On Bin Hammam and Blatter

Mohamed Bin Hammam - The Potential Saviour of the Beautiful Game

Glory, glory, hallelujah, finally there is someone who has a true chance at challenging Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency.  That man is Asian football chief and Qatari native Mohamed Bin Hammam.  Sources close to Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian confederation (AFC), say he is convinced he can beat Blatter after spending the last two months weighing up possible support among the 208 national associations who make up FIFA.  The Football Association are likely to back Bin Hammam - senior figures inside the organization want a change at the top of world football after being disgusted at England's treatment by FIFA members in the campaign for the 2018 World Cup.  The election will take place in Zurich on June 1 and Bin Hammam will travel around the world in the 75 days between now and then trying to drum up support.

Look, that is pretty much all I know about the guy, and I know little of what he is going to do or what he stands for.  The key thing is that he stands against Blatter, and that’s all I care about.  Sepp Blatter has been the worst thing to happen to football since Mussolini bought the World Cup for Italy in 1938.

His 2004 suggestion that women football players should player in tighter and more revealing clothing was laughable, and made him seem like a dirty old man, but was somewhat forgivable.  His tact for dealing with refereeing decisions and the advancement of goal-line technology shows how out of touch he is…much like the social movement of the British textile workers during the Industrial Revolution, Sepp Blatter is truly a modern day luddite, but one could also forgive him for wanting to keep the game at its roots.  Though, Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany kind of gives more weighting to the technology.

It is when we look at his politicking, it is when we begin to realize what kind of beast we are dealing with.  Much like George W. Bush’s election in 2000, Sepp Blatter’s rise to power is surrounded in controversy.  Envelopes stuffed with $50,000 was the reward to 20 voting members of FIFA for ensuring Blatter beat Lennart Johansson, the at-the-time President of UEFA and the 'honesty' candidate, to become the soccer world's most powerful leader.  Similar allegations went further in 2002, with internal and external investigations taking place, only for Blatter to use his power to halt the investigations.

Can you Hear it Sepp?  The End is Coming!!!!

He has attempted to change the laws of the European Union by setting foreign restrictions in every league.  Blatter has often referred to the English Premier League as one of the major problems in football and uses it as an example, due to the influence of foreign players, coaches and owners in the top teams.  If only he recognized that it is also the biggest money maker, the most watched, and most popular league in the world.  It might be the fact that it is England, and he prefers France.

His clear favoritism of France is noticed by all involved.  He refused to be at the podium for when Italy won the World Cup in 2006.  He claims that he was “afraid” of being whistled at by the crowd, but sources close to him have said that he was upset that Italy had beaten his beloved France.  Then, 2010 World Cup Qualifiers – Ireland vs. France – and Thierry Henry has just handballed France into the final tournament.  Ireland is understandably aggrieved from the shoddy refereeing, which likely received instructions from FIFA to favor France in the first place, looked for some reparations, in the form of a 33^rd spot in the World Cup.  While the world knew that Ireland’s request was a no go, Blatter’s reaction just shows what kind of man he is – he publicly laughed at their request.  Even one of his rule changes benefitted France.  After the 2002 World Cup, he removed the World Cup winning country’s automatic berth in the next World Cup – but he waited until 2002, so that the 1998 champions…ahem, France…could still come into the tournament, even though by 2002, they paled in comparison to their 1998 champions.  They proved it by crashing out of the tournament without even registering a goal.

Finally, his homosexual comments in wake of Qatar getting the 2022 World Cup bid just add to the fact that he is truly a man who is no longer on the same page as the modern world.

"I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities [while in Qatar]."

Then again, these opinions go hand-in-hand with his decision in 2004 to make taking your shirt off in celebration of a goal a bookable offense.  I guess he doesn’t like the idea of seeing half-naked men running around on the field, and so if they do it enough, they can be suspended from for a period of time…taking off your shirt can lead to an eventual suspension…say it enough times and your realize how ridiculous that is.

Okay...if this is the reason why he made jersey removal a bookable offence, I am all for it - Nobody wants to see that!!!

I know this entry has been ridiculous, bordering on the absurd, but one must remember that the internet is a tool for anyone with a computer and an opinion, and nobody is forcing you to read this.  Besides, the 13 year presidency of Sepp Blatter has been ridiculous, bordering on the absurd.  If you like Sepp Blatter, good for you, but that also may be because he has given you $50,000 to vote for him.  Come June 1^st, I really hope that Mohamed Bin Hammam is new President of FIFA and Sepp Blatter can disappear.  Bin Hammam can only help the game enter the 21^st Century and as long as Sepp Blatter stays as a President, the game will continue to stumble from one incident to the next.