FA Chief: Spain & Russia plan on bribing World Cup refs

Peyton Manning

So, not content with doing everything they can to derail England's World Cup adventure in South Africa, the rags are already looking ahead and trying to sabotage their bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Yes, Triesman was an idiot to think/say such a thing, but why these toerags insist on conducting undercover investigations to boost sales for their shitty little glorified bogrolls is despicable.

He goes on to say that he believes John Terry thinks he is innocent following all those recent allegations, and that he disagrees with Arsenal's youth policy.

Article is quite long, I've bolded some of the main talking points.

FA chief Lord Triesman accuses Spain and Russia of bid to bribe World Cup referees

by Ian Gallagher

England's campaign to host the 2018 World Cup was in chaos last night after the Football Association’s chairman accused Spain and Russia of planning to bribe referees in this summer’s tournament.

Lord Triesman, the former Government Minister who was given the job of trying to rebuild the FA’s scandal-hit reputation, made the extraordinary claim during an hour-long meeting with a former aide. He divulged highly sensitive information about England’s 2018 bid – which he is leading – and, in what will be viewed as a disastrous lapse of judgment, accused rival nations of corruption.

The 66-year-old Labour peer suggested that Spain may withdraw its bid to stage the 2018 finals if Russia, which also wants to host the event, helps it to bribe referees in next month’s World Cup tournament in South Africa. The revelations come just two days after Lord Triesman and David Beckham formally presented England’s 1,752-page ‘bid book’ to Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, football’s world governing body.

The FA last night made a desperate attempt to secure a High Court injunction to prevent The Mail on Sunday publishing this story. But they abandoned the case after 90 minutes. Lord Triesman made the corruption claims to Melissa Jacobs, a civil servant he employed as a private secretary when he was a Minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Miss Jacobs tells today how she went on a series of dinner dates with the peer shortly after he joined the FA in January 2008. She says their relationship became intimate, but she ended it after growing increasingly ‘uncomfortable’ about dating a married man. She later expressed her concerns on an internet blog in which she refers to the peer as Mr T.

Lord Triesman sent her countless affectionate texts. He described in one how he craved her company and said in another: ‘I need you’. He ended one message with ‘BKsAO’ – which 37-year-old Miss Jacobs said stood for ‘big kisses all over’. After the relationship ended, they remained friends, and during their meeting at a restaurant in London two weeks ago, he appeared comfortable candidly discussing delicate subjects.

Lord Triesman, who sat alongside Prince William at the FA Cup final at Wembley yesterday, recounted how he clashed with Premier League bosses over foreign ownership of football clubs and accused them of ‘briefing against’ the FA. He also talked about the John Terry scandal, when the Chelsea defender was stripped of the England captaincy after his affair with team-mate Wayne Bridge’s former partner, Vanessa Perroncel. I thought it was bad behaviour and very disruptive to the team,’ he said. ‘The rest of the players pretty much felt that.’

In his conversation, which was tape-recorded, he told Miss Jacobs that when England manager Fabio Capello summoned Terry for a dressing-down the player asked: ‘Can I see you at home or at Stamford Bridge?’, and Fabio replied: ‘You’ll be at Wembley at 10.’

Lord Triesman said: ‘I didn’t ask [Capello] what he thought but I knew exactly what he would do...and he didn’t have to ask me what I thought.’ Suggesting Terry was in denial over the scandal, he added: ‘He doesn’t believe he did anything wrong at all. Doesn’t see it. His Mum and Dad tell him he didn’t do anything wrong...all his mates in Dagenham tell him [affecting a mock London accent], “You never done nothing wrong”.’

But most embarrassing – and damaging – of all Lord Triesman’s indiscreet remarks is his claim early on in the conversation that: ‘There’s some evidence that the Spanish football authorities are trying to identify the referees...and pay them.’

Later, while discussing where England might find support for its bid for the 2018 competition, against the eight other nations hoping to host it, he repeated the bizarre claims. ‘I think the Africans we are doing very well with. I think we’re doing kind of well with some of the Asians. Probably doing well with Central and North America,’ he said.

‘My assumption is that the Latin Americans, although they’ve not said so, will vote for Spain. And if Spain drop out, because Spain are looking for help from the Russians to help bribe the referees in the World Cup, their votes may then switch to Russia.’

At this point, Miss Jacobs asks: ‘Would Russia help them with that?’

