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Billionaire Lowy hires another Bagman
The Happy Couple still found time to earn on the side. Maybe it was a way of saying sorry. Fedor and Andreas went to work for the South African bid to stage this year’s World Cup. Although one rival bid spread a lot of money around it didn’t win and the Munich Boys were present at the announcement of the result in Zurich in June 2004.
The following year it was the turn of the Financial Times to take an interest in their endeavours. Under the headline ‘Award among friends’ it revealed that the German government had held a competition to select an agency to create a campaign to encourage Germans to be friendly to foreign football fans. The budget was three million Euros and Immaculate Andreas had won! What made lots of folks unhappy was that among the members of the jury that were so enthused by the Andreas Abold presentation were . . . Fedor and Michaela Radmann.
The German trade associations for public relations agencies complained to the Federal Cartel Office but Andreas kept his contract.
Value for Money
Australian taxpayers – and their Government which channels their money to Andreas Abold, Fedor Radmann and of course the Swiss-Hungarian conman Peter Hargitay - should wonder if they are getting value for money. There’s no doubt that Abold employs a talented team of graphic designers and his bid book will be up to standard.
The other two hustlers? Who on earth was ever influenced by Peter Hargitay apart from the Swiss businessman who loaned him US$2 million and has been chasing him for years to get it back. Hargitay performed a few dark things for FIFA president Sepp Blatter and then was shown the door. After being kicked out by the English FA he won’t be expecting to swing FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson’s vote behind Lowy. And now Bin Hammam’s people, gearing up for war with Blatter, have told Hargitay not to bother them again. Jack Warner knows what he wants and intends to get it. Better leave that twisting in the twilight.
It’s risible to think that Blatter, Jack Warner, Mohammed Bin Hammam or any of the other 21 members of FIFA’s Executive Board could be influenced by Hargitay for a nanosecond. These men with their continental powerbases have their own longterm agendas and relationships, developed over the decades. They will, as they always have, make their own deals with each other without suffering the cloying sleeve-tugging of Johnny-come-lately Hargitay who only appeared on the FIFA scene in late 2002.
Two Financial Disasters
Funny Fedor is close to Beckenbauer who is unlikely to go out on a limb for Australia or anybody else if it would upset UEFA unanimity. The Berchtesgaden Bagman talks the talk but he will have been aware months ago that the fans would not travel to South Africa, may not travel to Brazil and that after two financial disasters FIFA will exclaim for 2018 and 2022 ‘Show us the money’ and England or Spain and then the USA will oblige, cheaply, efficiently and profitably. There’s some members of the executive committee who will trouser bribes. They don’t give receipts and how they vote will not be influenced.
Radmann may whisper in Frank Lowy’s ear that he ‘won it’ for Germany but he didn’t. Charlie Dempsey's walk-out was a desperate last gambit in a neck and neck race that could never be repeated. Although the personable Elias Zaccour is still around, he’s very old and unlikely to make calls for free. Even if he did agree to ‘consult’ to Frank Lowy on how to develop shopping malls, the Westfield man wouldn’t stoop to Leo’s depths. We can be sure of that.