FIFA probes the British associations' nominated FIFA VP

[Karl]

Joint statement by FIFA and John McBeth, FIFA Vice-President-elect for the British associations

Zurich, 28 May 2007 - FIFA's Executive Committee and the FIFA Vice-President-elect for the British associations, John McBeth (Scotland), who was due to be formally installed at the forthcoming FIFA Congress in Zurich on 30-31 May 2007, have met in connection with Mr McBeth's recent statements to the media over a number of matters pertaining to world football.

FIFA and Mr McBeth wish to comment as follows:
" FIFA and John McBeth are in agreement that his recent statements to the media in Scotland shall be submitted to the FIFA Ethics Committee for examination;

" Until a final decision has been reached by the FIFA Ethics Committee, the British associations' vice-presidency of the FIFA Executive Committee is to remain vacant;

" Mr McBeth will not attend this week's FIFA events in Zurich, i.e. the inauguration ceremony for the Home of FIFA and the FIFA Congress.

Further information from:
FIFA Media Department
media@fifa.org

[Karl]

Fifa Scot puts boot into 'corrupt' Africa

TOM ENGLISH
THE Scot who has just accepted one of the top jobs in world football has launched an astonishing attack on his new organisation, claiming that some of the allegations of corruption levelled against it are "well founded".

John McBeth, the president of the Scottish Football Association, was voted the new British representative to Fifa - the sport's global governing body and the organisation that chooses lucrative World Cup locations - earlier in the year.

But in a series of inflammatory comments made during a briefing about his new role last week, McBeth criticised African and Caribbean partner nations, going so far as to claim that they were likely to be corrupt and only interested in what they could "grab".

He then went on to say that he would now have to be "kinder" to the English even though the rest of the world "hated their guts".

And on the home front, he accused the Old Firm clubs, Rangers and Celtic, of supporting anti-sectarian measures for "cynical" reasons related to making more money.

"Uefa [the European governing body] and Fifa are highlighting it and clubs are beginning to change," said McBeth, a director of Clyde FC for 31 years.

"Cynically, they [the Old Firm clubs] are changing because they're playing on a bigger playing field and there's more money involved and they can see this is a nonsense to continue with it."

On the subject of alleged corruption at Fifa levelled by long-term critic and writer Andrew Jennings, McBeth said: "By and large, the four British countries know what fair play is.
"But as soon as you hit Africa, it's a slightly different kettle of fish.
"They're poor nations and they want to grab what they can. I presume the Caribbean is much the same."

Referring to some of his colleagues at Fifa, he added: "I know two or three who I'd want to count my fingers after I shook hands with them."

©2007 Scotsman.com

[Karl]

Foot-in-mouth breaks out at Hampden

TOM ENGLISH
JOHN McBeth, the outgoing president of the SFA, said on Thursday that he needed the hide of a rhinoceros to get anything done in his time with the association. Not just the hide, it seems. The subtlety, too.

McBeth hasn't said boo in public in all his years as president but in a wide-ranging briefing, called at his own request and so jaw-droppingly indiscreet as to make you wonder if his new job of British vice-president of FIFA is now tenable, McBeth made derogatory remarks about great chunks of the football world. His comments about the African and Caribbean football nations, the English and the Old Firm's drive against sectarianism were crass enough (in fairness, he did have some good points to make about bigotry) but in terms of career-damaging potential his take on the alleged corruption within his new organisation at FIFA had even greater import.

Much of that was admirable if hopelessly naïve. To say that 50% of the allegations of corruption levelled against FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, by his bete noire, the investigative reporter Andrew Jennings, are probably true is an astonishingly candid remark but it is one that could, conceivably, cost him his position. Blatter's hatred for Jennings' journalism is absolute. He thinks he's an obsessive and an enemy of football. Blatter's not going to appreciate one of his own people giving credence to the allegations in public in an almost breezy fashion.

No. Blatter's going to get angry and, if he's true to form, he's going to get even, sooner or later. He's done it many times before with delegates he's viewed as disloyal.

And McBeth didn't stop there. He said there were two or three people in Blatter's association that were so iffy that he'd want to count his fingers after shaking their hand. This merely shows up the dark side of FIFA that we all know about already but coming from a man in McBeth's position it is quite something.