Lord Triesman: ‘Oh, I think Russia will cut deals.’

Miss Jacobs: ‘Why will Russia help? Are Russia in the World Cup?’

Lord Triesman: ‘No, they’re not.’

Miss Jacobs: ‘Oh no they’re not, they’ve got nothing to lose?’

Lord Triesman: ‘Absolutely nothing at all to lose. Exactly.’

The allegations are likely to cause outrage in Spain, one of the favourites in this summer’s tournament. To add to the embarrassment for the FA, the chairman of FIFA’s referees’ committee – which appoints referees and their assistants for the World Cup – is Angel Marua Villa Llona, president of the Spanish FA. Treisman’s words will therefore be perceived as an attack on FIFA and the integrity of the game, even though there no suggestion that Villa Llona would be anything other than scrupulously fair when allocating officials. Last night the Spanish Football Federation was unavailable for comment.
Alexei Sorokin, director general of the Russian Football Union and head of the country’s World Cup bid for 2018, also refused do discuss Lord Triesman’s allegations. Sorokin has made it clear that he sees England as Russia’s main rival for the finals.

The Mail on Sunday has independently determined that the issue of corruption has been discussed at an FA sub-committee. In his conversation with Miss Jacobs, Lord Triesman said he thought his ‘friendship’ with Michel Platini, the president of the European ruling body UEFA, would help England’s bid. ‘But there are people who are probably corrupt in Europe as well,’ he warned.
He added that he was told the Latin Americans have a ‘history of extraordinary corruption’ and claims that one representative of a Latin American country, who he doesn’t identify, appears to want an ‘honorary knighthood, which we can’t, which we’ll never give’.

Miss Jacobs asks him: ‘What, in order to vote for England he wants an honorary knighthood? I don’t think the Queen will be persuaded!’
Lord Triesman: ‘Utterly unpersuadable. I’m not even going to try... ‘When the French went for the World Cup they gave this bloke the Legion d’honneur and I guess that’s their equivalent, although they hand them out very much more freely than we do.’

For several minutes Lord Triesman expresses fears about English Premiership clubs falling into dubious foreign hands. ‘I keep saying a “fit and proper person” test is really really crucial and the Premier League leadership say, if you’re not convicted of something then it’s just your judgment about whether you like them or not.’ He said the League bosses were ‘totally dismissive of my argument’.

He added that he told them: ‘The logic of the argument if you take it to its logical conclusion is Robert Mugabe will never be convicted of anything in Zimbabwe, he runs it, he could own a club, he would pass the test. Nelson Mandela on the other hand was convicted of terrorist crimes, he doesn’t want it written off his record because he’s very proud of it. Mandela can’t own a club, Mugabe can.

‘They said, ‘Oh don’t be ridiculous”,’ he added.

During the conversation Lord Triesman, a known Blairite, also speaks at some length about Gordon Brown, describing him as a ‘weird guy’ and adding: ‘I always thought he’d be a disaster as a leader, I always thought that.’
Of the former Prime Minister’s Election campaign, he says: ‘I think Gordon’s been awful.’

Elsewhere, he speaks of Capello’s decision to impose limits on the time the WAGs can spend with the England squad during the finals. Asked by Miss Jacobs if WAGs are banned, he said: ‘Completely.’

Miss Jacobs: ‘So what do the players think about that?’

Lord Triesman: ‘I think they’re kind of relieved, actually.’

Miss Jacobs: ‘Yes in a way you can understand that because they feel under pressure to keep them amused.’

Lord Triesman: ‘Mostly they’re going to stay in Sun City, which isn’t very far from Rustenburg [where the England squad is staying]. The ones who have got wives and girlfriends, some children there, think we should look after their security.’

Miss Jacobs: ‘What? They need security?’

Lord Triesman: ‘Well, the paparazzi – they do get quite aggressive, they don’t take no for an answer. I spent a period last year being pursued myself, it was a real pain, and every time I’m with Beckham it’s...’

Miss Jacobs: ‘Crazy?’

As the FA’s first independent chairman, Lord Triesman was seen as a ‘new broom’ who could restore the organisation’s reputation after a series of sex scandals and allegations of mismanagement. He is a former student radical, a one-time member of the Communist Party who later became General Secretary of the Labour Party, which put him into frequent contact with Tony Blair, with whom he is friendly.

