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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

The Gator said:
B Maverick said:
I miss the days when everyone assumed the refs were in United's team selection and not in whoever's they are playing against...
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Does this prove that that Fergie had a big say/hold on the refs? Can't just be a coincidence that things change this drastically when he leaves. :tinfoilhat:
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I think there was pretty clearly an intimidation factor. He was like an active living legend and never afraid to throw that weight around. I doubt any referee went out with the intention of making favorable calls, but they are still human.

 
derek245583 said:
So, I heard that Qatar isnt going to happen. That means we might get it? Do I understand that correctly?
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If Qatar does lose it (which I think is a long shot), the US is a strong bet to get it either by a revote or by giving it to the US for coming in second in the original corrupted vote.

 
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29309391

World Cup 2018 & 2022 report could prompt charges - MP

A report into alleged corruption at Fifa, football's world governing body, could lead to criminal charges, a Conservative MP believes.

Damian Collins has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to request a copy of the report into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

American lawyer Michael Garcia filed his report this month, but Fifa says its contents will not be made public.

Collins believes it may provide evidence of criminal activity.

"Fifa seems to believe it is a self-governing body that operates outside the jurisdiction of international and national law-enforcement agencies," writes Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe.

"I do not believe this is the case and that if it holds information that indicates that offences may have been committed, this must be shared with the relevant law-enforcement agencies."

Collins copied his letter, addressed to SFO director David Green, to the Attorney General and Solicitor General.

A spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office said: "We note the contents of this letter and will respond in due course."

The 2018 World Cup was awarded by Fifa to Russia in 2010, with the 2022 event handed to Qatar at the same time.

The Qatar 2022 bid committee is facing claims of corruption after the Sunday Times alleged in June that former Fifa vice-president Mohamed bin Hammam paid £3m to football officials around the world in return for support for the bid.

The Qatari bid committee denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Garcia interviewed more than 75 witnesses in the course of his investigation, and has recommended further action against individuals and made proposals for future bidding processes.

Fifa's ethics chief Hans-Joachim Eckert said a decision on the findings of Garcia's report would not be likely until next spring.

Play media

He also told BBC Sport the information contained in the report would "never" be made public.

Meanwhile, Fifa executive committee member Theo Zwanziger has predicted the 2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar because of its climate.

Summer temperatures in the Middle Eastern country can reach as high as 50C.

"Medics say they cannot accept responsibility with a World Cup taking place under these conditions," the German told Sport Bild.

"Fans from around the world will be coming and travelling in this heat and the first life-threatening case will trigger an investigation by a state prosecutor. That is not something that Fifa Exco members want to answer for."

Earlier this year, Fifa president Sepp Blatter admitted it was a mistake to choose Qatar and said the tournament would be moved to winter.

A medical report submitted to Fifa members as part of the bidding process warned of the searing temperatures.

However, in response to Zwanziger's comments, Nasser Al Khater, executive director of communications and marketing for the supreme committee for delivery and legacy said: "Qatar will host the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

"The only question now is when, not if. Summer or winter, we will be ready."
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I know there are not many women soccer fans so I will put this article in spoilers but it is getting a lot of pub. It deals with US Soccer's and NIKE's response to letting Hope Solo play despite her domestic abuse charge

U.S. Soccer defended its decision to let Hope Solo continue to play for the women's national team despite her arrest for assaulting her sister and 17-year-old nephew in June.

In a statement issued Monday night, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said the federation would stand by its decision to allow due process to take its course before ruling on Solo's national team status.

"From the beginning, we considered the information available and have taken a deliberate and thoughtful approach regarding Hope Solo's status with the National Team," Gulati said. "Based on that information, U.S. Soccer stands by our decision to allow her to participate with the team as the legal process unfolds. If new information becomes available we will carefully consider it."

The statement was issued hours after the U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun called the allegations against Solo "disturbing and inconsistent with our expectations of Olympians," but he stopped short of saying she should face immediate disciplinary action from the team.

"We have had discussions with U.S. Soccer and fully expect them to take action if it is determined that the allegations are true," Blackmun told USA Today Sports in an email.

Nike also issued a statement Monday standing by the U.S. goalkeeper pending her legal situation.

"We are aware of the allegations and that Hope Solo has pled "not guilty" to the charges. Hope remains a Nike athlete and we will continue to monitor the situation," the statement said.

Solo pleaded not guilty to two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence in June and is scheduled for trial on Nov. 4. She faces up to six months in jail if convicted.

She is accused of assaulting her sister and 17-year-old nephew at her sister's home in suburban Seattle early Saturday. Her lawyer claims the goalkeeper was a victim in the altercation.

Solo's November trial date means Solo won't miss time with the Seattle Reign of the National Women's Soccer League or October's CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

"I understand that, as a public figure, I am held to a higher standard of conduct," Solo said at the time. "I take seriously my responsibilities as a role model and sincerely apologize to everyone I have disappointed."

Solo, 32, has won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women's national team. She last appeared for the U.S. in a 1-0 victory over France on June 14 in Tampa, Florida.
 
