NEXT UP … WORLD PEACE
Considering it took them just three years to eliminate racism from football, the Fiver can’t help but feel that, rather than hastily disband the task force they assigned to the job, Fifa might be better advised to put this crack team to work sorting out the many other problems pertaining to colour that continue to blight the game: half-and-half friendship scarves, Sunderland’s emetic mauve and purple third kit and the glaring lack of consistency that means some Premier League referees brandish circular red cards while others prefer rectangular ones.
Set up by Sepp Blatter in 2013 to tackle the pressing issue of racism and discrimination in football, Fifa’s website announced at the time that the group “has been tasked with identifying tougher sanctions on the one hand and initiatives in the area of education and prevention on the other, in order to eradicate this scourge on the beautiful game”. Despite several hiccups, most notably the arrest on charges of corruption of its head, Jeffrey Webb, Fifa has now declared the task force dissolved on the grounds that its work is done. An impressive achievement by any standards, not least when you consider the force tasked with the job didn’t gather for a single meeting for two of the three years of its existence.
The task force was officially disbanded by Gerd Dembowski, who glories in the title of Fifa’s diversity and anti-discrimination manager and must surely be worried for his own future following the elimination of discrimination and bigotry of every kind in the world of football. “I wish I could say that I am shocked by the decision, but unfortunately I am not,” task force member, lawyer and journalist Osasu Obayiuwana said on Sunday. “The problem of racism in football remains a burning, very serious and topical one, which need continuous attention.”
With the next World Cup slated to take place in Russia, traditionally a hotbed of racism in football until Fifa sorted it all out, some cynics have suggested that disbanding the task force responsible for solving the problem might have been a tad premature. Speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester, Fifa’s secretary general, Fatma Samoura, was keen to stress that while the group no longer exists, her employers will continue to act on their recommendations. She also promised that Fifa would commit itself to combatting “not only racism but any kind of discrimination including violation of human rights”. So, some good news there for the put-upon of this world, not least the families of the many hundreds of migrant workers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while helping to prepare Qatar for another of Fifa’s harmonious global jamborees.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE TONIGHT!
Follow Burnley 1-1 Watford with Simon Burnton’s minute-by-minute report at 8pm.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We need to get a better team, it’s as simple as that” – Sunderland boss David Moyes has his eureka moment.
FOOTBALL WEEKLY LIVE!
AC Jimbo and his pod squad have been allowed to return to London’s London Palladium, and tickets are now available for their show on 15 November. Meanwhile, you can listen to the latest Football Weekly podcast here, while we’ve also still got tickets available for Amy Lawrence’s chin-wag with Ian Wright.
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• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our letter o’the day is … Ed Taylor, who wins a copy of Nige Tassell’s excellent book, The Bottom Corner, courtesy of the kind people at Penguin.
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BITS AND BOBS
PSG controversy-magnet Serge Aurier says he will appeal against the two-month prison sentence handed down to him by a French judge for allegedly introducing an elbow to a French bizzie’s throat outside a trendy Paris nightspot.
Leyton Orient manager Andy Hessenthaler is now former Leyton Orient manager Andy Hessenthaler after being given a hefty shove through the door marked Do One after just 16 games in charge.
Manchester City wrapped up their first ever Women’s Super League title with a 2-0 win over Chelsea, losing just one match all season. “It’s a very special feeling, and to win it on our own ground in front of a record crowd [4,096] was unbelievable,” cheered Steph Houghton.
Kevin De Bruyne is out of action for around a month with hamstring-twang! but Pep Guardiola has urged Raheem Sterling to step into his shoes. “Kevin is not going to play the next games and now we need to keep going and win the games without him. We have to do that,” he parped. “Raheem feels that.”
Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with plain old knee-knack. “He left the stadium in a brace, so that’s the one negative. I’m a bit worried for that,” sniffed Arsène Wenger.
And Taxpayers FC’s generosity knows no bounds, according to Mark Noble, who could see the funny side of their 3-0 defeat by Southampton. Sort of.
STILL WANT MORE?
Son shines and Barkley chases shadows – feast your eyes on these 10 Premier League talking points.
“If Fifa’s anti-racism taskforce has ‘completely fulfilled’ its mission, what the hell was its mission in the first place?” Archie Bland piles in on the powers that be.
Jacob Steinberg somehow managed to condense all of West Ham’s problems into five neat bulletpoints, for your reading pleasure/woe.
The Rooster, the Rooster, the Rooster’s on fire! Paolo Bandini is hot for Andrea Belotti in this week’s Serie A blog.
Mikel Balenziaga – aka Spain’s answer to Tony Hibbert – finally scored a goal after 10 years of trying. Sid Lowe gets the bunting out.
Millwall one, Mysterious off-shore owned property developer nil, chants Barney Ronay.
Former Nigeria and Everton striker Daniel Amokachi is a manager of semi-professional JS Hercules in Finland, where he was first greeted with -38C conditions. But he’s warmed to the place, he tells Nick Ames.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to NYC, in our MLS wrap by Dave Martinez and Graham Ruthven.
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