The 2015-16 World Fitba Thread!

I am so glad we have established that England DID NOT play a "Meaningless" friendly in Trinidad against Trinidad in 2008, that this never happened. ::

 

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0BzJAb6m8ww?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

So we are in agreement............................the English FA did nothing wrong :dunno:

 

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qup1BLNFDWU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

QPR have let Taarabt go. On his way to Benfica, reportedly.

In other news, Liverpool reject a £25m bid (plus a further £5m in add ons) for Sterling.

 

Mere prelude for another, larger bid.

This follows on the heels of Al-Money saying that "Players want to join City for reasons not relating to money".

Yeah, sure.

 

:bears: I liked that

 

A "tactical" friendly maybe, but it doesn't constitute a bribe. Plus we had played T&T in the previous World Cup where they gave us a good game.

 

Within the context of the FIFA corruption scandal? Not to my knowledge, unless you're aware of something I'm not

 

:bears:

Silas Endeece provinding a stoot defence against the evil Irish agenda.

Ah notice there's been no mention o' the five million 'hush money' following Henry's twice accidental handball incident knocking Yeez oot, Irish?

SEE YOU!

 

Sad to see Taarabt go. He was a pain in the arse but worth every single penny of the ticket price when he was on his game. An immense talent.

 

A sad case o' ta ra, ra Taraabt.

 

:: good line

 

There is no question of corruption there, none at all. The IRISH FA are full of shit, and entirely unfit for purpose, but they did not take money in exchange for favour.

The English FA bribed Jack Warner, in exchange for his assistance, which he then subsequently did not deliver on.

 

Ah think Ye're correct, fer whit it's worth, Irish. Bribes are common place, and take many forms, from FITBA tae military arms deals.

Ah'm yet tae SEE enough proof though, laddie. That's no' Yer problem - just an observation, like.

 

Agreed. I am no fan of the FA and if they're complicit in the bribery scandal I have no qualms about saying so, but the truth is there's very little evidence to suggest they were involved (at this stage)

 

When Princess Kate got her arse out on the beach, did the Sun publish it...........the Royal Family will keep their secrets.

Jack Warner was bribed by the FA in the form of a Friendly in Trinidad at the end of the 2008 season.

 

Once again, that isn't a bribe.

 

Yes it is.

A bribe need not be handing over of cash in a brown bag.

A bribe is defined thus: "dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one's favour by a gift of money or other inducement."

 

If they didn't specifically say "we'll play a game over there in return for your vote" then it isn't a bribe. England are permitted to play friendlies wherever they want to.

 

:: and it just happened to be Trinidad that year, and Beckham just happened to have training camps over there, and the FA just happened to tell the Times and Panorama to shut their mouths over the corruption scandal until AFTER the vote was concluded ::

 

I know what you're saying, but if we're going by legal definitions, then the answer is still no, the FA have not done anything wrong.

 

A hard to prove, vague assertion regarding England's FA and a friendly with a tiny nation related to a possible bribe is a way bigger story than a massive scandal involving the international governing body of the sport and the resignation by the all-powerful president of same, Slice

 

Agreed.

 

::

 

They are all part of the same tapestry.

Well-established writers have gone on the record in the UK as saying that the FA "ate at the same trough" as the rest of them.

What the FA tried to do was play the game without playing the game.......they definitely courted and financially abetted Jack Warner on the understanding that he would get CONCACAF to vote for UK bid.

 

"tiny country"............Christ are you detatched.

Jack Warner was the PRESIDENT of CONCACAF....he decided how they voted.

Their votes could have swung Russia 2018 in Englands favour and so he was courted with a "Friendly in a tiny Country"- the ticket sales for which were controlled by Warner....netting him a small fortune.

Meeting the British PM in 2009, 1 year after the Friendly.....

 

Definitely a bigger story than FIFA as a whole, you're right. Slice is in on it, the saucy bollocks.

 

All I was doing was answering your question. I don't like the FA, they're wankers, but you know as well as I do (you are trained in law after all), that from the evidence we know about, there is nothing you could throw at them which would stand up in court. The case against FIFA, however, is a different story.

 

I am not even trying to make a legal argument, merely a moral one, that those in greenhouses should refrain from throwing stones.

I would agree with the Peter Hitchens argument {albeit not made in this context} that England, especially relative to its mercantile nature, past and present, is a remarkably corruption free country.

That is not to say that the FA did not dip its toes and play the game. The fact that they played it very badly, embarrassingly badly in fact, is neither here nor there.

Embarrassing, fumbling and ineffectual cheating remains cheating.