Now it’s time for the real witch-hunt

Yesterday’s announcement of the bids for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 was gutting for everyone involved with football in Britain. Though England were bidding for the World Cup I can’t imagine there were many people in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland who didn’t want them to win so they could see the World Cup being played on their doorstep. The reasons why the World Cup should have come to the UK are myriad and have been talked about endlessly. Let’s be honest, as football fans you know we’d put on a great show and pack out the stadiums without having to resort to bussing people in.

Despite presenting what FIFA called an ‘excellent’ technical bid, England only managed to get 2 votes (one of them England’s). FIFA have since come out and stated that media intrusion and allegations against high ranking FIFA officials put them off. The Panorama programme broadcast on BBC One on Monday highlighted what many who follow football already knew, that FIFA is a corrupt organisation. The repeated appearance of Concacaf president Jack Warner was no surprise to those who have paid any attention to the World Cup bidding process.

By hiding behind the fear of media scrutiny FIFA have occupied a cowardly position which shows that something is rotten in the state of football. How fitting that an organisation as crooked as FIFA have given the 2018 World Cup to what is basically a gangster state. The recent wikileaks cables from the US Embassy have estimated that over $300bn is siphoned out of the Russian economy every year in bribes. Corruption isn’t quite on the level of a failed African state, but it’s not far off. Add in the racism that greets most black footballers whether playing for home or visiting teams and you’ve got a recipe for a World Cup that could be fraught with problems.

If FIFA think they’ve been put under the spotlight already then I think it’s time to show them what a real UK media witch-hunt is like.

First things first, the bid team should release every detail of the bid process. Who spoke to who about what, who paid for what, publish all accounts and transactions, all correspondence whether public or private. The demands that FIFA were asking of the government, the new laws and tax exemptions that parliament would have been forced to pass. Throw it all out into the open. Make it public domain. If FIFA is clean they should have nothing to fear. But as I just pointed out, it is obvious that their conscience is not clear.

Then let the papers do what they do best. Forensic scrutiny of the minutiae the material looking to expose any semblance of wrongdoing or hypocrisy. Which sets off a seemingly endless cycle of 24 hour comment and analysis on TV, radio and websites. Stories about a story about a story about FIFA corruption. Hyperbole, allegation, speculation, rumour. Questions in parliament, pressure on the FA. Demands that ‘something is done’.

We’ve all seen the ridiculousness of what can happen when some MPs claim a few quid too much on their expenses, imagine what they could do with details of unelected officials taking hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes. The UK media still has a high reputation across the world, outlets such as The Times, The Guardian, The BBC can spread the campaign throughout football in Europe and then globally. If the Premier League decide to put their oar in then you can guarantee the world of football will sit up and listen given it’s money, power and reach. Create so much pressure that FIFA simply have to cave, or that some sort of body decides to formally investigate them.

Seriously, what do we have to lose? Most of the members of the FIFA executive committee will be dead or retired by the time we get a chance to bid again. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and by turning over the rotten log we may be able see the woodlice scurrying away and stop them. This isn’t sour grapes from the losers. Much as the World Cup would have been amazing if held in England, for many it would have been done with a peg on the nose to hide the stench of corruption. This is an opportunity to reform and improve the way that football is run globally.

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As a postscript, I really do hope Israel qualify for the Qatar World Cup. Or that there are some openly gay footballers playing for national sides by 2022 (homosexuality is illegal in Qatar). Just to see how open and welcoming the Qataris really are.

So we’re now Riverside FC, eh? Why exactly are we copying an ineffectual Man Utd protest?

Walking down Sloper Road in the afternoon sun on my way to the match yesterday I saw a couple of new additions to the stock on sale at Billy the Badge’s emporium of poor quality Cardiff City merch. First of all there were lots of Malaysian flags, which makes sense what with our prospective Malysian benefactor supposedly being in attendance (my favourite banner at the match simply read ‘Selamat Datang’ which means welcome in Malay). The second were some weird chocolate and amber scarves. I thought it might be some sort of show of support for newly promoted Newport County. Turns out they were the colours for Riverside FC (never knew what their colours were before). For those not up to date on their Cardiff City history, Riverside FC was the original team that became Cardiff City AFC after Cardiff was granted City status and just before we joined the football league.

So, it now looks like we’re trying to do a Man Utd and protest at the club’s running by wearing the scarf that our great-grandfathers would’ve worn if they’d gone along to Sophia Gardens in the 1900s? Well, I have a number of problems with this.

