Topic: 115 charges for the scorched earth cheating bastards on & off the pitch

[Mister Flip Flop]

No way Abu Dhabi has bought off every single journalist. I'm not up with who has actually openly criticised Man City (the list fellating them is long enough) but surely there's a journo with a pair, like David Conn, who could look into this? Or maybe one of Der Spiegel's unofficial 'friends'? You'd expect PGMOLs firewalls to be about as state of the art as their officiating.

It's group think. Journos afraid to stick their neck out in case they are looked over for promotion/fired etc...

[SamLad]

here's an example.  isn't there a name missing from the bolded bit?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/09/saudi-money-could-force-european-football-to-go-in-a-new-direction

The growth of the Saudi Pro League and its extensive transfer spending in Europe this summer are “making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money”, according to a senior figure in the European Club Association.

The ECA is the largest club membership body in Europe and holds great influence within Uefa. Its critics attack the organisation as acting in the interests of the biggest clubs but the ECA vice-chair Dariusz Mioduski, of Legia Warsaw, says the Saudi football boom has changed the landscape.

“Perhaps in a way what has happened with Saudi investment into football is actually positive,” Mioduski said. “It’s making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money.

“Those of us in smaller clubs, smaller leagues, we’ve been saying this for a while. This is a real issue in European football that there is such a concentration of money in a few leagues, particularly the Premier League, but not only there. In the past we could say easily that football was not about money. Today we can say that money is the primary factor, the primary component in success.”

Mioduski argues that current financial fair play measures are not enough to redress the imbalance between smaller leagues and those with substantial collective broadcast income. There is also concern over the funding available to clubs owned by sovereign wealth funds such as Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle. (Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG, is also the chair of the ECA.)

New Uefa rules will set a cap on spending for those in European competition relative to income, but Mioduski believes only substantial reform driven by changes in EU law can start to truly level the playing field. Talks around a European sports model between the EU and football’s regulators have begun, something which could provide a future platform for change.

“I would think that there are some concerns, especially among some of the bigger clubs, about competition from clubs owned by sovereign funds,” Mioduski said. “Perhaps the Saudi situation and the fact that the big clubs in the big leagues feel threatened will make everyone realise that football must go in a new direction.

[rob1966]

Problem is there's a difference between a sports writer and a sports journalist. Writers will likely just report what they're seeing - whether it's match reports, or general news about investigations etc. There doesn't seem to be enough of the journalist types digging in, researching, asking the uncomfortable questions etc.

You don't need to buy them all off - just enough to gain enough momentum that everyone else just goes with the flow. This bs about the refs going abroad has been reported, but it doesn't look like anyone has investigated it. Or, if they are, they're keeping very quiet until they actually find something.

Thing is, a all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi and a £20k fee can be construed as a bribe, but its in the open, so cannot be investigated.

There's nothing to stop the rulers of Abu Dhabi giving someome a £20k Breitling as a thank you gift, a Ferrari as a birthday present, a house in Dubai as a mark of thanks. All perfectly legal things that billionaires can and do do. You don't need to be secretly paying money into accounts in the Cayman Islanda via a third party, you can be public and open with your gifts.

I've seen reports that Neymar has been given Bentleys, Mercs, £400k per tweet and shit like that from the Saudis, they play by different rules.

[lfc79]

UK bribery law is pretty strict, ref's wont be receiving gifts, unless small amounts and will all be declared to the PGMOL, the issue is the very fact of them working for a country that owns a club in the premier league is a conflict of interests and carries a risk of undue influence. Do ref's who make bad decisions against Man city not get selected for the next round of jobs in Abu Dhabi or do they decide to get ref's from other leagues.
When making decisions do ref's have even unconscious bias to give man city players the benefit of the doubt more often. This is something the independent football regulator if established should investigate

[Red Beret]

Thing is, a all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi and a £20k fee can be construed as a bribe, but its in the open, so cannot be investigated.

There's nothing to stop the rulers of Abu Dhabi giving someome a £20k Breitling as a thank you gift, a Ferrari as a birthday present, a house in Dubai as a mark of thanks. All perfectly legal things that billionaires can and do do. You don't need to be secretly paying money into accounts in the Cayman Islanda via a third party, you can be public and open with your gifts.

I've seen reports that Neymar has been given Bentleys, Mercs, £400k per tweet and shit like that from the Saudis, they play by different rules.

But if you work for Revenue and Customs, you can't accept as much as a box of fucking chocolates. 

[rob1966]

But if you work for Revenue and Customs, you can't accept as much as a box of fucking chocolates. 

Thats it. Declare to PGMOL they gave you a watch, you know to a Sheik a £20k Breitling is like me giving someone a watch that cost 5p, so its not going to raise an eyebrow. They could give you 300 watches and you hand them over and then have a free christmas raffle and the watches are prizes. You pay full price for air fare, but you don't actually settle the bill, the house is free to use whenever you want to, that kind of shite.

