Scanned image of Andrew's column in a Danish newspaper

The things they say...

‘Neither FIFA nor its President have anything to hide, nor do they wish to.’

Blatter press release, 28 January, 2003

BBC Panorama Reporter Andy Davies:

‘A one million franc bribe … is it not correct that Mr Blatter asked that it be moved to the FIFA official who was named on the payment slip?’

FIFA Director of Communications Markus Siegler:

‘If you do not stop now, then we call the security and we put you out.’

FIFA Press conference, Zurich, Tuesday, 11 April 2006

‘I am deputy chairman of the finance committee of FIFA. I oversee a budget of US$2 billion and I have never seen one iota of corruption.’

Jack Warner, Trinidad Express 12 December 2004

‘Lying and deception and bad faith are standard operating procedure at FIFA.’

Adam C. Silverstein, a lawyer for MasterCard in their successful action against FIFA, New York, December 1, 2006

‘I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at that level (Argentine Premier League) because it’s hard work and, you know, Jews don’t like hard work.’

FIFA senior vice-president and chair of Finance Committee, Julio Grondona, 5 July 2003. Buenos Aires

‘FIFA is a healthy, clean and transparent organisation with nothing to hide. There is huge public interest in FIFA, therefore we have to be as transparent as possible. We will try to communicate in a more open way so the world can believe us and be proud of their federation.’

FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, January 2003, on fifa.com

Forgettable Days at the Bella Center

By Andrew Jennings

Friday October 9, 2009

Remember those days that you can’t remember? The days when nothing happened and are lost forever? So it was at the Bella Center this week, after the Obama circus left town.

If you have problems sleeping, those pills don’t work anymore, you should have been with the Ekstra Bladet team at the IOC Congress. A few lively minutes tracking down corruption followed by hours of stultifying boredom.

Shielded from the media most of the time, the IOC members have long left the real world and exist out there on Planet Zug, surrounded by sycophants telling them only what they want to hear.

Behind closed doors they enjoyed one presentation telling them that the Beijing Games were a wild success. That got a hoot from the reporters watching outside on the TV monitors who travelled to China and found the promised press freedoms never materialised.

Then they were told that the upcoming Vancouver winter games are a mighty success. That will be news to local taxpayers putting their hands in their wallets for construction overruns.

Why does the IOC matter? Only because they own the world’s most lucrative sports franchise. They undermined their credibility in the 1980s and 1990s by selling their votes for cash and sex and covering up positive dope tests and whatever they do now, the horse has bolted. Widely distrusted, they now need Prince Frederick more than he could ever need them.

Around the Center the IOC posted slogans claiming ‘Olympic Congresses changed the world of sport.’ Oh really? Are they smoking that stuff?

Anybody remember an IOC Congress? The last was in Paris in 1994. It cost $16 million – and after a week was instantly forgotten by the world. I was there and remember the chilling warning from Coca-Cola vice-president John Hunter. ‘Just as sponsors have the responsibility to preserve the integrity of the sport so too you have responsibility and accountability to the sponsor.’

Does Frederick know that he must be accountable now to Coke and Big Macs?