661–670 of 702 posts
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You know how it is: 10k here, 30k there... and there is a few M in a swiss bank account (or whatever the modern hiding place is).
Who would have thought crypto/btc prime use would be corruption (bribery, ransoms, influence, extortion)? A lot I wager.
the silk road was riding high long before crypto ads were running during superbowls
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When’s the last time the US forcibly annexed land from a neighboring country? Crimea is Ukrainian
I mean, they are trying
Preferably somewhere with a suitably powerless population like Greenland or Gaza.
Randomly shooting up small boats also demonstrates our lawless intentions at limited risk.
It's colonialism for cowards. Looks great on social media.
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While true, it’s not a refutation at all. Look at the attendance makeup of every English club in the last 100 years, listen to the stories of the people who grew up supporting their local team, the young boys that grew up playing and became local or national heroes. That tells you where the soul of football lives.
I've been hearing this "football is working class" thing all my life. Honestly, depending on where you are in the UK, you will see working class people participating in rugby league (Northern England), rugby union (South Wales, West Country, Scottish Borders), hurling, Gaelic football (both NI), shinty (the Highlands), cricket (Yorkshire and one or two other places), basketball, boxing and all the rest. Apart from ru…
> depending on where you are in the UK,
I specifically referred to English clubs. The fact that other home nations prefer different sports has no bearing on English culture. The fact that multiple sports are considered working class has no bearing on the fact that football is one of those sports.
> Soccer has conflated its history with the medieval games of folk football
Irrelevant. My frame of reference was working class people over the last century. What Mediaeval England did was never part of my argument.
Infantino clearly wants to see FIFA making billions so he and many others can pocket millions legally. But the only way for this to happen in a non-corrupt way, given that FIFA is non-profit and therefore requires a lot of questionable operations, is to turn FIFA into a business like NFL / MLS. The problem with that is that it then it is no longer a sport, rather a... business. UEFA letter is spot on.
CONCACAF join UEFA and reject FIFA's World Cup sell-off plan. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49488584/uefa-boycott... . By the end of this Gianni Infantino will only be left with the Africans .I am African and these Federations will do anything to keep him around because of the unprecedented amounts of corruption...
I am Asian. Our country FA is corrupt as hell too. The way I read this, FIFA needs a yes from roughly half of the member nations to go forward with this. Yes to a offer (not promise) to receive $20m. I can totaly see the top brass of our FA, 10-20 people at most, looking at this as an opportunity to earn easy several million bucks and voting yes.
First off, fire Infantino on the spot, just the same way they fired Blatter for corruption. This last world cup was the worse I've ever seen since 1978, almost 50 years, and I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. We all know billions are moved under the table, but money can never break rules and traditions, specially if they don't benefit fans and players above all Did anybody ask the players about the hydration b…
I think the Balogun red-card and just inconsistency in general with red card suspensions was the only real blight on the tournament and that's fixable with some rules changes. The world cup in general was tremendously entertaining, though.
The hydration breaks and the commercials. The half time show. The differential treatment and harassment of players, fans, and officials at immigration based on country of origin. The whole fracas about Iran participating and USA hosting and bombing them on the same day. VAR calling back a goal due to Egypt's foul on Argentina but letting Argentina's foul on Austria go. The dubious red card of the swiss player that IFAB later said was a mistake. Even more dubious recall of Balogun suspension. Objectively the worst world cup final match ever- every other team Argentina defeated in knockouts would probably given us better football in the final match, including Cape Verde. Paredes assaulting Spain players after the match when he should have been sent off during the match. Lisandro Martinez saying they respect all their opponents and don't understand the hate, after they flew Falklands Island banner in England player's faces.
Messi wearing a robe and lifting the trophy at the end of Qatar '22 as the GOAT was so compelling that it glossed over the HR violation issues. But there was no redeeming qualities this time. The president of the United States ruined that moment by refusing to get out of the Spanish player's faces.
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In the Dictator's Handbook the authors argued that FIFA and IOC function similar to autocratic dictatorships because there is a small group of people who are essential to power. Therefore it is rational to buy them rather than do the right thing by the fans (who have very little power). As cold as the reasoning is, the explanation stuck with me. Their suggestion is to open up the power structure, e.g. to all past pla…
FIA is getting there as well.
On top of that these organizations explain how doping is bad and in the case of the Olympic Organization - that there is some kind of amateurism expected from the participants.
We want sport to be exciting so since these people are completely specialized, we should let anyone use what they want (on their bodies and in terms of equipment). It is a commercial entity anyway, intended to bring recreation to people.
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> Argentina post Messi have no chance Hold my beer
Spain have a far more youthful side, who can easily win again. France will come back, as will England. Argentina have few players coming through and many stars will have retired by the next tournament, even youthful Alvarez will be 30 next time out.
Crime only plays if you do it correctly.