FIFA approves of crooks
If you thought FIFA was in any way thinking about cleaning up all the corruption that ruins the game for the fans, think again. Jack Warner, the man who tried to screw over an entire nation of soccer fans in order to better his own family's finances, got off scot free today. Why? Because he sold the stock in the disputed travel agency at some point after Feb. 15.
For those of you who do not know, Jack Warner is head of CONCACAF and a VP of FIFA. He used his influence to direct all tickets allotted to Trinidad and Tobago for the World Cup to a travel agency owned by his family. If you wanted to see T&T play in Germany, you had to purchase tickets along with a travel package from Warner's agency.
After this information was exposed, Warner was forced to release the tickets to other groups. He was also told by FIFA that he had to sell his shares in the travel agency. Warner did just that.
But what does selling the shares mean? If you break the rules and you get caught, all you need to do is make a symbolic jester and you are in the clear. What worth was the travel agency to Warner now that it could no longer sell all of Trinidad and Tobago's tickets to the World Cup? Also, what prevents him from starting another agency the next time a big event comes around?
If FIFA cared at all about the soccer fans of Trinidad and Tobago, Warner would have been banned from soccer forever. However, with all the corruption built into FIFA, why would they do this? It might cause questions to be asked about other members and deals.
It is sad that such a group of thieves and liars run the world's game.
Just a reminder, this was not the first time Warner used international soccer to increase his own bank statements. He was able to obtain the Caribbean TV rights to the World Cup for a fraction of the cost and the resell them at a huge profit. He was also not punished for those actions.
Warner represents all that is wrong with international soccer, yet FIFA thinks he is just fine.
For those of you who do not know, Jack Warner is head of CONCACAF and a VP of FIFA. He used his influence to direct all tickets allotted to Trinidad and Tobago for the World Cup to a travel agency owned by his family. If you wanted to see T&T play in Germany, you had to purchase tickets along with a travel package from Warner's agency.
After this information was exposed, Warner was forced to release the tickets to other groups. He was also told by FIFA that he had to sell his shares in the travel agency. Warner did just that.
But what does selling the shares mean? If you break the rules and you get caught, all you need to do is make a symbolic jester and you are in the clear. What worth was the travel agency to Warner now that it could no longer sell all of Trinidad and Tobago's tickets to the World Cup? Also, what prevents him from starting another agency the next time a big event comes around?
If FIFA cared at all about the soccer fans of Trinidad and Tobago, Warner would have been banned from soccer forever. However, with all the corruption built into FIFA, why would they do this? It might cause questions to be asked about other members and deals.
It is sad that such a group of thieves and liars run the world's game.
Just a reminder, this was not the first time Warner used international soccer to increase his own bank statements. He was able to obtain the Caribbean TV rights to the World Cup for a fraction of the cost and the resell them at a huge profit. He was also not punished for those actions.
Warner represents all that is wrong with international soccer, yet FIFA thinks he is just fine.
posted by Mike H at 9:48 AM
1 Comments:
Disheartening, isn't it?
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