Uefa chief: Conspiracy theories are 'a load of crap'

[Lazie]

Uefa general secretary David Taylor has branded claims that the European game's governing body wanted to avoid an all-English Champions League final as 'a load of rubbish'.

According to reports, some Chelsea players were speculating after going out to Barcelona in controversial circumstances that Uefa wanted to avoid a repeat of last year's final between the Blues and Manchester United.
The theories came after referee Tom Henning Ovrebo repeatedly rejected Chelsea's appeals for a penalty in the semi-final second leg, before Barcelona struck late on to go through on the away-goals rule.

Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink was repeatedly asked about 'a conspiracy' at the post-match press conference - something that infuriated Taylor, who pointed the finger at the media instead.
Taylor, the former chief executive of the Scottish FA who was at the match, said: 'It's a load of crap and you can quote me on that.
'If anything it's a media conspiracy against Uefa. It does make me angry. It really annoys me because it's a load of rubbish.'

[Mosiah]

Yes, that's nonsense! But Chelsea got the bitter end of the stick.

[Paul Marin]

So what else do we expect him to say? "They are right - it is a conspiracy!" All I know is that this turned out exactly how UEFA wanted it to turn out. Champions of Spain v. Champions of England.

Coincidence? Sure...but then again, so was Liverpool v Chelsea in what turns out to be their 5th consecutive year facing one another in the UCL - the probability of that happening is about 700 to 1.

Unfortunately, I "trust" the system as I have no proof other than conjecture and common sense. But it is all a bit too much to ask to put one's head on a block to say we believe them. Who among us would say that they would bet their life that there is no conspiracy in FIFA?

Consider video evidence for example. Why does it not exist in football where as every other major sport has adopted it? Ahh yes...FIFA, in their ultimate wisdom wants it so because it will "change the game". Damn right it will change the game!! The game will finally be fair of absurd arbitration.

Until FIFA and its governing bodies use all available means to remove suspicion, one can only surmise that they are proving once again that they are the most corrupt sports organization of all time. It will be a long time before they will ever be trusted in my opinion.

PM

[Peter R]

Well,

I know fro some that a certain man is a God but when he returns as a perennial fixture to the FIFA admin., you must wonder.

[Zeppo]

Was Abidal's bogus red card part of the conspiracy theory as well?

[Peter R]

Who knows but check the highlighted comments below
Taken from
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index...s?id=161475151



'TTFF need better youth coaches'

Fenwick questions Corneal's competence

Lasana Liburd

Saturday, May 9th 2009

A question of competence: Terry FenwickFormer England World Cup player and CLICO San Juan Jabloteh technical director, Terry Fenwick, has slammed Trinidad and Tobago national under-17 coach Anton Corneal for his team's performance at the recently-concluded CONCACAF tournament in Mexico and urged the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) to overhaul their youth coaching programme.
The national Under-17 team were beaten 7-0 by hosts Mexico and 3-0 by Costa Rica and Guatemala, respectively, in Tijuana.
Corneal, in a recent television interview, blamed the poor results on the attitude of his players and the fact that he had two years, rather than four, to prepare the squad.
Fenwick, who is a strong candidate for the 2008 Pro League "Coach of the Year" after Jabloteh defended their League crown and picked up the Toyota Classic and Lucozade Big Six titles, suggested that Corneal should accept responsibility and be made to account for his team's embarrassing returns.
"It is quite clear that the head coach and his assistant (Ma Pau coach Michael McComie) were out of their depth," said Fenwick. "He was very public with his confidence in the team before the tournament but he has done a complete U-turn and it is not his fault but the players' since then...

"It is the coach's job to create a structure that enables the players to use their talents effectively to ensure the team is successful Sometimes you are playing teams who are better than you and you have to pull yourself together and make your team hard to beat.
"How often do you see a 7-0 result in international football? That tells me his team wasn't very well-organised and I think that comes down to competence."
Corneal took Trinidad and Tobago to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup two years ago, while Zoran Vranes successfully steered his teenaged squad to the Egypt 2009 Under-20 World Cup. But Fenwick is unconvinced that successive World Cup berths reflected the quality of either coach.
The former Tottenham captain pointed out that the Under-20 and Under-17 squads both lost more qualifying matches than they won.
The successful 2007 Under-17 crop won two matches, lost two and qualified with a minus-three goal differential, while Vranes' under-20 team won one match, drew one and lost two.
Fenwick suggested the influence of FIFA vice-president Jack Warner was more instrumental than the direction of the respective youth coaches.
"At present, we are qualifying for tournaments by coming fourth or fifth from eight teams," said Fenwick. "But when we get there, we are not competitive. We have the players to be much better than that but we won't be once our coaching remains as poor as it is.
"In Trinidad, it is unprecedented the amount of time (national) coaches get with their teams but clearly they are not using it properly. Corneal has not coached at any recognisable level other than the national team. How has he got that job and how is he able to keep it with such shocking results?"
Fenwick might be skeptical of the present national youth team coaches but he insisted that there are promising coaches within the local fraternity who deserve a chance.
He declared that Angus Eve, Anthony Streete, Ross Russell, Clint Marcelle, Reynold Carrington, Clayton Morris, Bertille St Clair and Gally Cummings were all better than the TTFF's present youth coaches.
"Grassroots coaches must be doing something right when you look at some of the young talent," said Fenwick. "It's the national coaches who are continually laying blame on others when they fall short.
"They had two years with that team and the bottom line is they were found wanting."

[Paul Marin]

Zeppo, he could have reduced Barca to 7 men if he wanted to...it wouldn't have mattered if he indeed was part of a conspiracy. Now, to be clear, I am not trying to say that he was part of a conspiracy...but then again...I wouldn't be surprised if he were. The problem with FIFA is that they continue to refuse to use technology which would remove a large number of the poor refereeing decisions. This would be okay if they had a track record of integrity, but when they have been shown to be as corrupt as they have been, no one can trust them, hence conspiracy theories emerge. It is the lack of trust in the governing body that leads to the speculation.