Sepp’s Views Are Right On The Money

There is absolutely no danger of FIFA’s President being labelled ‘football’s answer to Henry Kissinger’ – because when Sepp Blatters, diplomacy goes flying out of the window. Here is a selection from his latest outburst, on the subject of how greed is suffocating football and threatening its future:

In an unsubtle sideswipe at Chelsea in particular, he declares: “A fortunate few clubs are richer than ever before”, thanks to “individuals with little or no history of interest in the game” who “proceed to throw pornographic amounts of money at it”.

“Unlimited cash has given a handful of club owners the wherewithal to control the global game by splashing unimaginable sums on a tiny group of elite players. More than ever before, the majority are fighting with spears, while the greedy few have the financial equivalent of nuclear warheads.”

He follows up this colourful imagery by targeting the “insane” financial demands of players and agents, condemning “the sort of wage negotiations that can produce the spectacle of semi-educated, sometimes foul-mouthed players on £100,000 a week holding clubs to ransom until they get, say, £120,000” while fans are overcharged to watch ‘their’ team – a team which almost certainly contains a minority of their own nationals.

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that Sepp appears not to know what the word ‘pornographic’ means, together with any speculation as to whether this makes him, like many of the players he refers to, ‘semi-educated’, he does have a point.

In this country (Sepp always seems to fire his own particular ‘missiles’ at this country) the financial dominance of Chelsea is such that recently Arsene Wenger was reported as saying that where transfers are concerned, even clubs of the stature of Arsenal have to wait until Chelsea have finished shopping before they can pursue new signings. And as for wages, can £100,000+ a week (in other words, over £5 million a year) really be justified for players who are also massively rewarded from endorsements and other sources?

Predictably, PFA boss Gordon Taylor is affronted by the FIFA President’s remarks and he has carefully reiterated the usual defence, highlighting especially the shortness of a professional playing career (which can be devastated by injury at any time). Well, at £5 million + a year, you wouldn’t necessarily need a long career to lay the foundations for a comfortable life.

It’s blindingly obvious that Gordon’s old chum Sepp has touched a nerve or two. And for once, he appears to be talking sense.