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.

GERMANY WIN; BRAZIL, SPAIN AND ENGLAND REGROUP.

The humiliation of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in their own country was hardly unexpected after their first match or two. At no point did they appear to be the dominant force of previous years and their only outstanding player was the brilliant Neymar; too many of the rest were clearly make-weights, with the likes of Fred and Joe completely out of their depths.

Inevitably, the winners were a well organised team, not without some fine players but with none of the hype attaching to the few superstars on show. Ronaldo had departed at the group stage and, although Messi made it to the final, his few flashes of genius could not make up for the general paucity of greatness in his Argentinian side. In the end, Germany, with a well drilled squad and 2 or 3 high class players, won the day, and deservedly so. That said, the tournament was generally of a low standard and few will remember much about it in a year or two, except for the drubbings handed out to the hosts by Germany and Holland.

Where all this leaves Brazil, Spain and England is a good question. As the reigning champions, Spain came to the competition with high hopes that were smashed to pieces in their first match. Thereafter, they did nothing to repair a shattered reputation and now have to rebuild. Brazil, as hosts and the world's top footballing nation, expected to win but were, instead, humiliated. England, ............... what can one say ? Expectations were deliberately played down but, even so, their performances were pretty lamentable and their much vaunted stars were shown to be men of clay.

No doubt, after much huffing and puffing, there'll be plans put in place but nothing is likely to change. Teams such as the Manchesters, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and a few others will continue to ignore home-grown players in favour of foreign superstars and the national team will continue to have a dearth of real talent. Major club competitions and money will continue to dominate and England's quest for international glory will continue with little chance of success.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose !

NEMAR INJURY SHOWS FOOTBALL AT ITS WORST.

Some call football 'The Beautiful Game. After the appalling physical assaults carried out in yesterday's match between Brazil and Colombia, it's hard to see it as anything but organised warfare.

Throughout the match, I can't call it a game because there was little sport in it, both sides did their best to cripple their opposition. For the Brazilians, their principal target was the excellent new Colombian star, James Rodriguez, while the Colombians aimed their worst atrocities at Brazil's true superstar, Neymar. The referee and his assistants, by and large, stood by and let the increasingly vicious assaults go unchallenged barring the award of a few free kicks, the first yellow card only being shown well into the second half for a stupid but harmless lunge by the Brazilian captain, Thiago Silva. Meanwhile, the rest of the warriors kicked lumps out of each other, culminating in Colombian Zuniga leaping at Neymar from behind and quite deliberately sticking his knee into the base of the Brazilian's spine. While Neymar lay on the ground in genuine pain, the offender walked away scot free. Neymar received a broken vertebra and a long time on the sidelines - this is an injury which may well see him out of action for the rest of the year, or even longer.

If Zuniga's offence had been committed on a British street, he'd have been arrested, charged with assault and causing grievous bodily harm; quite probably, he'd have received a prison sentence. Similar action could easily have come the way of some of the Brazilians for their attacks on Rodriguez. However, the match officials did almost nothing and the response from the commentary team and 'experts' in the studio was muted to say the least. None of them saw anything other than normal footballing activity, which must say a lot for their warped view of normality.

If this is sport, I'm a Dutchman. FIFA are presiding over one of the poorest displays of sporting activity I've witnessed in a long time, while subjecting viewers to some shocking scenes of violence. One 5 year old I spoke to yesterday even believed that the purpose of football was to kick your opponents on their knees; now, where did he get that idea from ? Television programmes which include similar scenes of violence are prohibited from our screens until after 9pm; films carry warning notices and the impressionable young are refused entry to cinemas. Football, with all of its associated mayhem is immune to these strictures because of its position as our 'national sport'. Phooey. Played like this, it's no more a sport than was medieval jousting, in which the objective was to beat your opponent into submission by any means available.

Luis Suarez has quite rightly been banned for his animalistic behaviour and yet the thugs who took part in yesterday evening's match go free. Neymar is in hospital and who knows what injuries were suffered by the rest of the players. Suarez can rightly feel aggrieved that he's been singled out in an unfair way, notwithstanding that his actions were inexcusable; they were no more inexcusable than was the violence seen on a football field in Brazil last night.

FIFA has the power to review on-field incidents after matches and yet it rarely does. In Rugby Union, officials take such matters seriously and frequently review players' actions after games, often handing out significant bans for incidents which were missed by the match referee and his assistants. Why does not football do this ? So far, this World Cup has been more about warfare than about sport. There's been little great play and much overly-aggressive interaction between participants; there's been a lot of very poor refereeing and very little discipline has been imposed on matches. If FIFA doesn't do something soon, their 'Beautiful Game' will become no more than legalised thuggery and someone may well be really hurt or even killed.

ENGLAND CRASH AND BURN.

True to form, England are on the point of elimination for the football World Cup, while having won the war of media drivel quite comfortably.

Indeed, if there was a medal for talking a good game, England would be champions year after year. The pundits on television, radio and in print never stop telling us how good our players are, though, for once, they did not raise expectations as high as they might have done. Just as well.

Yesterday's game against Uruguay, a nation with little more than one fifteenth of our population, produced excessive chat about when Rooney would score and many shouts of "Better" from one of the commentators, but little real commentary. In the end, England's shortcomings were exposed - failure to take advantage of good positions, an ability to ignore dangerous ones - and the one world class player on the pitch, Luis Suarez, made them pay. In truth, I don't think England played badly, but they simply don't have players of the necessary calibre. Sterling, Sturridge, Cahill, Rooney and Henderson all had their moments but Hart looked out of his depth, the defence was shaky and the mid-field did too little.

All hope now rests on Italy beating both Costa Rica and Uruguay while, even then, England would have to beat Cost Rica by enough of a margin to go through on goal difference. It could happen, but it's not a gamble to bet one's house on. Of course, the pundits have been having a field day, discussing what went wrong, who else should have been in the team, what could have been done differently and whether or not the manager has a future. Given the limited choice of limited players, it's hard to see any changes that would have made much difference, and what rationale there could be for sacking the manager escapes me. As with any side, the manager needs time to assess his players and build a team - Hodgson has had far too little time to do either and must surely be allowed to carry on to the next World Cup in 2018 although, at 64,  he was far too old when appointed in May 2012.

If England are ever to climb the heights again, they need certain things. Firstly, a younger manager who can be given at least 10 years to build his team. Secondly, many more young English players appearing regularly in the Premier League and playing at the top level; the prominence of foreign imports has to be reduced. Thirdly, less hype and celebrity status for these overpaid prima donnas. What chance is there of all, or any, of this occurring ?