By Walter Broeckx
Everyone familiar in European football knows the word: Uefalona. This is an indication of how Uefa treated Barcelona in the past years. It went from blatant help from referees not only in the match against Arsenal where Busacca let the Barcelona players free when they were manhandling Arsenal players and then sending off the traitor at a moment when Arsenal was virtually qualified in order to get Barcelona that vital third goal they needed. Busaccas was immediately lifted to higher echelons and now is head of the Fifa referees and is responsible for the referees in the world cup. A very Riley-esque scenario.
And we all could see the way Chelsea got treated when they played Barcelona in the Champions League when the ref made a few bizarre decisions and Barcelona could progress to the next round. So the name Uefalona was born.
Do we now can start the word Fifalona?
First of all we must go back to April of this year. To everyone’s big surprise Fifa suddenly came up with an 14 month transfer ban for Barcelona. Because they had been doing a bit too much child trafficking. They broke the Fifa rules about buying young players from other countries and got a hefty punishment.
Of course everyone was rather sceptical about the fact if the ban would be really put in place or not. And from the moment Barcelona appealed, Fifa said that they would suspend the ban. And as they also said that the appeal could not be held before the start of the official transfer window on 1 July they gave Barcelona permission to sign new players.
From the moment that they knew that ban would not be upheld they started doing their shopping of course. Just to be sure that they wouldn’t be held back in the unlikely event of Fifa finding the time to do the appeal sooner than planned. Strange anyhow that it takes Fifa so long to rule the appeal case one could say. Or has world cup land Qatar AND main Barcelona sponsor something to do with it?
Now we know that Barcelona and Real Madrid are after Suarez. Also in order to trump each other each season they have to spend idiotic amounts of money. Neymar goes to Barcelona and we now know in a tax evasive way apparently. Then Real Mad has to spend their money on Bale. So this time it should be Barcelona again to show who has the longest **** of the two top teams in Spain. Two top teams in Spain that are investigated by the justice department for various crimes. Tax evasion, helping Messi evading taxes, shady land deals…. You know the usual deals top club in Spain seem to do.
Suspending the ban was a nice gesture from Fifa and their top people. Maybe they were caught by surprise by one of their sub committees who gave the initial ban? It gave Barcelona the chance to start rebuilding their team just when it needed rebuilding.
But now back to the Suarez case. Just imagine this scenario. Barcelona wants Suarez. And what does Suarez do when he wants to go away from his club? He bites. He did it at Ajax and Ajax sold him. In the season 2012/2013 he bit Ivanovic to the end of the season. Then someone leaked the buy out clause in his contract to Arsenal who made an offer only to see it turned down by a chairman who lied and lied and lied.
But Suarez wanted out of Liverpool that is something that was clear. Ok he signed a new contract that gave him a very high pay rise and nobody would refuse that after all. He has some children to feed.
So what does Suarez do when he wants out? He bites. So he bites a player at the world cup. We all wondered at the time how Fifa would react. And to most of our surprise Fifa acted very strongly. The ban for international matches was normal.
But other parts seemed unreal for an organisation like Fifa. Where had they suddenly found their moral stance back? Maybe it was hidden under the Qatar brown envelopes? The hearing that gave him a 4 month ban from all football and thus making it impossible to play for Liverpool was somewhat strange.
Also take note that despite the ruling stating that Suarez could not be involved in any football related activity even administrative. But Fifa was very quickly saying that he could be transferred. Strange don’t you think? They undermine their own ban!
But let us look at this scenario. Barcelona wants Suarez. Suarez wants out of Liverpool. Suarez bites. Fifalona bans Suarez also from playing for Liverpool. Liverpool wants to get rid of the biter as he brings their name into disrepute. Barcelona hopes that the ban will cut down the price. Which it doesn’t if rumours can be believed (I know, I know….) as there is talk of a price tag of around 90M euro’s. Barcelona will buy Suarez one of these days for an amount that is crazy but then again so is their debt situation.
