatter and he's running our football club.

[rovgers]

I really don't think he'll go, from what I've read, the majority of the people who seem to complaining are from this country and Fifa will put that down to 'sour grapes'. I've noticed that Fifa have started wheeling out people to support him, one described Blatter's comments as 'unfortunate'.

[Amo]

I'm no fan of John Terry, by any means, but the national campaign to tar and feather him is downright hysterical. There does seem to be an overwhelming white guilt complex in our country. Do I believe John Terry's a racist? Nope. Do I believe he made a discriminatory remark in the heat of the moment? Yes. Let's put this into some perspective. Terry never used an offensive slur such as n*gga or w*g. Would it be racist if I was telling an anecdote and said "So this black guy walked up to me..." just because I happened to mention the fact he was black?

He wasn't right to say what he said, and by all means there should be an inquisition, but to see so many people getting up on their soapbox about it when there's REAL sh*t going on in the world, is embarrassing and risible.

[OJRovers]

Topman,

Yes but if someone had stood up in the crowd and shouted what Terry said they would get a long ban from football matches (if heard by stewards/police).

He is the national team captain, therefore a role model, so if he has said it then the punishment should be equal if not worse.

[3rdpillar]

Topman,

Yes but if someone had stood up in the crowd and shouted what Terry said they would get a long ban from football matches (if heard by stewards/police).

He is the national team captain, therefore a role model, so if he has said it then the punishment should be equal if not worse.

And THAT is why he needs to be punished (if found guilty), like anyone else. One matchdays he must be no where near a football ground.

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

Now racism in it's purest sense is horrible but old Blatter is getting the hounds of hell set on his trail over a remark that imo has more than a modicum of truth and common sense. Not saying he doesn't deserve it overall but this is a witch hunt proper.

Football is instinctive, passionate and impulsive and things said in the heat of the moment are just that and should be viewed as such. I've called and been called all sorts in the past and it's all been forgotten with a handshake at the end. Premeditated insults designed to provoke a reaction are much worse albeit imo rarer.

Blatter said..... "I would deny it. There is no racism," he said. "There is maybe one of the players towards another – he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one. But the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination."

Now I find little wrong with that tbh and certainly nothing to cause the furore that has built up around it.

Just a few points..

1. Who the hell do we think we are to dictate what is right and wrong to the world? We are a tiny Island nation of little consequence so how can we be so presumptious as to decide that we are always right and not to recognise that what we consider wrong can be perfectly acceptable elsewhere and vice versa?

2. The press and media are predictably wheeling out all sorts of nondescript individuals to comment. We have Rio Ferdinand playing a leading role (lest we forget Rio is hardly a paragon of virtue is he after he had a decade+ long adulterous affair, and has also served a long suspended for drugs 'irregularities'. Jason Roberts who suddenly and most mysteriously is on TV more times than Ant and Dec! Why??? I can only presume old Dick Dastardly has plenty of influence and strings to pull from the centre of his web of deceit.

Next up Gordon Taylor, Mick Macarthy, Richard Caborn, Ed Milliband etc etc all lining up to call for his resignation. Reminds me of people who live in glass houses not throwing stones. I'd love to search their phone messages cos I'll wager 90% of the people in the chasing posse will have received and forwarded John Terry/Anton Ferdinand jokes this past few weeks! ..... I'd wager 90% of members here will have too.

Hypocrisy really is reaching epidemic proportions in this country.

So part of your argument boils down to, because casual racism may be acceptable in other countries, we should accept it here?

Cultural relativism may be a factor when it comes to the larger issue of tackling racism outside of football and particularly in areas of Eastern Europe, but we are not dealing with cultures or nations that condone racism in this instance. Blatter heads Fifa and as such represents a body which is opposed to racism in Sport. Therefore if someone in the position of Blatter comes out with the statements he has done, I think we do have plenty of scope to criticise.

I dont believe that Blatter is racist, I just think he's incredibly naive to not understand how his comments were going to be perceived. It was foolish and just another in a long list of blunders. He's an embarrassment.

[Stuart]

The more I think about Sepp Blatter's comments, the more pathetic they seem. How can this man lead world football? He HAS to go.

Don't know from whom, but that it a clear copy and paste from Twitter. You really should say as such, 786. You do yourself no favours.

Moving on...

Sensitivity alert - please read my whole post before commenting! It's only a short point I want to make.

Blatter? I'm not sure about this guy. My gut feeling is that his heart is in the right place. Much like Michael Jackson, in that respect.

However, I can see the point of view that says THIS particular issue against him is a witch hunt - would the media uproar have been as great had we won the rights to host World Cup, for instance.

He is an old man and old men view the world differently. They've seen it all, done it all (well, said it all in ol' Josep's case), and worn the T-Shirt.

I can't decide if his comments are distinctly 1950s or visionarily 2050s.

Maybe one day, we won't have such things as '-isms' and '-phobes' and we will accept, learn from, embrace and enjoy, even poke fun at, each others differences as much as their similarities - without the constant (and seemingly obligatory) need to take offence.

I hate the word 'tolerance'. I understand the reason for it (you can't change how people think) but it just seems to me that it means putting up with people you don't like, and perpetuates ignorance.

I prefer 'understanding'. I live in hope.

...another thread which belongs in ICBINF.

[DE.]

Blatter is a total moron, but these comments have been blown out of proportion somewhat. I would say i'm surprised an organisation the size of FIFA doesn't employ a few PR guys to ensure Blatter and other high-profile officials don't say anything that could be seen to be stupid or inconsiderate... but it is FIFA we're talking about.

[thenodrog]

So part of your argument boils down to, because casual racism may be acceptable in other countries, we should accept it here?

Cultural relativism may be a factor when it comes to the larger issue of tackling racism outside of football and particularly in areas of Eastern Europe, but we are not dealing with cultures or nations that condone racism in this instance. Blatter heads Fifa and as such represents a body which is opposed to racism in Sport. Therefore if someone in the position of Blatter comes out with the statements he has done, I think we do have plenty of scope to criticise.

.

But we do! http://www.footymatters.com/articles/extras/respect/the-black-list-awards-2011/

Surely as the powers that be attempt to 'kick racism out of football' these awards drive a horse and cart through all those good intentions. How would a 'White List Football awards' be viewed?

Q. Now which constitutes most racism?

1. Sepp Blatter suggesting that there is no problem with racism in football.

or

2. The Black List Football awards?

or

3. The introduction of a White List Football awards event?

Today we see Ian 'Bro' Wright showing his true colours whilst Gus Poyet's been lambasted by the old RFW today for saying that in Uruguay there simply wouldn't be a problem. Now I've no problem with that, the factor that I take issue on is the automatic assumption of narrow minded people within these shores who pompously believe that what we deem to be right and wrong must instantly adopted by the rest of the world. It simply doesn't work like that.

[Tony Diamond Inc]

Q. Now which constitutes most racism?

1. Sepp Blatter suggesting that there is no problem with racism in football.

or

2. The Black List Football awards?

or

3. The introduction of a White List Football awards event?

I would suggest 2 and 3 are 'more racist' as they exclude other races.

However, ask now which is the most offensive and problematic, and I would say 1 - easily.

I disagree with black awards, on the grounds that it promotes division, not inclusion, therefore perpetuating the problems. But Blatter is wrong to air these opinions,as they are outdated and send out the wrong messages to impressionables.