Oh dear...


What do you think about the FourFourTwo article FIFA Probe FFA Pearls?
FIFA have confirmed they are investigating allegations that Australian World Cup bid officials handed out jewellery and paid travel costs for a Trinidad team in order to win votes.

Have your say.

Wow. If it was in the "Sydney Morning Telegraph", it must be true.

did anyone have a chuckle when they saw the line of ben buckley giving jack warners wife a pearl necklace? anyone would think that would damage our chances, although i had my mind in the gutter when i read it!! :P

As a football lover, I have no problems with FFA doing everything in their powers to bring the World Cup to Australia.
It kinda makes me believe in the bid again that they are doing what every other bidding nation would be doing and not taking the high ground and thus alienating our bid from the rest.
Jack Warner's vote could be crucial to steal from England in the first round of voting.
And WTF of an Australian newspaper releasing these details - its like they dont want Australia to win the hosting right. Oh right, they dont....

SMH? What a crop of shit. I bet South Africa did it and every other nation. Focus on your own issues FIFA!

Dirty laundry is not hung out for all to see unless someone wants it to be seen. I believe this is part of a strategic campaign by rival bidders to descredit Australia.
It is no coincidence that America hype up their own growing interest in the game along with ESPN. Trying to protray themselves as a 'new frontier in football' that has ludicrious economic potential. Whilst forgetting that they already just hosted an event.
Gloves should come off. This is FIFA and corruption is almost synonymous with it's politics. Australia is probably doing what everyone other country is doing to win votes. If they discredit us we should discredit them.

It is pathetic lads!
It just shows how certain parts of media do not want world cup here!
What is new with bribing officials; it happens with every bid!

If it's not Craig Foster putting shit on the FFA then it's the paper he works for, the SMH.

It is beyond belief an Australian newspaper would try to undermine this country's World Cup bid by alleging the FFA is bribing FIFA delegates. Beyond belief.

The SMH gained access to FFA documents dealing with fees paid to consultants and concluded there's the possibility of impropriety so let's publish the story and hopefully we can turn FIFA against local soccer and its bid to host the World Cup.

The hatred of the australian media (and the people who work in it) towards our sport and the FFA, is incredible. Just incredible.



Edited by ton.of.bricks: 1/7/2010 09:17:38 AM

This is a non event. Next!

Everybody knows that politics is spelt "C-O-R-R-U-P-T".

It is also obvious that some smart tech company has made an offer to blatter, to good to refuse ???

Shame, shame, shame. These news papers should hang their heads.

I move to boycot SMH & the Telegraph. All in favour say I.

One of the authors of that piece was discredited on The Roar a while back. It's amazing that a broadsheet would publish stuff like this without fact checking.

How in the hell did the SMH get access to FFA's confidential documents? Is there a rat from within?

Will be interesting to see how the wind blows between now and December. Firstly, our new PM replaces a populist who appeared in thew WC Bid ad. Consider that she's got a Sherrin on display in her office.

The public service were under considerable pressure from Rudd, and the WC Bid was one of his babies. Revenge? We've seen it before with Grech, Children Overboard, AWB. More to come for certain.

Secondly, the Labour party may be turfed in the November election - if so Abbott is mad for Rugby, coming from Sydney's North Shore.

Going to be an interesting few months.

+1

I



I have already boycotted the Telegraph, but I actually expected more from the SMH. Oh, well, out they go too. Dunno what I am going to read now......

We were never going to win either of these World Cup bids it was a waste of money and time. Blatter has subtly intimated this and that absolute low life Asian president Bin Hamman is in there too stuffing it up for us. Now the corruption and the use of shonky ex cocaine dealers to help us negotiate our bid has put us deep in the shit. Soccer politics at FIFA level are dirty politics we shouldn't have bothered wasting out time!!

Even just the fact that we have bid has made a difference to Australia's global football reputation. The fact that key players in Fifa rate our chances of 2022 VERY highly, has brought a lot more attention to Australian football in general. Look at the quality signings coming into the A-League this season. Look at the teams who are touring here during their pre-season. These things have happened becasue Australia is now on te world football map, and one of the major contributing factors to that is our 2022 bid. Waste of money...... whatever.

Could this be Bonita Merciades getting back at FFA for her unusual exit ????

Ok ladds, if we have Warner on our side, start putting money aside for tickets! He sucked everything he could get out of the Affrican continent so not surprising he's moving on to another part of the world! As far as I know, for him, Australia is an untapped ressource! BTW Blatter is looking shunky at the moment, Jack, perfect time to back stabb him! (isn't it how he got it in the first place anyway!) "Oh look, The emperor has no pants!" :o

Wow first the AFL does all it can to discredit us now our own newspapers are doing the same without even bothering to confirm anything journos have no hearts, remember that one lad that kept writing all that shit about trouble from within the socceroos what a load of crock that was i wouldnt doubt this to be the same, i seriously doubt these accusations will hold up

There was a snippet suggesting the files that the SMH have are out of date by a while. But Bonita Merciades is a professional, and showed class when she left the FFA. Smearing your ex employer is a low act, as well as illegal if there was a NDA/Confidentiality clause. I doubt she would do such a thing.

Unfounded bullshit. Stop sucking at the conspiracy teat.

Agree entirely with Mr.

Is nothing from within. SMH is simply speculating in the hope of burying our bid.

Why is everyone so suprised by the hatred of Fairfax press and Murdochs Daily Telegraph for football...hey have been "bashing our beautiful game for the best part of 50 years....they are very abusive and extremely hostile...Football fans across Australia say start the BOYCOTT of both papers

Cocaine peddler or not, Hargitay is handy to have on our side.

Warner will suck us dry too, so hopefully the cost comes to something.

My real issue that Bin Hamman is rumoured to finance all of Blatter's re-election campaigns and must have a serious inside running on winning a bid for Qatar. I can't see him giving Asia's vote to Australia ahead of Qatar.

No bullshit this on top of everything else and all the Bogans in this country truly we have no fucking chance
:-s

oh fuck off smh. i actually had alot of respect for that paper (or maybe just alot of disrespect for their rival). eitherway we did nothing wrong and please a-league start already. i feel like a fish out of water. where is my beloved melbourne victory *cries*

Well The Daily Telegraph is very Liberal associated , and the SMH Labour associated.

Between a rock and a hard place tbh.

The problem with newspapers is you can't read one and take it as truth. Since both are either left wing or right wing, your safe bet is to read both, then make up your own mind.