There was one stand which attracted my attention all the time. By the southeast corner of the Xi’an Stadium, a stand full of people dressed in red, had been chanting, singing, and waving their red scarves throughout the 90-minute match.
It was a cold and windy night in Xi’an, the capital city of Shanxi province. It is also the greatest capital city in China’s history – it was the capital of the old empires of a lot of dynasties.
Taken at face value, it was just a harmless – and rather imaginative – public relations stunt. But I wonder whether FIFA President Joseph Blatter’s present on Friday to the head of the Roman Catholic church of a Latin edition of the FIFA Weekly, the governing body’s new publishing venture, doesn’t offer us a deeper glimpse into the mind of the man who has run world football these last 15 years, even though it was an idea of the FIFA communications division.
If one looks at Europe, or the so-called Western world for that matter as a whole, the headlines scream economic and financial mayhem, massive youth unemployment, rigged Libor rates, faked growth figures, dishonesty everywhere, bankster madness and a complete disorientation if not alienation of large parts of society, literally everywhere.
Nothing seems to be working the way it used to. There seems to be a disease engulfing all parts of society that threatens to destroy core values and every aspect of modern life.
The story so far on the Olympic stadium is clear. West Ham have a deal, and a very advantageous one for the Hammers. And the hope of Leyton Orient chairman, Barry Hearn, that the House of Lord’s Select Committee report on Olympic legacy would provide him a way in has not quite worked.
The report did touch on how the deal was done but the noises it made are not strong enough to help Orient to reopen the deal,
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – Croatia, who this week qualified for the World Cup finals at the expense of Iceland, face a possible backlash over defender Josip Simunic’s controversial celebrations. FIFA have begun disciplinary proceedings into events that followed the playoff second leg after Simunic was fined 25,000 kuna ($4,400) by Croatian public prosecutors for apparent pro-Nazi chants.
November 22 – “So far the course has been running smoothly despite the bombing that occurred last Tuesday,” said FIFA Development Officer Majed Abweh. He is overseeing a FIFA development course in Lebanon that is training grassroots instructors from around the AFC region.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – The European Parliament is the latest body to denounce Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers with a powerful demand to the authorities to radically improve human rights and put an to end to “forced and slave labour”.
November 22 – Six clubs are to be investigated for possible breaches of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations as European football’s governing body implements its drive to clamp down on over-spending and loss-making clubs.
By Paul Nicholson
November 22 – Adidas has extended its partnership and sponsorship with FIFA through to 2030 in a massive 16-year extension of a deal that first saw them come together for the World Cup in Mexico in 1970.
November 21 – Uruguay became the 32nd and final country to reach next year’s World Cup finals on Wednesday at the predictable expense of Jordan. But the underdogs returned home with their heads held high.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – The Asian Football Confederation, part of whose territory is home to the illegal betting rings organising the global match-fixing epidemic, has taken on fraud detection experts Sportradar in the fight against the criminal gangs responsible.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Vanishing spray, which has been used for several years in South America to stop defensive walls encroaching at free kicks, will be employed throughout next month’s Club World Cup in Morocco.
By Paul Nicholson
November 21 – The remodelling of London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium in preparation for occupancy by Premier League club West Ham United started in earnest yesterday with the removal of the stadium floodlights in preparation for a cantilevered roof. At the same time a report from the House of Lords suggested that Football League Division 1 club Leyton Orient should be allowed “occasional” use of the stadium.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 21 – Just days after Amnesty International’s explosive report into what it described as the endemic mistreatment of migrant workers in Qatar, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has wracked up the pressure on the Qatari authorities to ensure the safety of those working on 2022 World Cup projects.
By Olly Howick
November 21 – The World Cup play-off billed as ‘Ronaldo v Ibrahimović’ didn’t disappoint with all six goals coming from the two players. Ronaldo came out the clear winner with four of the goals and a trip to Brazil for the finals. He was also a big winner in the social media battle off the pitch.