FIFA Fiddle World Cup Qualification Process

[force]

Slightly of topic but can anyone tell me why the fck israeli teams play in the champions league and their national team plays in the euros????

Is Israel a country in europe now?

[C.O.Prodigy]

Israel also played in the Eurobasket 2009.
It has always been part of sporting europe, like Turkey who is also half european half asian but plays in the european football championships and at eurobasket.

[SlavikSvensk]

+1 to C.O. turkey has always been in UEFA.

plus there are more teams in UEFA that are not technically in europe: armenia, azerbaijan, georgia, etc.

you enter UEFA if you apply and are deemed acceptable for membership. in israel's case, this happened in the 1990s, several years after UEFA admitted the post-soviet caucasian teams.

[DarkYoung]

i reckon Israel will get through to the semis.

[C.O.Prodigy]

This fiasco of handball goals and the Irish going out happend because of the fixed draw. France played the second game at home because of the fixed draw.
France and Slovenia were the only 2 countries to play the 2nd leg at home and go through.

Fifa changed the method of qualification process and Henry's handball is a direct result of their cheating. Everyone could see it happening and still it happened and now the French football federation won't offer the Irish a 3rd game even though they deserve it.

The fact is that it will be a much stronger French squad next year. With Ribery and Benzema fit for action. But this isn't football anymore and the Irish FA should at least get a monetary compensation for the highway robbery if not a 3rd match.

France are off my fair play list.

[Will]

"This is quite fun: the Georgians have no idea why a penalty has been awarded and nor does anyone else. Keane tried to control a long ball and failed and it was cleared and, um, the ref pointed to the spot! A startling decision. As I said in the preamble, it looks like luck is on our side in this campaign."

Looks like Ireland had used up their share of luck.

[C.O.Prodigy]

ok. How does that explain FiFa fixing the playoff draw?

[C.O.Prodigy]

I recently heard that Fifa employ more officials(people) then the United Nations.

Quite a staggering fact.

[C.O.Prodigy]

for better or for worse, fifa wants all the big guns there-- don't think they are too bothered about any of the rest.

You're right. And the tools at Fifa's disposal to achieve said goals are (bookings and red cards, ranking table, referees, phantom penalties, bad offside calls) all of which serve to concoct what Fifa believes to be a draw that the big money spenders are happy with and which they in turn bought.
Capitalism at it's best and very little to do with football.
It's highly hypocritical to promote "my game is fair play" at under 17 and under 21 tournaments and yet when those players grow up they find out that it was all make believe and that the spirit of fair play applys only if you pay for it or if it's worth fifa's while.
In a perfect world, FiFa should stand for footballing excellence and should back those teams which excel in the game.

Phantom penalties indeed!

Not harsh enough I reckon.

It is happening again!



Cheat.

[C.O.Prodigy]

you'd think things would be better at this level

It's looking like a popularity contest, with marketing leading the charge.

The name World Cup is misleading at this point, it's clearly not.

[C.O.Prodigy]

FIFA.com - President: FIFA will consider refereeing questions

Consequently, the principle will not be changed for this competition. But with what we have experienced here, it would be nonsense to not reopen the file on technology at the next business meeting of the IFAB on 20 and 21 July in Wales.

Consider and reopen doesn't sound very promising.





ps.
Ask Yourself


Richie 'mothaf*cking' Hawtin

[C.O.Prodigy]

Check out the FIFA replay logo. The light emanating from beyond the logo.
I imagine, you see they are the enlightened ones. The ones who have the light.

This has nothing to do with tonight's game though and everything to do with this thread.

[C.O.Prodigy]

fiddling, a nice way of saying rigging.