[Red Beret]

Just another example of how PGMOL is accountable to nobody.

If the government was serious about football regulation, they would set up an independent body to oversee PGMOL rather than the Premier League. But seeing as it's the government, and it's Tories, the likes of Abu Dhabi or Saudi would barely break stride.

[Skeeve]

No way Abu Dhabi has bought off every single journalist. I'm not up with who has actually openly criticised Man City (the list fellating them is long enough) but surely there's a journo with a pair, like David Conn, who could look into this? Or maybe one of Der Spiegel's unofficial 'friends'? You'd expect PGMOLs firewalls to be about as state of the art as their officiating.

No need for them to do so. They just need to provide enough access for the hacks to report on random harmless gossip and that cuts out most of those who have articles to submit, make info on negative stories tougher to get and/or publish to reduce those who might do so even further and then you have the ones who are clearly on their payroll (or their families are) like Samuels and Richards who have large enough audiences to amplify the positive puff piece storylines over the potentially negative ones.

[RJH]

It's group think. Journos afraid to stick their neck out in case they are looked over for promotion/fired etc...

There's probably also the fact that any articles that even have a suggestion of anything untoward have City's lawyers breathing down the publisher's necks.
So then even if a journalist is interested in writing a story, their bosses make it clear they aren't interested in running it, because their bosses don't want to get stuck in a legal battle. 

[JRed]

There's probably also the fact that any articles that even have a suggestion of anything untoward have City's lawyers breathing down the publisher's necks.
So then even if a journalist is interested in writing a story, their bosses make it clear they aren't interested in running it, because their bosses don't want to get stuck in a legal battle.

Or Abu Dhabi own the companies the journalists are working for

[decosabute]

Problem is there's a difference between a sports writer and a sports journalist. Writers will likely just report what they're seeing - whether it's match reports, or general news about investigations etc. There doesn't seem to be enough of the journalist types digging in, researching, asking the uncomfortable questions etc.

You don't need to buy them all off - just enough to gain enough momentum that everyone else just goes with the flow. This bs about the refs going abroad has been reported, but it doesn't look like anyone has investigated it. Or, if they are, they're keeping very quiet until they actually find something.

A very important distinction that constantly needs to be made and emphasised when talking about football coverage.

The vast majority of those who write about football might call themselves journalists, but it's not really journalism unless they're also asking questions. Barney Ronay, for example, writes flowery (and sometimes damaging, harmful) opinion nonsense, but that is most definitely not journalism as I see it.

And I think you're 100% right that once a few are peddling the City line (I'm convinced a few writers are on the payroll, as well as the obvious Abu Dhabi employees on TV like Micah Richards), then the rest mostly just fall into line so as not to stand out. The people who run City are absolutely awful people, but they understand human nature and how to manipulate things very well.

[decosabute]

here's an example.  isn't there a name missing from the bolded bit?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/09/saudi-money-could-force-european-football-to-go-in-a-new-direction

The growth of the Saudi Pro League and its extensive transfer spending in Europe this summer are “making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money”, according to a senior figure in the European Club Association.

The ECA is the largest club membership body in Europe and holds great influence within Uefa. Its critics attack the organisation as acting in the interests of the biggest clubs but the ECA vice-chair Dariusz Mioduski, of Legia Warsaw, says the Saudi football boom has changed the landscape.

“Perhaps in a way what has happened with Saudi investment into football is actually positive,” Mioduski said. “It’s making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money.

“Those of us in smaller clubs, smaller leagues, we’ve been saying this for a while. This is a real issue in European football that there is such a concentration of money in a few leagues, particularly the Premier League, but not only there. In the past we could say easily that football was not about money. Today we can say that money is the primary factor, the primary component in success.”

Mioduski argues that current financial fair play measures are not enough to redress the imbalance between smaller leagues and those with substantial collective broadcast income. There is also concern over the funding available to clubs owned by sovereign wealth funds such as Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle. (Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG, is also the chair of the ECA.)

New Uefa rules will set a cap on spending for those in European competition relative to income, but Mioduski believes only substantial reform driven by changes in EU law can start to truly level the playing field. Talks around a European sports model between the EU and football’s regulators have begun, something which could provide a future platform for change.

“I would think that there are some concerns, especially among some of the bigger clubs, about competition from clubs owned by sovereign funds,” Mioduski said. “Perhaps the Saudi situation and the fact that the big clubs in the big leagues feel threatened will make everyone realise that football must go in a new direction.

Always find that maddening and it happens far, far too often to simply be coincidental or an honest ommission.

For a club that's literally been banned by UEFA and is current facing charges from the PL, it's incredible how much they're given an easier ride than even the other sportswashers, who themselves aren't questioned anywhere near enough either.