One is that we are NOT Man Utd. Copying a protest like theirs makes us look like a tinpot outfit. Related to this is that I think the whole Newton Heath thing is a bit pathetic. It’s given us the ludicrous sight of someone wearing a £5 Newton Heath scarf presumably in protest to the Glazer’s ownership whilst also wearing a replica shirt that has put £50 directly into their hands. Oh yeah, and a season ticket that’s probably cost the best part of a grand. Basically it’s an easy way for fans to feel like they’re ‘making a statement’ but without actually doing anything. The situation at Man Utd will only be resolved by some serious action. That means people not buying Man Utd branded stuff, not turning up to matches, not giving the Glazers money, joining the Supporters Trust and trying to help organise and support the ‘Red Knights in their takeover. It may mean that they have to forego truly supporting their heroes on the pitch, whom they have only love and respect for. Which is a hard thing for a football fan to do, but that’s the nature of the situation at that club. A green and gold scarf won’t cut it.

The situation at Cardiff is different. Our chairman, though dodgy as hell, is actively seeking new investors so he can ease himself out of the picture. We’re pursuing a wealthy benefactor in the mould of the Glazers to bail us out. Who knows if he’ll turn out to be as rich as he claims, or any good? Also, boycotting merch is a bad idea what with the club still possibly facing administration. Trying to draw parallels is daft.

Two is that I’m not really sure where this has come from. I had a scout around and the usual places haven’t provided any info on this, so I’m not sure whether the Riverside scarf thing is actually a fan started grassroots protest, but instead simply a merch seller who’s had a word with a Mancunian mate of his who told him how much of a killing he’s made on this Newton Heath scarf craze.

Three is that they look like Harry Potter scarves. Which is cool in its own way. I’m tempted to buy one just as a surreptitious way of supporting City while out and about, but if I do buy one it won’t be in protest at anything. I protest in the best way, ranting anonymously through the interweb tubes.

Irresponsible and Irregular

Yes Peter, the title of the article would be referring to you.

I’ve watched with increasing concern over the last week or two as yet another Cardiff City drama has played out. This time, in addition to some slightly ropey performances on the pitch involving a total inability to hold onto a lead, it’s been revealed that City owe nearly £3m to the taxman.

Now I have a simple question. Did you not realise you had to pay tax? We all have to pay tax. Everyone, unless you’ve got some seriously good accountants. Surely there’s an army of accountants ensuring that the club’s finances are in shape? Did they not realise that you needed to pay tax? If not, sack them now as they’re incompetent.

Whoever made the call to deliberately avoid paying our tax bill (and this is what appears to have occurred) deserves to be hauled over the coals by their bollocks for their sheer stupidity. I fail to see the justification for going down this route. It was not an honest mistake, an organisation of the size of Cardiff City does not make an honest mistake like that.

I just can’t see what City would gain. So you hold onto the couple of million that you need to pay. How much interest do you get from it? What, a £100k, maybe £200k at the most? And if you have held onto it for the interest, then why not, as soon as a query came in, just pay it off. Otherwise, where has the money gone that should have been paid in tax gone? What have we spent it on, and is the business model for the club so ridiculous that it does not accounted for paying tax? And you say you’re running a multi-million pound business without being able to pay your taxes or figuring that in?

Now consider the court costs we’ve had to pay, any possible fines, and the reputational damage done to the club. Also consider the damage done to the fans in terms of their trust in the club. All those people (including some of my friends) who have paid for their season tickets in the hope that it would provide some capital for buying new players, with an eye on pushing for the Prem. Now all that money is being blown on paying back HMRC. Also, what sort of image does this present to potential investors? Basically that we’re a tinpot outfit that can’t manage itself. That’s not exactly a sound investment opportunity now is it? Frankly the club’s management deserves all it gets, including the ire of the fans for being so irresponsible.

This all brings me to man in charge, Peter Ridsdale. Ridsdale has a distinctly dodgy reputation courtesy of his incredibly stupid and incompetent dealings at Leeds Utd. I must admit when he first turned up City I was perturbed, I didn’t want this dodgy bloke having anything to do with the club. But he made the right noises about learning lessons and more transparency. Clearly he still hasn’t learnt his lesson, and the transparency is becoming increasingly opaque every day. So, Peter, was all this dodgy dealing really worth it?

This all highlights how murky and corrupt (financially and ethically) the world of football can be. But I don’t think any one of us is naïve enough to not believe that the football business (and it is a business) is dodgy as fuck.