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Inside Insight: No Irish, no blacks, no dogs.

no irish no blacks no dogs

The most recent spell of hooliganism in England (Millwall-Wigan and Newcastle-Sunderland matches) appears to have rung in a renewed era of primitive and vulgar fan behavior that had led to the ban of English clubs and the England team from international football in the 80s. Hooliganism defaced the English game throughout the 1970s and 1980s: in 1974, a Blackpool fan was stabbed to death at Blackpool’s home match with Bolton Wanderers. In 1985, after vile hooliganism of Liverpool fans led to the deaths of 39 Juventus supporters before the European Cup final at the Heysel Stadium,

Mihir Bose

Mihir Bose: Why football cannot have its cake and eat it

In Britain this has been a great week for turning the clock back promoted by the death of Lady Thatcher and a necessary look back at her legacy.

Yet it is too simplistic to see the riots by Millwall fans at the Wembley semi-final as a return to the old spectre of football hooligan. There is, of course a historical twist to this. With the riots coming just days before Thatcher was laid to rest it was natural to reflect that it was Millwall and their riotous fans back in 1985 filling British television screens with violence which first prompted the Lady to think that the only solution for such behaviour was more stringent police control.

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Tan’s red dawn

So Malaysia will be represented in the boardroom of the world’s most powerful football league next season – even if Tony Fernandes and Queens Park Rangers are relegated as expected.

Tan Sri Dato Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun – Vincent Tan to supporters of Welsh club Cardiff City – has taken the club in the capital of Wales into the English Premier League.

I was going to write ‘controversial’ owner but is he?

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: Nigerian football? It’s a mad, mad world…

As just one of two men in the 56-year history of the Africa Cup of Nations to win the trophy as a player and a manager – the late Egyptian legend Mahmoud El-Gohary being the other – you would assume Nigeria’s Stephen Keshi has earned some well-deserved job security.

But, as mind-boggling as it may sound, the man who managed the Super Eagles to the trophy in Johannesburg might be forced, by a series of bizarre circumstances,

Jean Francois Tanda

Jean Francois Tanda: Brothers in Arms

While FIFA is trying to reform its own organisation, the Swiss government is considering changing the laws – changes that will impact on the (about) 60 international sports organisations that are headquartered in Switzerland. However, the non-governmental sports multinationals don’t have to fear too many new rules and laws as the Swiss administration is working closely with the Basel Institute on Governance – the University institute headed by Professor Mark Pieth, FIFA’s chief reformer. This actually means that FIFA has a direct influence on the decision as to whether Switzerland’s lawmakers will eventually put change into place.

Archive

David Owen: Will Club Protection Programme hand wealthy a bigger slice of the cake?

It was on 23 June 1998 – Sepp Blatter’s 15th day as FIFA President – that it started to dawn on me that the governing body was probably going to have to do something about compensating clubs for players injured on international duty.

In just the fourth minute of what turned out to be a drab group match between Italy and Austria in the Stade de France, Alessandro Nesta, the elegant Lazio and Azzurri central defender,

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: Good governance requires good information

Two years ago, whilst at the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in Khartoum, Sudan, I bumped into a FIFA official, often tasked with the duty of firefighting governance problems in various national associations across the world.

When we sat down, for a frank conversation about the challenges of improving football administration in Africa, I made it clear that better methods need to be devised by FIFA, in order to ensure that good governance is prevalent amongst the continent’s national associations.

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Blue storm building in south east Asia

A violent thunderstorm rages while we talk in Singapore, but Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck is a man used to dealing with turbulence. Including the furore over the club’s ruthless attitude to sacking managers.

” I know we have fired what most people would say are a lot of managers – terminated their relationship is a better way to describe it – but we’ve always thought long and hard when we’ve done it,” said Buck.

Mihir Bose

Mihir Bose: The Iron Lady was never a football ‘person’ but had a shaping influence

Mrs Thatcher’s death not only marks the passing of a leader, the like of which we may not see again, but it also marks a watershed in sport.

Thatcher was the last of the British Prime Ministers who did not care about sport. Her husband Denis was passionate about sport, particularly his golf and was a former rugby referee, her son Mark played cricket for Harrow’s first XI but Mrs Thatcher could not understand why people cared about sport.

Archive

Caribbean mayhem or post-colonial arrogance?

Maslow

CONCACAF is voting again. Chuck Blazer, a US citizen, is stepping down to be succeeded by Sunil Gulati, a US citizen, who will be promoted to FIFA’s Executive Committee. Meanwhile, the tiniest of Caribbean islands that make up the majority of the CFU, are following orders as usual. This time, not those of the much maligned Jack Warner, but those of a dubious and FIFA-reprimanded figure, Gordon Derrick, victorious in a somewhat weird election to the helm of the CFU in Budapest last year (held in parallel to the FIFA Congress),

Andrew Warshaw: It is hard to get a turkey to vote for Christmas – reform ins and outs

When FIFA President Sepp Blatter told the world over two years ago that his organisation would clean up its act and enter a new era of transparency after sinking to a low following an unprecedented period of corruption, supporters took him at his word while cynics – of whom there are a fair few – looked to the heavens and questioned whether it would really happen.

Since then there have been hundreds of column inches written about the Great Reform Process designed pull FIFA into the 21st century and which comes to head on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius at the end of next month when 209 member nations vote at FIFA’s annual congress on the need for change.

Mihir Bose

Mihir Bose: Who is the most powerful man in football?

Why is it impossible to decide who is the Lionel Messi of football’s men in suits?

Forget the argument about whether Lionel Messi is the greatest player. That argument can never be resolved as it depends on a variety of factors, many of them intensely subjective.

For instance, people of my generation who were brought up on the greatness of Pele will continue to believe that while Messi is a wonderful player,

Osasu Obayiuwana

Osasu Obayiuwana: Realpolitik is the cog in FIFA’s reform wheel

Anyone seeking revolutionary change to the way in which FIFA does its business would certainly be underwhelmed with the changes to be proposed at next month’s congress in Mauritius.

As the stone-cold reality continues to sink in, that key suggestions of the IGC, led by Professor Mark Pieth, are not going to be implemented in the way originally proposed – a roadmap which well-meaning people within the fraternity keenly support – it is time to acknowledge that the harsh,

Lee Wellings

Lee Wellings: Caution needed in di Canio storm

I didn’t think I’d be returning to the subject of racism in football quite this quickly.

But the stories are coming thick and fast as is the political manoeuvring from football’s leaders.

So the last thing that is needed is anything that threatens to dilute the very real, very serious issue of racism in football 2013. Anything that is grey – not black and white – poses a big problem. And yet it seems for each disgusting act from the terraces or on the pitch there is now an inconclusive allegation.

Jean Francois Tanda

Jean Francois Tanda: Oxygen for the people

The moment of truth is approaching. By April 15, the world will get to know how FIFA is going to handle the famous ISL dossier, i.e. the bribes paid to high ranking FIFA officials by its former marketing partner.

It will be a litmus test for FIFA and its reforms. The world is keen to see if FIFA is really serious about cleaning up the mess of the past. If FIFA seriously wants to reboot,