[mattD]

Apart from David Conn, The Guardian is in the pockets of Abu Dhabi FC. Barney Ronay the worst offender.

So much for being a paper all about 'integrity'.

[DonkeyWan]

here's an example.  isn't there a name missing from the bolded bit?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/09/saudi-money-could-force-european-football-to-go-in-a-new-direction

The growth of the Saudi Pro League and its extensive transfer spending in Europe this summer are “making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money”, according to a senior figure in the European Club Association.

The ECA is the largest club membership body in Europe and holds great influence within Uefa. Its critics attack the organisation as acting in the interests of the biggest clubs but the ECA vice-chair Dariusz Mioduski, of Legia Warsaw, says the Saudi football boom has changed the landscape.

“Perhaps in a way what has happened with Saudi investment into football is actually positive,” Mioduski said. “It’s making a lot of people realise that football is becoming too much about money.

“Those of us in smaller clubs, smaller leagues, we’ve been saying this for a while. This is a real issue in European football that there is such a concentration of money in a few leagues, particularly the Premier League, but not only there. In the past we could say easily that football was not about money. Today we can say that money is the primary factor, the primary component in success.”

Mioduski argues that current financial fair play measures are not enough to redress the imbalance between smaller leagues and those with substantial collective broadcast income. There is also concern over the funding available to clubs owned by sovereign wealth funds such as Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle. (Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG, is also the chair of the ECA.)

New Uefa rules will set a cap on spending for those in European competition relative to income, but Mioduski believes only substantial reform driven by changes in EU law can start to truly level the playing field. Talks around a European sports model between the EU and football’s regulators have begun, something which could provide a future platform for change.

“I would think that there are some concerns, especially among some of the bigger clubs, about competition from clubs owned by sovereign funds,” Mioduski said. “Perhaps the Saudi situation and the fact that the big clubs in the big leagues feel threatened will make everyone realise that football must go in a new direction.

Barney Ronay, same paper, name checks newcastle and PSG, no mention of City.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/oct/06/no-need-for-conspiracies-world-cup-2030-2034-plot-in-plain-sight

It's been clear for a while now that the papers are ducking talk of City because they're so litigous.

Frankly the English media is running scared. In contrast Irish sports casters are far more critical, but even they are beginning to mention City lawyers.

[DonkeyWan]

And in case you think thjis is being overstated

'Pannick on the Streets of London'

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/man-city-lord-pannick-premier-league-b2280867.html

And this.

https://apnews.com/man-citys-threats-to-uefa-revealed-in-leaked-documents-171b8eae53ea475e9a29569497f144f8

[stoa]

Thats it. Declare to PGMOL they gave you a watch, you know to a Sheik a £20k Breitling is like me giving someone a watch that cost 5p, so its not going to raise an eyebrow. They could give you 300 watches and you hand them over and then have a free christmas raffle and the watches are prizes. You pay full price for air fare, but you don't actually settle the bill, the house is free to use whenever you want to, that kind of shite.

Aren't refs classed as independent contractors? That might influence on what restrictions PGMOL can put on them. Clearly, if they aren't employees, PGMOL would have a difficult time telling them what kind of gifts they can and can't accept (or need to report) when they're working for a different "company".

[Red Beret]

The Saudi League isn't bound by the same rules and provisions about FFP or profit and sustainability, like UEFA or the Premier League are. They Saudi clubs are free to spend whatever their backers want to offer.

Eventually, European football will become their boutique, where they can cherry pick the absolute best talent almost at will. Ultimately, I imagine any oil country in the Middle East will be fighting for the bragging rights of owning this or that player. Only a few super-cubs, like Real Madrid and Barca, will stand a chance of retaining the best players during their peak years. The rest will be left to fight over scraps, other than the Sportswashing proxies.

[rossipersempre]

And in case you think thjis is being overstated

'Pannick on the Streets of London'

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/man-city-lord-pannick-premier-league-b2280867.html

And this.

https://apnews.com/man-citys-threats-to-uefa-revealed-in-leaked-documents-171b8eae53ea475e9a29569497f144f8

"City eventually signed the settlement agreement in May 2014, the day UEFA’s lead investigator died. Informed of the former Belgian prime minister’s death, Cliff told a colleague “1 down, 6 to go.”

Speaks volumes about the type of organisation and people they employ.

[SamLad]

Aren't refs classed as independent contractors? That might influence on what restrictions PGMOL can put on them. Clearly, if they aren't employees, PGMOL would have a difficult time telling them what kind of gifts they can and can't accept (or need to report) when they're working for a different "company".

the work independent contractors do is a representation of your organization.  so there's no reason why their contracts can't include that kind of "morals"-type clause.  in fact you'd have to be as dumb as wood NOT to include it.

but this is the PGMOL isn't it.

