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Panda
Joined: 25 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:24 pm Post subject: London takes revenge for the 2018 bid |
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Boris kicks FIFA chiefs out of The Dorchester
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Boris Johnson has taken revenge on Sepp Blatter and the other FIFA delegates who destroyed England�s bid to host the World Cup by kicking them out of London�s Dorchester hotel for the 2012 Olympic Games.
FIFA president Mr Blatter and his team had been invited to stay in exclusive �1,000-a-night suites at the five-star hotel for more than a week during the Olympics.
The gesture was part of the charm offensive designed to woo FIFA � football�s world governing body � in the run-up to Thursday�s 2018 World Cup vote.
But London Mayor Mr Johnson, the official host of the Olympics, has withdrawn the offer to demonstrate his fury at the way FIFA threw out England�s bid.
Well-placed sources said that when Mr Johnson met Mr Blatter in October, the FIFA boss made no secret of his ability to influence England�s fate.He told the Mayor: �What is the point of having power if you don�t wield it?�
In his final address to FIFA delegates before Thursday�s vote, he is said to have referred to the �evils� of the English media, which have exposed FIFA corruption.
Mr Blatter also reportedly indicated during his talks with Mr Johnson that he had been impressed by the number of glamorous women paraded in front of him during his visits to some of the rival bidding nations.
He said: �I have seen a lot of beautiful girls in other countries.�
The English bid relied less on glitz and glamour and focused mainly on the country�s modern stadiums and high-quality transport links compared with rival countries.
Mr Johnson, who attended last week�s FIFA summit in Zurich and co-ordinated London�s efforts as part of the bid, described the decision to award the World Cup to Russia as a �big blow and tremendously disappointing�.
He added: �We put together a cracking bid, our technical specification was top-notch and our stadiums would have been packed to the rafters. Londoners love football.�
Both Mr Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron, who also helped to lobby FIFA delegates, took sideswipes at Russia�s record on crime and racism in the run-up to the vote.
In his meeting with Mr Blatter, the Mayor said mischievously: �Only six bicycles have been stolen since my bikes-for-hire scheme started in London.
'Light-fingered Frenchmen nicked hundreds when they did the same in Paris. Imagine how many would go missing in Moscow.�
And in an interview for the BBC�s Football Focus programme a week ago, Mr Cameron appeared to highlight Russian football�s notorious record for racial abuse by fans.
He said Britain�s multicultural society was �one of our selling points�, adding: �We can say you don�t have to worry about problems of racism in football.�
When black player Peter Odemwingie joined West Bromwich Albion from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow in the summer, fans there held up a banner depicting a banana and bearing the words �Thanks West Brom�.
Mr Johnson�s decision to ban Mr Blatter and his colleagues from The Dorchester came after he discussed the matter with former Olympic gold-medal winner Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The body is in charge of booking hotels for VIPs at the Olympics at no cost to the guests. Mr Blatter and the FIFA delegates are used to staying in the world�s top hotels as they jet round the world, feted by governments desperate to host the World Cup. They regard The Dorchester as their London home and stayed there during the summer.
Now they will have to settle for more modest accommodation. One official who witnessed the Zurich vote said: �As far as we are concerned they can stay in a B&B in the Old Kent Road and pay for it themselves to boot.�
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 12:11 am Post subject: |
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Sepp Blatter is an idiot.
Someone asked him who his favourite player was, he said 'david gilmor out of pink floyd'. |
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goniff
Joined: 31 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 6:04 am Post subject: |
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a bit churlish don't you think?
(and I'm English) |
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