The International Football Federations Thread

[Lineker]

Sepp Blatter has been likened to Jesus, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill as 10 Concafaf members gave their backing to the incumbent for the Fifa presidency elections in May.

The declarations were made at the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) congress.

Dominican Republic FA president Osiris Guzman compared the Swiss to iconic historical figures, also including Moses, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King.

"Membership is sending a message that we continue to support Blatter," said Concafaf president Jeffrey Webb.

Blatter is one of four candidates.

The others are ex-Portugal international Luis Figo, Dutch FA chief Michael van Praag and Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, who, along with Blatter, were all present at Thursday's congress, but did not give speeches.

The Trinidad & Tobago Football Association praised Blatter, 79, as the "father of football".

The heads of football federations from Jamaica, Haiti, Turks & Caicos, Cuba, Panama, St Vincent & the Grenadines and Puerto Rico also expressed their support for Blatter, who is seeking a fifth term in office - having been in power since 1998.

There are 41 Concacaf member associations.

The election will take place in Zurich on 30 May.

[The Lusophone]

Excuse me whilst I vomit for a second.

[stokeriño]

I dunno, he does share Moses' ability to ruin people's day with whatever the footballing equivalent is of a plague is.

[DavidMarrio]

What I have learnt about Sepp Blatter: He is spreading religion and fighting for equality and black civil rights...he can also part a sea.

[stokeriño]

There's also something in there about spending decades leading people round and round in circles in an inhospitable wasteland, when the 'Promised Land' is literally right over there. Said people will only ever reach this Promised Land when he (also literally) keels over and dies.

Supposedly this ordeal is punishment that the people brought on themselves Well, it is. They worshipped a false idol voted for him, after all.

[Lineker]

Michael van Praag has withdrawn from the race to become Fifa president.

[DavidMarrio]

Blatter is going to stay in power isn't he

[EddieG]

Well, he's announcing why tonight at a press conference in Amsterdam, and Prince Ali is meant to be there, so I'm guessing he's endorsing Prince Ali.

[Lineker]

Luis Figo is dropping out of the election for president of Fifa, saying the 29 May ballot is "not a normal electoral act". In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the Portugal great and former Fifa world player of the year says that he refuses to go along with an election process that is designed "for the delivery of absolute power to one man" - indicating Sepp Blatter.

Figo's withdrawal from the race for the Fifa presidency means there are just two candidates remaining - current president Sepp Blatter, who is bidding for a fifth term, and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.

[Whisper]

lol, FIFA.

[Matt]

Fucking sigh. It's getting beyond inevitable now that that cunt will be elected again.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Gary MattAllister

[Colly]

It's more than likely he'll die before he loses power.

[Adam]

It's been inevitable for ages. One of the heads of federations recently compared Blatter to Jesus Christ after all. It's never going to change.

[Lineker]

Football will suffer if Sepp Blatter is re-elected as Fifa president on Sunday, says Uefa chief Michel Platini.

Very strong words coming from Platini.

[Lineker]

The Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein’s election team has been in contact with the police after claiming it had been approached by an individual who said he could deliver 47 votes at Friday’s election. The alleged approach was made in April and the individual also offered to provide “what appeared to be illegally obtained” information relating to the financial activities of the Fifa president Sepp Blatter, the election team also claimed.

[Gazz]

That's Blatter winning then.

Probably with 107% of the vote.

[DavidMarrio]

Prince Ali
Fabulous He!

Bin Al-Hussain!!

He's got 47 votes

Illegal information
He's got on Blatter

[Lineker]

Fifa crisis: World Cup bidders to be banned from foreign investment - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33559361

[Lineker]

The recent scrutiny of racism in the 2018 World Cup host Russia has expanded to include the world’s largest energy drink brand, after a video from a Red Bull event in Moscow showed a Barack Obama impersonator chasing a banana.

The controversy emerged over a highlights video from last week’s Red Bull Flugtag competition, in which participants send whimsical “flying” machines crashing off a ramp into water.

In the video, at least four shirtless men who appeared to be in blackface makeup, and one dressed as the US president, chased another dressed as a banana off the Flugtag ramp.

 

The banana footage immediately sparked criticism from anti-discrimination activists. Robert Ustian, a supporter of the Russian club CSKA and founder of the group CSKA Fans Against Racism, first spotted the video and said it showed that Russians often don’t understand the hurtfulness of their actions.

“They think this is funny, that this video with Obama and black people chasing a banana is funny,” said Ustian. “It shows that there’s an issue with racism in our society that is not being raised.”

Photoshopped memes showing Obama with bananas and calling the US president a monkey have appeared frequently on the Russian internet, including on a site of images often used by paid pro-Kremlin trolls.

Intolerant fans have also wielded bananas at football matches. In 2011, a fan of the St Petersburg football team Zenit waved a banana at Roberto Carlos, who was then playing for the Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, as he walked down the tunnel. At another match, spectators threw a banana on the pitch in the direction of the Brazilian fullback.

Vadim Shevchenko, a spokesman for Red Bull, denied that the footage was meant to be racist and said the banana chase had not been planned. He said the man in the Obama costume had been part of a team called Dollar Goodbye alongside Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping impersonators, while the banana was likely from a different team called Candy Boom.

“Of course it’s not an expression of racism,” Shevchenko said. “If you had been there you would understand. The situation was absolutely friendly and happy.”

Red Bull had removed the video from its site later on Friday afternoon.

The video comes as Russia, which will host the World Cup in 2018, faces criticism for its unimpressive track record on racism. Fifa has recently called on Russia to tackle discrimination in football after a string of fan incidents. Officials including the sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, have responded that racism in football is a problem everywhere, not just in Russia.

Earlier in July, the Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who plays for the Russian club Ufa, was banned for two games after swearing at fans making racist chants at him. The opposing club was not punished in a decision that Frimpong called “beyond a joke”.

The Brazilian striker Hulk, who plays for Zenit, later said that he encounters racism in almost every game he plays in Russia.

A report by the Fare network and the Moscow-based Sova Centre, which study discrimination, found 99 racist and far-right displays and 21 racially motivated attacks by Russian football fans during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

[Lineker]

Wales have moved up one place in the latest Fifa rankings to a new high of ninth.

Chris Coleman's side are now above the Netherlands, who have dropped down to 12th.

England have also climbed a place to eighth, while Scotland are down three places to 32nd and Northern Ireland also drop by three to 40th.

Argentina remain in the number one spot, with Belgium back up to second and Germany in third.

Wales beat Belgium in a Euro 2016 qualifier in June, which resulted in a leap of 12 places in last month's rankings to reach the top 10 for the first time since they were introduced in 1993.

Cyprus will be Wales' next opponents on 3 September, with a home game against Israel to follow three days later.

Coleman's side are three points clear of Belgium with four games left in the qualifying campaign.

Fifa rankings top 10

1. Argentina
2. Belgium
3. Germany
4. Colombia
5. Brazil
6. Portugal
7. Romania
8. England
9. Wales
10. Chile

Others: Scotland (32), Northern Ireland (40), Republic of Ireland (50)