For all things Fútbol...

[Wiery]

Sepp Blatter said that gays football fans should refrain from having sexual relations during the Qatar World Cup since it is illegal in that country. Blatter is such a big oaf. However not sure why Qatar not serving alcohol during football matches is a bad thing...

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/footbal...ks-controversy

I agree he's an oaf, but if Qatar truly intends to arrest and prosecute people who are caught having "gay sex," then the issue needs to be addressed. Clearly, that was not Blatter's intent though...asshat

[Buzz]

The whole way FIFA does business needs to be changed. Not to mention the whole excutive committee and Blatter needs to be changed as well. The Swiss says they want to change to law that exempts FIFA from government scrutiny. I am not going to hold my breath on that one however. I doubt FIFA took into consideration much when awarding Qatar the WC except money afterall Australia is also a new country but only got one vote. But until Mr. Alter could come up with more than just a few unsubstantiated posts on twitter allegations of corruption will just remain unfounded rumour.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/art...p-scandal.html

[Orable]

I didn't follow the campaign at all, so what are the lingering questions about Qatar?

Respected Newsweek journalist Jonathan Alter alleges that Qatar paid about $10m for each FIFA vote they recieved. That is a lot of money! I do not think that most football fans have any problem with Russia as host. After all they did have a valid point when they said Western Europe had hosted 10 WCs while Eastern Europe had hosted non. Most doubters main problem is Qatar and all the lingering questions about them as hosts. With that said, while accusations of corruption involving FIFA is nothing new, I do wish that Mr. Atler wrote more than a few posts on twitter and had backed up his accusations with proof.

http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/201...ach-fifa-vote/
http://www.rslsoapbox.com/2010/12/14...ittee-vote-for

[Buzz]

The heat is one thing. Qatar promised air conditioned stadium with new tachnologies they were developing. Although Qatar is not publicly saying this, many are now saying that playing the tournament in summer is impossible and should be moved to January 2022. But that would mean big reshuffling in many domestic leagues and regional club championships. Not to mention the WC qualifying is not usually done until early in the year so that would be cutting it really close. Plus other countries in the region are saying that should the cup be moved to winter then they want to host some games. There have been joint hosts before but the cup have not ever to the best of my knowledge been broken up and divided between multiple countries after it was awarded to a single country. Plus Saudi Arabia is closest to Qatar and much more conservative so not sure how that will work. Gay sex is illegal and men are advised to not talk to Qatari women in public. Most of the country's 1.7m quoted population are migrant labourers who may not be able to afford to attend games. And of course Qatar does not allow public consumption of alcohol except in designated areas. Visitors to the country are advised to dress conservatively. (many fans are known for dancing while drinking in public in scant clothing ) There were some vague threats against the WC by terrorists or those claiming to speak for them. But I guess that is usual fare for most big sporting tournaments. Then of course there is the sticky question of what will happen if Israel qualified for the WC. Would their team and and fans be welcomed and would it be safe for them? Well at least as someone else said the 2022 WC is a long time away so maybe it could all be ironed out by then. Hopefully...

http://www.qatartourism.gov.qa/plan/index/1/201/
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-c...w/Advice/qatar



Today's Europa League results:
Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 1 PAOK
Club Brugge 1 - 2 Villarreal
AZ 3 - 0 BATE
Sparta Praha 1 - 1 CSKA Moskva
Lausanne 0 - 1 Palermo
Dynamo Kyiv 0 - 0 Sheriff
Liverpool 0 - 0 Utrecht
Porto 3 - 1 CSKA Sofia
Sevilla 2 - 2 Dortmund
Napoli 1 - 0 Steaua
Karpaty 1 - 1 PSG
Beşiktaş 2 - 0 Rapid Wien

[Buzz]

Massimo Moriatti on playing in the World Club Championship in Abu Dhabi:

following Inter's Club World Cup semi-final in Abu Dhabi: "It was also a strange atmosphere, as there was so much silence around me. There was no real enthusiasm and the people in the VIP section didn't cheer on either side."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/footba...rticle/303299/

[Buzz]

Results from today's Europa League matches:
Salzburg 0 - 1 Lech
Juventus 1 - 1 Man. City
Leverkusen 1 - 1 Atlético
Lille 3 - 0 Gent
Aris 2 - 0 Rosenborg
Levski 1 - 0 Sporting
Anderlecht 2 - 0 Hajduk Split
Stuttgart 5 - 1 OB
Getafe 1 - 0 Young Boys
Debrecen 2 - 0 Sampdoria
PSV 0 - 0 Metalist
AEK 0 - 3 Zenit

[Orable]

Thanks for the context, Buzz - I wasn't aware all that was happening in the background.

