no more mr nice guy
I don’t follow football, I support Preston North End. Boom Boom.
I know I’ve used that before but it is true to say that I’m not really all that bothered about the beautiful game anymore. Mind, having said that I still felt strangely attracted to the World Cup draw for the 2018 event in Russia and I wasn’t disappointed. No, it wasn’t the leggy Soviet beauties in those ridiculous sci-fi costumes, or the irony of Diego’s ‘hand of God’ placing England in such an easy group but seeing me ol’ mucker (we once shared a barber’s chair dontchaknow), Gary Lineker, betraying everything I thought he held dear.
Lucrative Walker’s crisps contract notwithstanding, I’ve always thought of Gary as being a bit of and all-round good egg, a salt (and vinegar) of the earth geezer and one who certainly wasn’t afraid of calling out the crooks & charlatans within Fifa. In fact, I’d go as far to say that the ex-greengrocer has been the most forthright, celebrated and outspoken ‘insider’ critic of the deeply dodgy organisation. Fifa’s “nauseating corruption” apparently made him feel physically sick, he openly advised all “clean” countries to boycott both the Russian and Qatari competitions, and suggested we all kick “the pr*cks” out of the game. Way to go, Gary!
And then, cue the drum roll, he’s on billions of television screens, cheek by jowl with said corrupt executives, giving it large as the public face of World Cup Russia 2018. This at a time when the country remains suspended for state-sponsored doping and Fifa have yet to answer any of the charges levelled at them.
Junior Des, it appears, has conveniently had a change of heart, as is an individual’s prerogative, and explained the “new Fifa is a good Fifa” and he sees only “good football people”. Ah, OK, that’s alright then. Furthermore, he doesn’t see his role as either overly supportive or political. Gotcha, Gary. Has no-one mentioned that, less than two months ago, the former UH High Commissioner described the entity as “an institution whose officials violate the norms and standards of good conduct”? I honestly expected better of the man.