"I've got to try and stay true to my beliefs and hope I don't get seduced into it (the corruption)," he said, "which is always a big problem when you're going into a different lifestyle. I'm sure you'll remind me if it happens. If I come across corruption, I think you've got to expose it.

"Let's use the Jack Warner situation (Warner is president of the CONCACAF nations, a mate of Blatter's and one of the men most consistently linked with FIFA scandals). Warner has 35 votes, and I can only think that Blatter must realise that 35 votes, that's an important block of votes if I want to stay as the president of FIFA, I've got to keep those votes on my side. It's a very political thing. Do the ends justify the means, that's where I'm going to have the dilemma because I'm not sure the ends ever justify the means."

But if he's got reservations about FIFA's transparency then why bother taking the job?

"I've thought about that," he replied, "but I think if I don't do it, I'm walking away and leaving it to them. I think one's got to do your duty and get involved and find out. If I walked away from it you'd never find out, you'd never know. Maybe 50% of Jennings' stuff is well-founded and 50% of it will be a bit of poetic licence but I'd like to know where it all lies.

"I know Blatter and I've dealt with him for the last ten years on the International Board and I know what he's like. He's a consummate politician, he switches from one language to another and invariably if you question him on the language he was speaking in he says 'that's not quite what I meant, I meant something else'. He's a tricky customer, but I suppose anyone in that position has to be because you're dealing with people who, to put it politely, have a totally different code of ethics."
Like the Africans and the Caribbeans.

Somebody asked McBeth recently what he was going to say in his farewell address at the SFA's AGM and with a smile, he said he thought of Martin Luther King and his 'I Have A Dream' speech and the stirring finale, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!'

The likelihood, though, is that McBeth's vision of the future is about to get distinctly blurred. If he has a dream then it's going to be that Blatter won't interpret his words as betrayal (he will) and then seek to have him removed.

And if there is a move against him (it's coming, unless he can do some major league backsliding in the meantime) then there's hardly going to be a rush to save him from around the planet, is there?

Why? Because of this...
"I'll have to be much kinder to the English. I try to keep telling them that their notion of themselves is unbelievable. The rest of the world hates their guts."

And this...
"By and large the four British countries know what fair play is and we know when we're stepping out of line, we all have an understanding. But as soon as you hit Africa, it's a slightly different kettle of fish. They're poor nations and they want to grab what they can. I presume the Caribbean is much the same."

And not forgetting this...
"Slowly but surely UEFA and FIFA are highlighting it [sectarianism] and clubs are beginning to change. Cynically, they're changing because they're playing on a bigger playing field and there's more money involved and they can see this is a nonsense to continue with it. There's bigger prizes to be got if they don't carry on with it."

To paraphrase: The English are conceited and friendless, the Africans are poor and money-grabbing (and why don't we just lump the Caribbean nations in there as well for the craic) - and just because he's insulted 933m Africans and 38m Caribbeans, why stop there? He's on a roll. Let's just introduce an element of domestic strife as well by using an emotive word like "cynicism" in an analysis of the Old Firm's anti-sectarianism campaigns.

Not exactly making it hard for Sepp, are you John? Not making him dig very hard for stuff to use against you.

McBeth tells a story of how he got the FIFA job in the first place. Not too many people are going to like this one either. "I was very surprised to get it," he told us. "I said when I came back that I was the least not-liked. I went down there and I was on the plane thinking, 'What in God's name am I going to London for?' We (Scotland) had it (the British vice-presidency) for 17 years with David Will, so it won't be a Scot again.

"The two men touting were Geoff Thompson of England and Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland. They were going for it. Jim was saying what he'd do for Northern Ireland, others were saying it was England's turn. Unfortunately when you deal with the English it tends to be their game and they tend to expect. To put it mildly they made a balls of it and I wandered through the middle. It's a very funny story."

No doubt they think so in England and Northern Ireland, too.
"Hey, Jim. Remember the time we went for the vice-presidency?"
"Aye, Geoff. We made a balls of it. Hilarious!"

cont'd --

This article: http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=824362007

[Karl]

Foot-in-mouth breaks out at Hampden

Cont'd:

It's a shame that McBeth riddled his honest talking about FIFA with claptrap elsewhere and an even greater shame that he banged on about the cynicism of the Old Firm's moves against sectarianism. For a lot of what he had to say on that issue was genuinely interesting and impressively honest. Of course, how much of it actually hits home given the madness of some of his other comments is debatable.

