I am merely asking before you have a go

What do you think?

Are the Brits poor losers?

All that fuss about not getting the world cup, what do they say?

bah haaaa mehh he, we're not trying in 2022.

What is it with you Brit bashing all the time?

I got to agree with you on this thread. What a bunch of whinging poms. I am pleased to see it going to two countries who have not hosted before.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...and-bad-losers

So Russia, the crime capital of the world and Qatar one of the most repressive places to take an open sport are the best places right? Could not give a crap if we host it or not, the decision was financially motivated and we all know it.

Ditto, I don't care where it goes, but there were many better bids than those. As for Qatar, have they eleven people that play football there? I see that now they seem a bit worried about the temperatures, and Blatter is happy for it to be moved to the winter. Great, right in the middle of most northern countries league programme, so everyone will have to arrange their schedules to accommodate Blatter's choice of Qatar. Not long ago he was blattering on about people being more tolerant of homosexuales in football, then choses a country where homosexuality is banned, now saying that they will have to abstain whilst there. And a secret vote? I was in the car with the radio on, and the draw came on, and they told us we had lost, it was going to Russia well before it was announced.

Have you ever been to Russia or Qatar? I would not agree that Russia is crime capital of the world there are a few other places I would put before them. For your info > http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=412&pID=1074

Of course finance plays a very big part in most sports.

You mean "Bribery" right.

English Irregular Verb.

I give fiscal support,
You induce,
He bribes.

If it were not for sponsorship deals and advertising revenue to support the huge salaries paid to professional athletes, sport would be ...... Amateur
Unfortunately where there is big money there is invariably corruption.

Bah Humbug

From what I heard there was just as much whinging down under from the original poms.

The main gripe in the UK was about bribery,corruption and the shambolic way FIFA is being run by a bunch of thieving clowns.

The fact that they reacted so badly to having their dirty washing aired in public, speaks for itself.

One of my best friends went to watch Arsenal play Spartac a few years ago, on their way from the airport to the hotel the taxi driver dropped them off at the police station where the local police relieved them of their passports, tickets, money and personal possessions, then released them. When they were released the next day they went straight to the Consulate and were told, by the staff then.... "Welcome to Russia" The same thing happened when they went to Kiev....


Oh and with regards to Qatar, I was born in Iran and brought up in the Emirates..

Fool me once......

You know what these boys are like with their football. Gayarsed sport anyway.

I never did get into religion......

I agree too (although I'm not particularly pleased with the choice of Quatar - if it had to be in the Middle East I would have thought a more populous nation like Egypt or even Libya would have been better)
All those moaning "it's all about money" are conveniently forgetting the Premier League has constantly soaked up talent from around the world (and at the expense I believe of home-grown players). Also part of the English propaganda was that holding the World Cup in England would be far more successful financially. So this moan is particularly hypercritical.
I'm glad to see Russia get the chance to hold a World Cup - they've always been strong followers of football and haven't held the tournament before. Blatter, despite all his faults, has never made any secret of the fact that FIFA always wants to promote the World Cup in new countries.
It is a shame that for many of us we'll never see the World Cup in our own country (I was just a bit too young to go to stadiums in 66), but that's going to be the case for most countries too. England did win the hosting of the Olympics, so it's particularly galling to see all these sour grapes over the World Cup.