Within months of taking over at the FA he outlined the organisation’s aims for the next four years in a grandiose mission statement. In it, he said: ‘We know that football can be a great ambassador for the world of sport and the best social values that sport can inspire; learning, health, social inclusion and decent personal behaviour. ‘We are committed to the ethics of our sport; fair play and respect for the laws of the game, players and officials. If we start from integrity, we will find the best course for English football as a whole.’

But Lord Triesman has had a fractious relationships with some owners of Premiership clubs. During the conversation with Miss Jacobs he said the owners ‘send their Press people out to brief against us. Every day, all the time, never stops.’ In another exchange he said he had come up against opposition to proposals to limit the number of foreign players at English clubs.
He said: ‘So when I say we’ve not got enough English youngsters coming through, which is true, and Arsenal is probably the worst example of the lot, Wenger [Arsenal manager Arsene] and I just disagree about this, which is fine.

‘I want a really strong England team from an even bigger pool of young English eligible players coming through. ‘The Americans [the Glaziers, owners of Manchester United] immediately understand us, they fly their flag on their front lawns...they get it, they feel like that about their country and they would be shocked if I didn’t feel like that about mine. So I get a lot more co-operation out of them than I do out of the English owners.’

Of England’s preparation for South Africa 2010, he said: ‘That’s going great, really great. Capello is fantastic, great choice. He knows in his head he’s gonna win it.’

Link

IvySlayer

I knew it was going to be the Daily Mail! Closed as soon as I saw it.

Headshot

what is it with ****ing English tabloids and ruining England chances at the WC and now staging the WC

ridiculous stuff

therecklessone

Headshot wrote: »

what is it with ****ing English tabloids and ruining England chances at the WC and now staging the WC

ridiculous stuff

The tabloids would have nothing to work with if not for the utter fúckwittery of the people in charge of, and playing for, the national team.

God bless them and their cotton socks...:pac:

emc2

He's just resigned.

Mr. Incognito

Mail on Sunday

*Cough

EDIT

Kinda funny he says that Terry doesn't think he didn't anything wrong whilst he's having dinner with his mistress

therecklessone

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

*Cough

You should see a doctor for that.

AARRRGH

So let me get this straight:

• He was having a private dinner with someone he trusts and is his friend.
• He tells her some interesting stories about their being some evidence Spain want to bribe refs, and that certain people (e.g. the South American official) can be bought with gifts.
• She is secretly recording this, and gives the tape to a tabloid?

I'm sorry, but I don't think he did anything wrong. I tell my friends about gossip in my office too.

The problem is she is scum and the Mail on Sunday want to ruin him/England's World Cup bid.

backspacer

Unfortunately this is pretty typical of English tabloids coming up to major tournaments,they have to do something to either unsettle the squad and now derailing world cup bids. Every tournament in recent years has had one of these rags that just muck rakes and attempts to ruin any chances they have.

CSF

Horrible, horrible form of journalism.

leninbenjamin

What a ****ing bitch. Tbh, while he's said stuff he shouldn't, I didn't think he came across too badly. But seriously, what a horrible person she must be.

therecklessone

AARRRGH wrote: »

I'm sorry, but I don't think he did anything wrong. I tell my friends about gossip in my office too.

I'm 2 steps up from the bottom of the food chain in work and even I have limits on what I will or won't say outside of work.

Triesman was one of the top dogs, he should have kept his mouth shut and his trousers zipped tbh.

MisterAnarchy

backspacer wrote: »

Unfortunately this is pretty typical of English tabloids coming up to major tournaments,they have to do something to either unsettle the squad and now derailing world cup bids. Every tournament in recent years has had one of these rags that just muck rakes and attempts to ruin any chances they have.

Very true,but why do they try to hinder their own country and cause a national backlash ?
Those tabloids are gutter rags ,I wouldnt wipe my arse with them .

LuckyLloyd

Man has resigned, lead story on Sky Sports News, we're talking about it here. A successful job by the tabloid paper concerned imo.

LuckyLloyd

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Very true,but why do they try to hinder their own country and cause a national backlash ?
Those tabloids are gutter rags ,I wouldnt wipe my arse with them .

Töpher

For £35?

HyperSkypeWiper

Its precisely why I detest that blinkin' mail. Sensationalist crap :mad:

HalloweenJack

He's now stepped down as FA chairman too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8685009.stm

He keeps saying it's entrapment. I don't think it is. Well, I haven't heard the full tape but it doesn't sound as if she coaxed it out of him or asked him directly. He seemed to openly say it. That's not like the guys who trapped Sven - that was entrapment; this just sounds like idiocy on his part.