"In the past year or two we've had the coverage at Ibrox and Parkhead and Hearts and places where they have this problem [of sectarianism]. There's a bit in me that says you should go in hard and sort this out but you'd just antagonise everybody.

"The SFA always made noises about it but you have to remember the power structure in Scottish football, UEFA intervention was somebody from outwith. In its crudest terms, you were always accused in the Scottish FA of being a Rangers or a Celtic supporter, although you said to them 'I'm neither' you were always either a protestant or a catholic and that was thrown back at you.

"But with UEFA coming in, there's no agenda and they say 'this is what should happen', that intervention has been very helpful. It's helped tremendously because you then get clubs sitting up taking notice, in the past it was always 'he's on that side of the fence'."

At the upcoming AGM where a proposal, suggesting clearly defined penalties for clubs found guilty of sectarianism will be put to a vote. At the moment, the charges that could be brought against clubs accused of bigoted chanting are woolly; bringing the game into disrepute and unacceptable behaviour. If the amendments are passed then specific sanctions can be handed down. In theory, a club could be cast out of a Cup if their fans engage in sectarianism. In reality, it might be a different story (Rangers or Celtic dumped from the Cup? Really?) but it's a step forward at any rate."

The recent case of Artur Boruc leaving the pitch at Ibrox while carrying a championship flag was mentioned. "I read the stuff about Boruc carrying the flag, but what about the person who complains about it? It would be better if he [Boruc] hadn't done it, but I think the guy who complains about it has a bigger problem. You ask 'what's their agenda?' It's a difficult area but as long as we keep hammering at it, we hope we will change attitudes. Also the change in what's happening in Northern Ireland will help.

"In my time it's been an embarrassment but it was a social problem which was there and wasn't being tackled by politicans. We're backing that and it's about time it happened. We'd two Spanish teams here last week, one from Andalucia and one from Catalonia. Two different ends of the political thing and we'd no problems. Sometimes the segregation, although the police solve the problems by doing it, doesn't help the problem - it kind of highlights it. In many ways I'd love to see the fans sitting together. It happens in other sports and it's an ideal, but we segregate them and they get brave and shout at one another and the whole thing just kicks off."

It'll kick off again soon. We tried to contact Blatter for a comment about what his newest vice-president had to say but there was nothing coming back from FIFA's lavish HQ in Zurich, a building that some might say was on the obscene side of luxurious but it's a structure that Blatter is deeply proud of and one that he defends to the hilt when people criticise it. That's another thing he might want to address with McBeth.

"It looks to me as though someone from one of the Arabic countries that designed it," said McBeth. "Until I see it for myself I won't know. But I saw it on TV and thought, 'God is that what they spent all the money on?' Maybe I'm a traditionalist. "

Somehow, it's not the word I think people in football will use to describe him this week.

This article: http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=824362007

[Karl]

27 May 2007

WORLD HATES YOUR GUTS
SFA chief signs off with pop at English and steps into political minefield after FIFA outburst

By Gavin Berry

SFA blazer John McBeth sparked an international storm last night by labelling the English arrogant and telling them: The world hates your guts.

McBeth also launched an astonishing attack on other FIFA members - just days before becoming their vice president.

The outgoing SFA president laid a minefield under himself with an amazing rant at his new colleagues.

He followed his pop at the English by describing new boss Sepp Blatter as a "tricky customer".

McBeth labelled poor African and Caribbean football nations greedy.

He also claimed some smaller associations want Britain to lose our place at the table of football's governing body - to avenge the days of the British Empire!

And he sneered that he "counts his fingers" after shaking hands with some FIFA delegates.

The explosive comments come as McBeth, a former chairman of Clyde, prepares to take up the top post at FIFA's Swiss headquarters.


Englishman Geoff Thompson and Northern Ireland's Jim Boyce were hot favourites for the job but a power struggle between the two allowed McBeth to nip in and take the position.


FIFA have been dogged by allegations of bribery and vote rigging and the Scot has vowed to clean up the game.


