BLATTER STILL AT THE HELM

So the representatives of football associations from Africa, Asia and various other parts of the 'third world' have decided to re-elect the totally discredited Sepp Blatter as President of FIFA. Most of the civilised world voted against him but were outnumbered by those who have benefited most from Blatter's largesse over the years.

That so many nations felt it was acceptable to simply ignore the corruption which Blatter has so signally failed to deal with over the last 17 years is terrifying. That Blatter, rather than accept his organisation's shortcomings, has accused the United States authorities and UEFA of being the real 'bad boys', is shocking. According to him, the FBI and UEFA are simply carrying out their own hate campaigns and vendettas against him and FIFA, for reasons of their own.

Blatter is a disgrace. FIFA is utterly corrupt. The only way for the civilised world to react to Blatter's re-election is to withdraw from FIFA and its events and set out on a new path. Sadly, this seems unlikely as there are too many vested interests and too many people who might stand to lose lucrative roles if FIFA collapses. However, the major sponsors on whom FIFA relies may provide the ultimate catalyst that brings about change, as their commercial interests come under threat.

We can only watch, wait and hope.

R.I.P. FIFA

At long last someone has actually done something about the appalling corruption in FIFA, the ruling body for worldwide football.

That the 'someone' has been the authorities in the United States might seem a bit strange, but apparently it's all about bribes which involved amounts in US dollars, making the corruption actionable under US law. The arrests of 7 senior FIFA officials and indictment of 14 in total demonstrates just how widespread the corruption has been, certainly in recent years and probably for decades. Investigations into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 world cup competitions are also continuing, suggesting the possibility that either or both of these tournaments may be moved from their current hosts, Qatar and Russia.

Somehow, Sepp Blatter, the long time President of FIFA, has avoided, so far at least, being either arrested or indicted. However, that he has been in charge of this rotten organisation for 17 years suggests that he either knew about the corrupt practices of his colleagues but did nothing, or that, if he didn't know, he is incompetent. Either way he must now resign rather than insist on carrying on in his attempt to win a fifth term as President in an election to be held on Friday 29th May. Numerous voices are being raised against him and sponsors are voicing their concerns, and FIFA, itself, is now tottering on the brink of the abyss.

The awarding of the 2018 world cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar must be reviewed, though by whom is another matter, and it is time for UEFA to stop shilly-shallying. Whatever Blatter does, FIFA is, surely, now a dead duck. It is so discredited that its position at the head of world football must end.

RIP KEVIN PIETERSEN

Kevin Pietersen has spent years promoting the Pietersen brand and it's finally caught up with him.

After a bit of argy-bargy, he's finally been told that he's not going to be a part of the England cricket team's plans for the foreseeable future; given that he's now 34, that suggests he won't be wearing an England shirt again. A number of pundits and fans have complained that the cricketing hierarchy has unfairly shut Pietersen out; they say that he's the best batsman we've got and that his past indiscretions should be forgiven. Pietersen, of course, has done his bit in making a huge score against the poorest side in the Championship and on the best batting surface in the country, and this has been used as further evidence that he MUST be recalled to the national side.

What all of the pro-Pietersen lobby seem to be willing to ignore is that he was a horribly disruptive influence when he was in the team. As captain, he was a disaster and he was excluded from the side after a series of high-profile actions, all of which served to undermine his team mates, captain and management. He followed up his exclusion by penning a book which included huge criticism of those who had been his close associates, and yet he now wants to come back as if nothing had happened. That the new Director of Cricket for England, Andrew Strauss, has referred to a lack of trust between the ECB and Pietersen is hardly surprising, given the history.

Pietersen is continuing to make loud noises about his disappointment but appears unwilling, or unable, to appreciate that his omission from the national side is down to his own actions. Sadly, he is one of those people who sees only what he wants to and is not prepared do what is necessary to put things right. R.I.P. 

TUILAGI SPOTLIGHTS SPORTING MORALITY.

Manu Tuilagi has suffered the consequences of his shocking behaviour and not only been heavily fined but will also be excluded from England's squad for the Rugby World Cup. It seems that Rugby Union has a moral code which expects its representatives to conduct themselves well, whether on or off of the pitch.

The sanctions faced by Tuilagi, and his acceptance of them, are in stark contrast to the way in which footballers are excused from almost all misconduct. Vicious assaults on or off of the pitch, drink-driving, even rape, are all seen as offences which are excusable and should be ignored. Why is this ? Is it just the money talking or is it that football club owners, managers and supporters really do have little or no morality when it comes to their teams ?

Sadly, the answer is probably rather frightening.

ENGLAND CRASH TO WEST INDIES.

Yet another hopeless performance by an England team.

Alastair Cook, fine batsman though he has been, has proved to be no good as a captain. Jonathan Trott, a man with a history of breaking under pressure, has been brought back as an opening batsman, probably the most pressured position in the order, and has failed. Moeen Ali, an excellent middle order batsman, has been expected to also be the team's principal spin bowler, which he is not up to. Jos Buttler, an exciting one day batsman, is simply not good enough as a Test Match wicket-keeper. All-in-all, this England team has too many players who shouldn't be there.

That said, English cricket as a whole is in a mess. Infighting at the top and regular changes in the domestic calendar don't help. Concentrating on one-day games and 20-20 knock-abouts to the detriment of the longer format of the County Championship has ensured that we produce few players competent to play Test Match cricket. Indeed, most of our Test Match players rarely, if ever, appear in the County Championship and a handful of appearances in shorter games is the most that the supporters of County sides can hope for.

Of course, the shorter format competitions bring in much needed money but they have also destroyed our traditional county cricket, which was the breeding ground for the Test Match team. Now, we have hordes of players who may be brilliant at 20-20 but are temperamentally unsuited to 5-day cricket; we also select captains on the basis of their performance as batsmen, something that is fine in schoolboy cricket but a recipe for disaster once the schoolboys have grown up.

Until someone gets a grip on all of this, England will continue to struggle in the international sphere of Test Match cricket. So-called 'experts' and 'pundits' will voice their opinions, always fro the viewpoint of insiders; the likes of Ian Botham, Mike Atherton, David Gower and co., are all part of the cricketing establishment and far too close to the people involved to do more than keep repeating the same tired clichés.

This is not something that is specific to cricket. England's football, tennis, golf, athletics and much more all suffer from the same disease. Until we change our whole sporting culture, we will continue to fail at these, and many other, sports.