For me the biggest problems are these:

1) It's stupid to have the WC in the winter bc it messes up all the leagues' regular seasons
2) It seems a lot of money has been passed around and there might be something stinky about that

And near and dear to my heart:

3) Qatari nationals (and all the Gulf countries, imo) treat their domestic workers, laborers and other migrants essentially like slaves. In all likelihood, those people will build all the arenas under abusive conditions and I cannot support that. I want to see international pressure for Qatar to take steps to improve the lives and conditions of their migrant labor force in the years leading up to the WC. That might be the best part of the games!

[Buzz]

More bad news, Blatter has said public the WC 2022 should be moved.

Asamoah Gyan has been crowned BBC African player of the year. Congratulations to him.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ca/9286892.stm

[Buzz]

Here is another article with reader comments on the Qatar controversy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_797644.html

[Wiery]

Asamoah Gyan has been crowned BBC African player of the year. Congratulations to him.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ca/9286892.stm

Love this guy! Congratulations to Gyan!

[Buzz]

Ian Halloway Blackpool's manager's take on moving the WC to winter 2022. He says why not move christmas too?! hehehe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ol/9300866.stm

[Buzz]

Yet more journalists speaking up against moving the Qatar World Cup to winter and of parceling out some of the the championship games to other countries. This writer suggest that if peace and unity was FIFA's goal, as long as they are dividing up the WC, why not give some games to Israel?!
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...7991831.column

[Domshabfan]

Yet more journalists speaking up against moving the Qatar World Cup to winter and of parceling out some of the the championship games to other countries. This writer suggest that if peace and unity was FIFA's goal, as long as they are dividing up the WC, why not give some games to Israel?!
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...7991831.column

I hope that is not the case and allow Qatar to host the games since they bid and won the rights to host the games. If Israel feels a need to get world cup they should try bidding for it. the article looks lame to me...

[Buzz]

It was a joke by the collumist because it was also suggested that other mid-east countries should host some of the games since Qatar is so small. I think they meant other muslim countries. I hope you are against any other nation/s other than the bidder hosting any of the games period.


According to Goal.com there are persistent rumours that Qatar holdings wants to make a $1.5b bid for Man U. I am not in favour of this at all but would rather see the Red Knights buy the club. But oil dollars speak and the fans never have any say in any of football's matters so I if this is what Qatar Holdings want, they will get it. At least it should alleviate Man U's problems, if only for the moment.

[Buzz]

Another gem from Sepp Blatter...

“I really sense in some reactions a bit of arrogance of the western world of Christian background. Some simply can’t bear it if others get a chance for a change,” Blatter told the magazine in an issue that will be published Thursday

http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer...rld-cup-soccer

[Domshabfan]

Another gem from Sepp Blatter...



http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer...rld-cup-soccer

Old news, this was Blatter's comment from soon after the world cup was awarded to Qatar and huge uproar in Aussie, British and American press. Secondly the author of article seems to be as mad as Blatter himself by interpreting the way he likes and making even more delusional comments of his own.

The story to come out of 2018 and 2022 world cup bids are that of so called corruption with in FIFA with no solid proof provided by the accusers. I would like to see more evidence and more back up investigation from the accusers and not just whine about the lost world cup bid. Everyday so called respectable journalists come out with a corruption story without providing any proof. For me this is bordering the propaganda stories that North Korea does, without providing any proof.

[NeilJLeonard]

Since our good friend Buzz is spending mucho time covering revolutions and wars it seems to be up to some others to get back to posting the important news of the day here.

I don't have anything to post, so someone else will have to do it...



NJL (...April 9th, 2011...Ft Lauderdale Strikers host Edmonton FC @ Lockhart Stadium in Ft Lauderdale to kick off the NASL Div II season.....Let's hope that Div 2 in NA flies this time......)

[Buzz]

Sorry Neil. Just decided to take break. How about Fernando Torres being transfered to Chelsea for $60m but is yet to score a single goal?

[Buzz]

just for my fellow footie fiend. Arsenal was sent packing by Messi and Co. while Shaktar reached the final either for the first time in it's history I believe.

[KHenry14]

Barca just had too much for the Gunners. And losing Van Persie just rubbed salt on the wound