On his shock win in the ballot, McBeth said: "I was surprised. I said when I came back that I won because I was the least unliked. We'd had the vice presidency for 17 years with David Will so I thought it wouldn't be a Scot.


"The two men touting were Geoff Thompson and Jim Boyce.


"Unfortunately when you deal with the English it tends to be THEIR game. I try to keep telling them that their notion of themselves is unbelievable. The rest of the world hate their guts.


"They made a balls of it and I wandered through the middle."


McBeth is leaving the SFA to take up his role as Britain's representative on the FIFA executive committee.


It's a seat Jack Warner, president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), wanted the UK stripped of.


FIFA's executive committee voted to keep the set-up by 194, although Warner is still pursuing the three-quarters majority he needs for change.


McBeth thinks Warner could be holding a grudge going back HUNDREDS of years. He said: "Mr Warner wants to do away with the British seat.


"To a certain extent I can understand what he's saying - it's the old British Empire stuff.


"The British have an attitude of fair play but sometimes the Empire didn't play fair and that's coming back on us. For the ones that were under the Empire it's payback time.


"By and large the four British countries know what fair play is and when we're stepping out of line. But as soon as you hit Africa it's a slightly different kettle of fish. They're poor nations and want to grab what they can.


"I presume the Caribbean is much the same - they just come at it in a different way. "Britain has a traditional seat that nobody else has. We have to try to make use of it and prick a few consciences."


FIFA have been heavily criticised in recent years and they even tried to ban a book - Andrew Jennings' "Foul" - that exposed the organisation.


So McBeth is bracing himself before going to work for new boss Blatter (left).


He said: "I'd like see if Mr Jennings has it right.


"I know two or three of the characters in the book who are reasonable individuals. But I also know two or three whom I'd want to count my fingers after shaking hands with them.


"I'm sure my name will appear in places soon. After I got the job there was a piece in Private Eye.


"It went into the expenses that I'm about to get - which I knew nothing about.


"At that point I thought: 'Do I really want this job?'


"The corruption is an aspect that has maybe been cranked up. If I come across corruption I have to expose it. I must try to stay true to my beliefs and hope I don't get seduced.


"You have to do your duty, get involved. If I walked away from it I'd never find out.


"I know Sepp Blatter and I've dealt with him for 10 years on the International Board.


"He's a consummate politician and switches from one language to another. If you question him on the language he was speaking, he says: That's not quite what I meant. I meant something else'.


"He's a tricky customer but I suppose anyone in that position has to be because you're dealing with people who have a totally different code of ethics.


"David Will had a go at Blatter and was one of the few who survived it. I'm not sure if that was because of the position he held."


McBeth will step down as SFA president at Friday's agm.


Asked how he will depart, John said: "I thought of Martin Luther King and his 'I Have A Dream' speech. I was thinking of the bit where he says: 'Free At Last'."


He might be free of the SFA but McBeth could be ready to walk into a FIFA storm.

Source: SundayMail.co.uk

[Mosiah]

This guy talks a lot of nonsense, but not everything is crap!

[Lazie]

This guy talks a lot of nonsense, but not everything is crap!

Who? Karl?

[Mosiah]

No, not Karl!

[Karl]

Geof Thompson named as NEW FIFA VP!

Geoff Thompson named as new Vice-President for the four British associations

The four British associations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - have today, Wednesday, 30 May, elected The Football Association chairman, Geoff Thompson, as their new FIFA Vice-President. Thompson will be officially installed at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on 31 May. Thompson has thus replaced John McBeth (Scotland), whose nomination had been withdrawn by the four British associations in the light of his controversial comments to the media over a number of issues pertaining to world football.

Further information from:
FIFA Media Department
media@fifa.org

[Karl]

Geoff Thompson named as new Vice-President for the four British associations

The four British associations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - have today, Wednesday, 30 May, elected The Football Association chairman, Geoff Thompson, as their new FIFA Vice-President. Thompson will be officially installed at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on 31 May. Thompson has thus replaced John McBeth (Scotland), whose nomination had been withdrawn by the four British associations in the light of his controversial comments to the media over a number of issues pertaining to world football.

Further information from:
FIFA Media Department
media@fifa.org

Touch Blatter and or Jack...yuh dead!