The man who privatised
the Olympics

Sunday 9 August, 2008
Two decades ago the Games were spotted as an undervalued asset that could be privatised and sweated, bringing huge profits to corporations and the International Olympic Committee. The criminal genius who did the deed is now an embarrassment, not invited to Beijing.

Long version in India’s All Sports magazine

 

Shorter version in Glasgow Herald

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The Sniper’s Guide to the Bird’s Nest

 

Tuesday 5 August, 2008

Meet the International Olympic Committee and their Partners. First published in Germany in the 20th anniversary special edition ‘How we live now!’ of cultural magazine Lettre International. [More]

 

Warning! Readers of a nervous disposition may find some of the illustrations disturbing.

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 Chinese spies  lurk behind
 two-way  mirror
 at
 Women's  World Cup

 

 

 

Sunday 13 July, 2008
The IOC Ethics Committee has rejected complaints from women footballers harassed by Chinese officials at the Women’s World Cup last year.

Read the stories, view exclusive photos of the harassment and watch amazing video of the spies trying to hide their faces when caught by the women! [More] NEW! Sports Illustrated copies our story!

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FIFA misled detectives,
must pay court costs

Wednesday 30 July, 2008
A SWISS court has ruled that footballs’ world governing body FIFA misled detectives investigating the disappearance of £45 million paid for World Cup television rights.

Download the article:
[PDF (zip file) - 4.5MB] [PDF (compressed) - 764KB]

FIFA 'misled' detectives on trail of missing £45m

Triesman vows FA will fight clean to win 2018 World Cup bid

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As tickets scandals mount, FIFA boss Jack Warner’s son Daryan goes missing

 

Sunday 8 June, 2008
Call the police! Daryan Warner has disappeared! If you spot him in the Caribbean please email me and I’ll let his mum and dad know he’s safe.
Daryan’s vanishing act coincides with attempts to question him about claims that scarce tickets for the Trinidad versus England match on June 1 were being touted from his business premises.

 

Read the story

Read the questions to Daryan

Read his lawyer’s claim that he can’t be contacted

Jack and Daryan in action

Read FIFA’s ‘Valcke vanishes’ claim

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Jack Warner’s secret threat terrorises English Officials

Sunday 1 June, 2008
We were tricked that David Beckham and his team played in Trinidad because England hopes sleazy Jack Warner will back their 2018 World Cup bid.
There was another more important, secret agenda: Begging Warner not to expel British officials from FIFA’s life of luxury.
And . . . discover which country is tipped by FIFA insiders to host 2018 – it isn’t England . . . and read the fax that terrifies English officials so much they helped greedy Warner exploit English fans. [More]

Read Warner’s threatening fax

Warner’s sexy shakedown on English fans

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FIFA's scandals mount but ethics chief Seb Coe goes missing

Thursday 29 May, 2008
FIFA’s congress meets in Sydney this week but absent from the agenda is any comment by President Blatter about the Swiss bribery rackets. Lord Seb Coe has chaired FIFA’s ‘independent’ Ethics committee since September 2006. Many were led to believe he would turn up to reveal how he’s tackling FIFA’s scandals. He’s chosen not to bother. [More]

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Meet the mystery man who can end corruption in world football

Thursday May 29, 2008
The face of football in Australia is TV commentator Les Murray. He’s been looking forward to welcoming FIFA’s congress to the Sydney Opera House. But Les will be shocked when he discovers how deep the dark veins of corruption now run in the sport he loves. What’s he going to do? [More]

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Has Sepp Blatter’s ‘Special Advisor’ Peter Hargitay committed career suicide?

Sunday April 6, 2008
The English FA hired Hargitay because he persuaded them he was close to Sepp Blatter and skilled at crisis management. But when questions were raised about his murky past, Hargitay created his own crisis with an astonishing testosterone-soaked attack on reporter Andrew Jennings.

Read the article
Read the questions that went to the FA
Read the FA's reply
Read Hargitay's amazing outburst
The 'Curse of Gnome'

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The things they say...

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

Blatter press release, 28 January, 2003

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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

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‘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

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‘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

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‘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

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‘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

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'Soccer chief's plan to boost women's game? Hotpants' ‘They could wear tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so.’

Sepp Blatter, Former President of the World Society of Friends of Suspenders: Sonntagsblick 11 January, 2004

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