Also, it's quite interesting to see him try and downplay the alleged affair.

I think your one stooped pretty low to record the conversation and I've no respect whatsoever for redtops but, in this case, he seems to be as much at fault for running his mouth.

Columbia

Love how he says that Gordon Brown's campaign "has been awful", whilst making exactly the same mistake that Brown did.

Xavi6

So let me get this straight, people are more concerned about the fact that it was reported and how it came to be reported rather than the fact that the FA chief's position has clearly become untenable?

Priorities people.

RandolphEsq

emc2 wrote: »

He's He has just resigned.

Sorry, it bothered me!

The Mail on Sunday; what market are they aiming for with that story? Surely any half-brained person would not even bother to take a second look if that was on the front cover

Xavi6

RandolphEsq wrote: »

Sorry, it bothered me!

The Mail on Sunday; what market are they aiming for with that story? Surely any half-brained person would not even bother to take a second look if that was on the front cover

I presume they're aiming it at people who have an interest in their country's World Cup bid, i.e. a large audience.

Again focusing on the medium that has put it out there rather than the actual story.

Why?

A Primal Nut

Xavi6 wrote: »

I presume they're aiming it at people who have an interest in their country's World Cup bid, i.e. a large audience.

Again focusing on the medium that has put it out there rather than the actual story.

Why?

We all have beliefs about different things that would be contraversial - the idea that nobody should ever talk about them out of fear of being recorded is rediculous. I'm sure lots of people on here say bad things about their own company/manager all the time that might get them sacked if the wrong people heard it.

Although I agree that he should resign unless he has evidence of the Spain-Russia thing.

Xavi6

A Primal Nut wrote: »

We all have beliefs about different things that would be contraversial - the idea that nobody should ever talk about them out of fear of being recorded is rediculous. I'm sure lots of people on here say bad things about their own company/manager all the time that might get them sacked if the wrong people heard it.

Although I agree that he should resign unless he has evidence of the Spain-Russia thing.

Somebody who is the chief of the football association bidding for a tournament should never utter such tripe, whether in the privacy of his own home or otherwise.

He played with fire and got burnt. Good enough for him.

A Primal Nut

Obviously its not tripe to him and he may have good reason to believe it. Judging by what happened in 2002 it wouldn't be that surprising.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/05/17/lord-triesman-scandal-spaniards-sympathy-for-claims-115875-22264334/

bad2dabone

it wouldnt suprise me in the least if his suspicions actually had some merit.
Remember Italy vs South Korea, and indeed Spain v south korea.

FIFA is rife with corruption, read How the Stole the Game by David Yallop and Foul by Andrew Jennings

stovelid

The conduct of the British press is as disgusting as ever. I'm reminded of the entrapment stunt where they got Erikson to say things about his players before another tournament. Their conduct is actually unpatriotic insofar as they could seriously damage England's bid here. I can believe that an England supporter could be as moronic as to buy The Mail.

The national press hang like a bad smell over every England team before, during and after every tournament they make it to, and have played no small part in destabilizing them over the years.

RandolphEsq

Xavi6 wrote: »

I presume they're aiming it at people who have an interest in their country's World Cup bid, i.e. a large audience.

Again focusing on the medium that has put it out there rather than the actual story.

Why?

Why? Because there is a common trend amongst gutter press to print stories which are either tea cup storms or else made up i.e. it is not a big deal and should be ignored if it comes from certain sources

Paparazzo

Xavi6 wrote: »

Somebody who is the chief of the football association bidding for a tournament should never utter such tripe, whether in the privacy of his own home or otherwise.

He played with fire and got burnt. Good enough for him.

Absolute rubbish. It was said in privacy, do you really think everything the man EVER SAYS in private should be able to hold up to intense scrutiny?
The newspaper has the audacity to say:

England had been one of the favourites to host the tournament in eight years' time. But Lord Triesman's astonishing comments threaten to fatally hole the country's chances of success and led

It wasn't the comments that threaten Englands chances to host the tournament, it was the fact that someone recorded the conversation and sold it to a national rag who printed it.

therecklessone

Gary Lineker quits Mail on Sunday in protest:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2010/may/18/gary-lineker-triesman-mail-sunday

Fair play.