And then we might see the final twist in the saga. Just imagine that in an appeal case Fifa might decide that well you know they now say that the ban should not interfere with his club football. And then they could argue that Suarez apologised to Chiellini, who in his turn thought the ban was a bit too hefty. So what could stop Fifa from reducing the ban a bit and only give him the 9 Fifa match ban?
Of course this scenario of making the ban less would only happen if Suarez gets sold to Fifalona, sorry Barcelona. Did you hear a Fifa spokesman saying that they took notice of the fact that Suarez apologised? Was that a first step in the “right direction”? And today Blatter even praising Suarez for admitting the bite??
So my theory is that if Suarez stays at Liverpool the ban will be imposed as it is now. If he goes to Barcelona the ban will be loosened somehow.
I know it is a theory, a complete theory. But it will be very interesting to see how it ends in a few weeks or months time. Fifa is not really an organisation that does things in the open to protect its perfect reputation. And from what we have seen from Barcelona with their child trafficking, shady transfer deals, tax evasion cases, and other dubious activities when refs were involved it also is not really a club that does it the right way. And they both seemed to be tied up with Qatar. A country that apparently didn’t shy away from giving money to the right persons at the right time, and hires foreign workers as slave labour.
I know I will be looking at how this will develop. And nothing will surprise me…..after all we are dealing with Fifa here.
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal
On the button !! Exactly my thought too ! I’m almost certain Suarez suspension WILL be reduced if he signs for Barcelona FC !!
The truth ‘will out’ but will the media publish it?
I doubt it.
Will the millions of football fans around the world be interested in what is being done to the game by those who control it?
I doubt it
Will these people controlling the game escape punishment for what they are doing to the game?
I am certain of it.
Here I have a personal problem. People who know me, know me as ‘the smiling optimist’. So how come I am so pessimistic about the controllers of football?
Because I don’t doubt their ability to hide the truth.
Walter
I keep hearing that Barcelona are in debt so how can they spend maybe £75 million on Suarez. They (and Real Madrid) are spending more and more on transfers, it’s ridiculous. Their activity in the transfer market doesn’t seem to have been moderated to take account of financial fair play, in fact they appear prepared to spend even more as if FFP doesn’t apply to them. Mind you the same could be said of some of the English clubs who are looking as though they are prepared to pay the ludicrous prices now being asked for players. We are even being dragged into it to an extent. Maybe someone can explain this apparent mystery to me?
It baffles me alot how barcelona and real madrid do escape FFP rules,anyway that aside.
It was earlier stated that suarez is ban for 4months from football relating activities including a stadium ban were jose morinho said the stadium ban was too much,but now i hear he is permitted to undergo a medical and to even train with his new team mates…..fifa is corrupt and bias..you are right fifalona is the right word.
An excellent article Walter and well thought through. Some brown envelopes seem to be more “equal” than others!
Think we all know what will happenn here.
The sport…if indeed it can still be called that is rotten to the core, and will only change when the media get their collectives in gear, and as one, start exposing FIFA/UEFA for what they are, excepting of course a few honourable individuals who have already started doing just that.
These bodies need to be exposed in the way that bankers, MPs, the police, hacking journalists have been in the UK, but to work against FIFA, it has to be on a much more multinational scale. I do think that time is coming, I am sure some of the media are in the thick of whats wrong with football for all sorts of unpleasant reasons, but once one issue is properly exposed, there could be a domino effect…and greedy journalists/publications may be able to make sufficient money exposing FIFA.
But, to totally contradict myself, and join the realms of hypocracy, lifting the ban on Barca transfers might help Arsenal….IF reports are to be believed
Walter
Although I agree with the main thrust of your article about FIFA being corrupt and clubs like Barca and Real distorting the transfer market with outrages transfer fees for players like Bale and Suarez( allegedly), I do however have a problem with a few things you wrote, especially your calling Barca activities in underage player scouting and bringing those players to the club a “child trafficking “. It does a huge disservice to the issue of real child trafficking that goes on in all parts of the world for purposes of sex exploitation, child labour, drug smuggling , begging and others. And also , considering Suarez’s biting episode at the World Cup as some sort of grand scheme he had planned to force his move to Barca , is a real tin hat territory . I mean , I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy but common man. A player at the top of his game , having a great World Cup despite being injured prior to, deciding to bite an opponent and turnish his reputation on the biggest stage of all while costing his country a chance to win it is beyond far fetched.