[taylorb1991]

https://x.com/fairsqprojects/status/1712420110495883374?s=20

Another example of just how fit and proper Manchester City's owners are. I'm sure their vile fans will find a way of defending this.

[Solomon Grundy]

I see our game has been moved to 12.30pm Saturday kick-off time after the GMP complained about the original kick-off time being at 5.30pm that day. So basically, we've been fucked over again.

[BoRed]

I see our game has been moved to 12.30pm Saturday kick-off time after the GMP complained about the original kick-off time being at 5.30pm that day. So basically, we've been fucked over again.

Brazil v Argentina, Uruguay v Bolivia and Paraguay v Colombia all on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning) that week. Bound to affect us more than them.

Also, we played them in late or evening kickoffs before, don't remember any trouble. We don't cause problems, and they don't have any fans anyway.

[Solomon Grundy]

Brazil v Argentina, Uruguay v Bolivia and Paraguay v Colombia all on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning) that week. Bound to affect us more than them.

Also, we played them in late or evening kickoffs before, don't remember any trouble. We don't cause problems, and they don't have any fans anyway.

 It's a joke isn't it mate? I hope we kick up a stink over this. Can't see Jurgen being happy.

[Hazell]

It's a joke isn't it mate? I hope we kick up a stink over this. Can't see Jurgen being happy.

Bit of a joke now, it's literally every single international break.

[Zlen]

We can’t accept this surely?

[FiSh77]

The cheating c*nts play Leipzig the following Tuesday while we play LASK on the Thursday, they had no problem last season making us play late on a Saturday at least twice before a Tuesday European cup game, Leeds at home before Napoli which I think was a night game and not even in the tea time slot and then the other cheating c*nts away before the home leg against Real, should be no problem playing this game Saturday tea time or even a later kick off, the cheating c*nts will qualify anyway so not like it's gonna fuck them up

[kavah]

I see our game has been moved to 12.30pm Saturday kick-off time after the GMP complained about the original kick-off time being at 5.30pm that day. So basically, we've been fucked over again.

Fucking hell, it's insane how we keep getting fucked over by TV and the Greater Manchester Police - the fucking dickheads

[Solomon Grundy]

I may be getting a little paranoid, but there seems like there is a bit of an effort from certain quarters to completely ruin our season.

[Tokyoite]

It's honestly getting harder and harder to believe this is all a coincidence and we are simply unlucky..

[Solomon Grundy]

This, plus the level of officiating thats been against us already this season. Somebody wants us finished.

[Crosby Nick]

Fucking hell, it's insane how we keep getting fucked over by TV and the Greater Manchester Police - the fucking dickheads

Don’t pile on me but are they using last season’s League Cup game as a reason for why they wanted an earlier kick off?

[Zlen]

What I want to know is, how come in any considerations over kickoff times - two main elements of a football match, fans and players - are last ones to be considered (by that I mean they aren't considered at all)? What fucking gives? Everyone gets to have a say before fans and players.

[redtel]

So if it moves to 12.30pm k.o. will it still be shown on Sky as they have the 5.30pm slot.

TNT have the early Sat k.o. normally? How is that being resolved as TNT would have to show their game at another time?

[Solomon Grundy]

Arsenal was meant to be playing at 12.30pm. The games have been swapped. Their game is now at 5.30pm instead.

[JRed]

I may be getting a little paranoid, but there seems like there is a bit of an effort from certain quarters to completely ruin our season.

Imagine anyone still thinking the game isn’t corrupted.

[pathetic]

I may be getting a little paranoid, but there seems like there is a bit of an effort from certain quarters to completely ruin our season.

Consider this as the second installment of the payback for daring to question the referees a couple of weeks ago. The only thing we can do is to use it as fuel and beat this lot anyway, even if it means we start the game a goal or two down.

[MH41]

Where is all this confirmed? I can't see it anywhere.

[Wghennessy]

I may be getting a little paranoid, but there seems like there is a bit of an effort from certain quarters to completely ruin our season.

We have more then double the amount of 1230s after international games. Its completely intentional.

A few more then fine, coincidence but over double? Nah not buying it.

[Legs]

It's honestly getting harder and harder to believe this is all a coincidence and we are simply unlucky..

Correct we are one of the biggest clubs in the world and we are getting fucked over EVERY season.

Now do you think Barca/Madrid would get this treatment in La Liga ??

I think you should only get one 12.30pm kick off after a break each season and that applies to everyone.

We'll probably get the one in March too if we are challenging.

[Dim Glas]

I see our game has been moved to 12.30pm Saturday kick-off time after the GMP complained about the original kick-off time being at 5.30pm that day. So basically, we've been fucked over again.

they should tell the GMP to fuck off, and concentrate on doing their job better if they can’t cope with a 5.30pm kickoff.