Australian Soccer Federation officials attempted to influence FIFA

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Australian Soccer Federation officials attempted to influence FIFA Information has been leaked that shows Australia Soccer Federation officials attempted to influence FIFA executive committee members by making promises and pressuring government officials to do more to influence the committee.

In particular, Reynald Temarii, who has been suspended from FIFA, provided Australian Soccer officials a secret list of demands in return for his vote representing the Oceania Football Confederation in the bid process.

Certain members of the Australia bid team also pressed the government to give Jack Warner a case of wine rather than the single bottle they had promised.

These same documents reveal that the Australians attempted to deliver on political and personal promises in order to obtain Mr. Temarii’s vote.  Such conduct, if proven, would be a clear violation of FIFA rules, although no one suspects that it would be less than standard operating procedure in the tainted FIFA bid process.

It is also reported that the Soccer Federation is imploring the Australian government not to release information on two questionable lobbyists, Fedor Radmann and Peter Hargitay, who were hired based upon their association with FIFA officials.

Whatever the case, it is expected that other such documents and information regarding questionable acts on the part of FIFA and other negotiating bid teams will be revealed in due course.

Sir Alex Ferguson lashes out at FIFA

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Sir Alex Ferguson lashes out at FIFA Sir Alex Ferguson, the well-known boss of Manchester United has spoken out against the recent FIFA World Cup decision not to bring the event to England, but to take it to Russia instead.  He said that the most embarrassing part of the Zurich decision was to knock England out in round one.

England should have had a better opportunity than that, in his opinion, based upon its infrastructure alone.  Travel is easy in England, he pointed out, and there are already fantastic facilities.

Ferguson said that in his experience with committees, there are no real democratic decisions made.  There are always a couple of strong personalities who impose their will on others in committee, whether it is sports, business, or politics.

He fears that England may not get a real legitimate shot at another World Cup unless the FIFA committee system is overhauled or there are new members put in place.

He said that there is nothing to be done now and England must just be satisfied that they did the best that they could do.

Harry Redknapp faces the wrath of the taxman

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Harry Redknapp faces the wrath of the taxman Harry Redknapp might have problems other than Her Majesty’s Revenue people to deal with as a result of an investigation into his tax payments.  Redknapp, along with Peter Storrie and Portsmouth Chairman Milan Mandaric are dealing with tax charges as the result of a two-year investigation into English football corruption.

Redknapp is accused of tax avoidance during his tenure as manager at Portsmouth and it seems it could now cost him the job at England FA, if he were convicted.  Redknapp is thought to be a number one contender for the position being vacated by Fabio Capello after Euro 2012.

The General Secretary of the FA, Alex Horne, says that it is a matter that is far from decided, although he acknowledges that Harry Redknapp has managerial talent and feels certain he would be on a long-list of candidates for the job.  Horne also acknowledges that Capello will not be leaving for another year and a half, and that anything can happen during that time.

Horne says that, to his knowledge, no list, long or short, has yet been developed.  There are many candidates to consider, he says, and Harry Redknapp would certainly be among them.

Enthusiasts and experts alike contend that the FA has its sights on Redknapp, but confirm that a tax conviction could wipe out his chances.  It would be very embarrassing should an England manager be found not to be paying his proper taxes, especially even before he becomes manager, they say.

Redknapp has expressed his personal wish to manage England, although the FA says they have not sounded him out about it.

No matter what, he will have to deal with this tax situation first.

Crawley Town Youth get renewed van sponsorship

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Crawley Town Youth get renewed van sponsorship A Crawley Van company, Eurovans, has continued to put it faith in devloping the youth of Crawley Town Football Club, who are currently riding high in the Blue Square Premier League.  The Crawley Town Youth Team was launched two years ago and works in conjunction with Central Sussex College. The team is required to attend the college to further their education and train at the club two days a week.

The company is helping help out by providing the team with a seventeen seat minibus for transportation to training and match games.

Crawley Town’s chairman, Vic Marley, said: “We are delighted and privileged that Eurovans is continuing to sponsor the youth team for another season. Crawley Town is thriving at the top of the Blue Square Premier League and it is very pleasing to have the ongoing support of local businesses.”

Did Panorama cost us the World Cup

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Did Panorama cost us the World Cup Rumours are spreading fast that England lost its bid for the 2018 World Cup because of the media investigations by BBC’s Panorama, along with the Sunday Times, that turned up corruption on the FIFA executive committee.

This speculation is being fuelled by statements from a Japanese member of that very committee, Junji Ogura.  Ogura says that the media investigations absolutely turned the committee against England, which was knocked out during the first round after only gathering up two votes.

He said that the investigations caused damage.  To him, it appeared that England would be a strong contender for the bid, but that all changed after the media investigations.

It was further alleged that Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, gave an address to the executive committee members before their votes, reminding them about the evils of media.  This information was revealed by England’s bid boss, Andy Anson.  Anson reported that someone in the room at the time told him about Blatter’s comments. All Anson would say was if that were true, it certainly would not have helped England’s cause at all.