Tom
Some would say a player at the top level biting anyone is far fetched. To do it 3 times is beyond far fetched. Suarez probably doesn’t care a bit for his reputation beyond the monetary aspects of it. and it certainly doesn’t seem to have done him any harm in that aspect any of the times now does it?
Also, there’s been articles (on this site and others) where it has been highlighted how football indulges in child trafficking. Some of those youngsters make the grade, but a lot don’t. I think even FIFA took notice of this a few years back about children being lured away from their homes with the promise of football and then being dumped there once they didn’t make it with neither the club nor the agents taking responsibility for them. I don’t know if the term if accurate for Barcelona, but child trafficking, such as that you allude to, is very real in football. Barcelona broke rules aimed to prevent that.
Tom,
I have long hesitated in using the words child trafficking so I can understand your remark.
About Suarez biting at the world cup. Just a thought. Imagine Suarez his manager talking to Barcelona/Real Madrid. Then those clubs talking to Liverpool who say again: no, what are you smoking. Suarez getting updated by the “No again” thinking I make sure they will want to get rid of me? And I do think that Suarez is so self centric and egoistic that he doesn’t give a sh*t about his country. All his career from Holland to this day it is all about him. His club and country will always come behind himself.
What’s with this Suarez apologised for biting? He didn’t. He apologised for an incident where Chiellini suffered the effects of a bite in a collision. It’s not the same thing. It seems pretty obvious that even this show of remorse is just meant to facilitate his transfer to Barcelona, and to prevent sponsors from deserting him.
Only Suarez will really know if that was the action of uncontrolled insanity, or calculated to get a move, but he does have form. Personally, think he has a screw loose, but is extremely cunning with it…so who knows? The guy is talented, but also a serial cheat. Not a dirty player in the Shawcross sense , but certainly one spiteful individual.
But those as good as he is will inevitably be surrounded by apologists, yes men, ego feeders, so in his world, nothing …within reason…he will ever do will be wrong. He even has his countries President sticking up for his indefensable action, which perhaps cost his country going further in the WC…who knows.
But if Suarez, as widely reported wants out of Liverpool, their owners actions last summer could well mean he may feel the need to do something extreme to get his way.
Lets see if Brendan Rogers really is the manager the media think he is on losing a very special player….as Wenger has done several times in recent years
On Suarez apologising – not quite the same but reminds me a bit of Tiger Woods public apology to all his sponsors…and after that long list and in just a couple words, his wife! He knew where his priorities lay.
Finance / career inspired apology in its sincerest forms
I think that you have it completely at the wrong end, how can you blame UEFA for something a referee does? and ja, the referees make mistakes but I remember 2 years ago in the champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Chelsea (in which chelsea beat barcelona) Barcelona should have had a second penalty after the ball was handled in the box by Frank Lampard before Torres scored the all deciding goal.. and yes, the incidents seem to have big impacts but its down to the referee and not to UEFA.. furthermore, Barca do have debts but they are 90% paid off and the fact that they can spend 200m euros is because they have a turnover of 600m each year, and therefore are well within the FFP rules. Now lets talk about FIFA, the fact that the ban was suspended and will only be revised after the World Cup is because of the World Cup and because they need an independent organ to look over the fact, and in any case, Barca would be allowed to buy players until all their avenues off appeal are used so basically this could go on for another year as there probably will be an investigation by CAS.. okay now we get to the order of the day, the Luis Suarez transfer to Barcelona and if his ban will be reduced, my answer, yes it will.. not because according to the writer of this article, FIFA and Barcelona are both controlled by QATAR or because FIFA favors barcelona like he has judged UEFA to do, but because SUAREZ apologized for his misconduct and because Chielini called it excessive.. FIFA do take these things into account and even if he would have stayed at Liverpool would this be the case.. Just the fact that Barcelona wants to offer the buy-out clause in his contract makes a transfer a certainty, and on the FIFA allowing him to transfer: this was one thing they said during his hearing, he is not allowed to play soccer or be in a stadium but on his right to transfer they could not suspend that as this is common human rights such is his right to work, in this case training, that FIFA have suspended him from and will be another reason why the suspension won’t stand.. Just to make it clear, I don’t approve the misconduct and I do approve of the suspension, but I feel it as excessive and I would agree with any suspension only on football games and not on all football related activity as this is an infringement on his human rights.
First the ban was from all football activity, even from entering a stadium. Then the Barca rumours came up, and suddenly FIFA said they couldn’t ban a player from training with his team, as that was too extreme. And yet they also admitted biting a person for the third time is also extreme. And it’s clear Suarez’s “apology” was written by his lawyers.
And how is Suarez biting someone to force a move far fetched? He’s done exactly the same thing twice before. The fact that biting a player has never happened it top football, except when Suarez wanted to force a move, pretty much proves that’s why he did it this time.
We now know Liverpool are blatant liars, and will try anything to keep Suarez. Suarez was adamant that Liverpool and Rogers had promised him that at the end of the 2012/13 season he could leave. But they forced him to stay. Then the whole saga about his release clause. Then it seemed they twisted his arm to get him to stay one more season, and he did, and nearly won them the league single handedly. It seems to me Suarez is fed up with Liverpool promising him he can leave, but not letting him. I’m not excusing what he did, but I think I have some idea why he did it.
Also, if us ordinary football fans can see FIFA, UEFA the FA etc. are corrupt, then surely to managers, directors, and other people inside the football world it must be blindingly obvious. But still nothing is done. Nothing will ever change.
Meanwhile, in line with the script, Uruguay FA has appealed against the sentence. After Suarez’s lawyerly letter, purporting to apologize, Chiellini’s acceptance and kind word that the sentence was too heavy and Blatter’s praise. Reduced sentence is indeed, the next logical step. Look and learn, Mr. Aresne Wenger…if you can hold your nose long enough to play in the sewage with rats.
@Tom any exploitation of children is unsavoury. Walters terminology is perfect as it ‘bites’ at the correct emotion.
Nothing is far fetched about the corrupt nature of football particularly Footballs Incredible Frecking Association. The organisation that is shaking every stream of financial gain corrupt or otherwise to ensure it sucks football dry. The quakes that have been hidden are nothing compared to the billions that have been shared out by the corrupt upper layers of ‘sporting’ society.
Mandy
Wenger lost players for relatively poor returns. Bonzer will draw a hefty price. This will allow Rogers to spend on replacements (he already seems to have done that).
I really am beginning to dislike the game because of the lack of honesty from governments to business people involved within it. I hope some natural disaster comes to the rescue of the beautiful game.
Menace, as individual deals for our more special players, I tend to agree with you, but more than made up for with some of the other deals on players leaving us – eg a reported 41 million for Ade and Toure.
But those were…relatively speaking…dark days in the past.
Yes, Rogers will get 75-80 million, but it is how he spends it….as our neighbours found out last year. Not saying Liverpool will make the same mistakes, but it is hard to replace special players, especially those who score, assist, and have an unearthly ability to con referees…and last year, the media.
I am convinced Liverpool will be weaker next season, I do not think they will get another year of virtually every decision in their favour, and their captn will be a year older. But, we shall see!
Shard
“Some would say a player at the top level biting anyone is far fetched. To do it 3 times is beyond far fetched.”
If something becomes a fact beyond any reasonable doubt, can it still be called “far fetched”?
Menace
“@Tom any exploitation of children is unsavoury. Walters terminology is perfect as it ‘bites’ at the correct emotion.”
If Barca broke the rules then they should be punished accordingly but comparing their youth recruitment program to ” child trafficking ” is a poor choice of words at best and insulting to real victims of child trafficking at worst.
Once you get passed the emotional trauma of a teenager being separated from his family, which happens all over the world in all professional sports, there’s nothing in a way of “exploitation of children” that goes on at Barca .
Those kids get shuttled to best schools by buses from 8 am to 2 pm, have lunch and siesta till 5pm , practice or play till 6:30pm and have other mind enriching activities including private tutoring if needed.
Now, you may call it “child exploitation” but others including the parents of those kids may call an opportunity of a lifetime .
Sure, most kids don’t make the grade but they don’t get discarded or dumped in the gutters with a drug addiction or a history of sexual abuse as most child trafficking victims do.
Whether or not FIFA stand firm on the punitive measures taken against Suarez is not that important in the overall scheme of things. Not in my book.
The Federation is so corrupt in itself that only a complete cleansing will suffice.
This can only begin by a few brave footballing associations deciding to secede, followed by the inevitable wholesale exodus from that crooked edifice.
The whole thing stinks, why are all these people queuing up to praise suearez. It’s not like he’s done the most noble thing ever, the guy just bit another player for the third time ffs. What are all the kids going to think when they see and hear this. I agree with nicky when he says our only hope is some FAs secede from this corrupt body, and hope for a complete breakaway. This organisation has proven to be nothing but a corrupt bunch of thugs. If it’s not accepting brown envelopes to sway bidding processes it’s turning a blind eye to the gross injustices the long suffering followers of the game have to endure everyday. They refuse to use video evidence because, as they say, it’ll interrupt the flow of the game. But at this WC they are willing to interrupt the matches, and not just for a few seconds while the fourth official reviews the incident on TV, but by about 4 minutes for drinks breaks. So drinks breaks are more important than verifying a decision which can have far-reaching implications. Not just for the player or team concerned but for the fans as well. Some take these defeats so badly they take drastic decisions.
Instead of getting new rules that will change the face of the game for the better completely we get a drinks break. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all agreed with their sponsors, with more brown envelopes exchanging hands, as an advertising window for their energy drinks. We don’t need drinks breaks, do all the teams from South American countries take drinks breaks in their leagues? How many drinks breaks will we see in a hot and humid place like Qatar. How long will the breaks be? Yet they refuse to introduce technology which will only take 30 seconds or less to review. A substitution or issuing a yellow carding takes longer. Corrupt, everything is rotten. One needs just look at the number of national teams that have been accused of being involved in match fixing scandals recently to realise we’re dealing with a sport that’s being controlled by some dark forces.
Colombia and James were roobed by a cheating referee. James was fouled so many times by Fernandino but the referee just ignored it. The Colombian first goal was valid but the assistant ref gave it offside. There was no offside in the attack as the players that touched the ball were on side.
The game stinks and so far Brazil have ridden on the smell.
robbed
Agree menace. Cesar should have walked too for that penalty. Getting sick of them getting decisions in every game.
Brazil. As another blog might say, football is fixed
THE TRUTH –
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BFzs_O8CcAAbfQZ.jpg
An example of the power of agents, media directors etc. in sport?
Needs look no further then the England cricket team this week: current players barred by the ECB from making comments on a certain former player for fear of upsetting Sky. Today, news reports that a former England cricket captain has had to apologise for criticising a certain former England player whilst commentating for Sky!
No one looks good as a result of this story:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/757789.html
Talking of venom , bites and things that harden …
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=664961720262511&set=vb.384582714967081&type=2&theater
What Not to Say at a Funeral
I’m not convinced. I’m going to go give her a good shaking?
I’m sure we’ll all be laughing about this in no time!
It’s funny , we all thought you’d be the first to go, Grandpa.
You know, your husband never paid back that $50 he owed .