Native said:
NewlyRetired said:
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29309391

World Cup 2018 & 2022 report could prompt charges - MP

A spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office said
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The fact this has been escalated all the way to the Serious Fraud Office is a tell tale sign.
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Well yeah. This is way outside the pay grade of the Silly Fraud Office and has even shot past the abilities of both the Amiable Fraud Office and the Easily Distracted Fraud Office.

 
Watching Uniteds debacle finally. :lmao: so bad.

So even though I knew the score, at 3-3 LVG subs in Janujaz, and I was still thinking wtf?

Credit to Leicester though. But wow Rafael got screwed. Fouledand then and

 
El Floppo said:
Watching Uniteds debacle finally. :lmao: so bad.

So even though I knew the score, at 3-3 LVG subs in Janujaz, and I was still thinking wtf?

Credit to Leicester though. But wow Rafael got screwed. Fouledand then and
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Finally watched this tonight, too. Blind is slooow, or looks really slow in the middle of the field. They are screwed with their CBs, there just isn't a pair on the tea, that you can put there with any confidence. Yeah, terrible call on Rafael and he's the one who was fouled seconds earlier.

Rooney might not be totally in sync or on his game, but he ran his ### off that game. On the last goal when Mata got picked, he was the only United player sprinting back to help.

 
T Bell said:
I do think FIFA wants an return WC in the States. The US has a minimum of infrastructure to build specifically for the event, and so people can just focus on making money and not worrying about the construction headaches. We also as a nation organize and stage big events well, and we don't have the security issues that other places have. That's all relevant to FIFA.

The other thing is that FIFA will want to cement soccer as a big deal here in follow up to 1994. The American market is massive potentially, and very rich.
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This. I'm not sure why anyone would think FIFA doesn't want a WC here ASAP. 1994 remains the most-attended WC and the 2014 ratings and growth rate both have got FIFA dreaming of $$. It would also hasten the day soccer is a "big" sport in the US, which benefits everyone involved one way or another. Throw in the fact that there's a surplus of infrastructure and they know the event will go off without an organizational hitch and it starts to look like a slam dunk IMO.

 
wdcrob said:
T Bell said:
I do think FIFA wants an return WC in the States. The US has a minimum of infrastructure to build specifically for the event, and so people can just focus on making money and not worrying about the construction headaches. We also as a nation organize and stage big events well, and we don't have the security issues that other places have. That's all relevant to FIFA.

The other thing is that FIFA will want to cement soccer as a big deal here in follow up to 1994. The American market is massive potentially, and very rich.
Click to expand...
This. I'm not sure why anyone would think FIFA doesn't want a WC here ASAP. 1994 remains the most-attended WC and the 2014 ratings and growth rate both have got FIFA dreaming of $$. It would also hasten the day soccer is a "big" sport in the US, which benefits everyone involved one way or another. Throw in the fact that there's a surplus of infrastructure and they know the event will go off without an organizational hitch and it starts to look like a slam dunk IMO.
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I would guess that FIFA executives profited more handsomely from the Brazil, Russia and Qatar bids than they will ever see from a US bid.

 
The Bundesliga table after week 4

SC Paderborn 2-2-0 7:2 +5 8Mainz 05 2-2-0 7:3 +4 81899 Hoffenheim 2-2-0 6:2 +4 8Bayern München 2-2-0 5:2 +3 8Bayer Leverkusen 2-1-1 10:9 +1 7Hannover 96 2-1-1 4:3 +1 7If everyone is thinking that Bayern is going to run away with the league, then they are missing their chances to get a lead on them now.If it stays this tight for long and Bayern gets going, they will pull away quickly. I'm hoping for this, naturally.

 
Sinn Fein said:
wdcrob said:
T Bell said:
I do think FIFA wants an return WC in the States. The US has a minimum of infrastructure to build specifically for the event, and so people can just focus on making money and not worrying about the construction headaches. We also as a nation organize and stage big events well, and we don't have the security issues that other places have. That's all relevant to FIFA.

The other thing is that FIFA will want to cement soccer as a big deal here in follow up to 1994. The American market is massive potentially, and very rich.
Click to expand...
This. I'm not sure why anyone would think FIFA doesn't want a WC here ASAP. 1994 remains the most-attended WC and the 2014 ratings and growth rate both have got FIFA dreaming of $$. It would also hasten the day soccer is a "big" sport in the US, which benefits everyone involved one way or another. Throw in the fact that there's a surplus of infrastructure and they know the event will go off without an organizational hitch and it starts to look like a slam dunk IMO.
Click to expand...
I would guess that FIFA executives profited more handsomely from the Brazil, Russia and Qatar bids than they will ever see from a US bid.
Click to expand...
They also care a lot more about sponsorships and TV revenue than US attendance (which is one and only reason Qatar still might not happen). You want a US WC again, you need Visa, Coke, Adidas, Emirates, Hyundai, and Sony to say so.

 
Mjolnirs said:
The Bundesliga table after week 4

SC Paderborn 2-2-0 7:2 +5 8Mainz 05 2-2-0 7:3 +4 81899 Hoffenheim 2-2-0 6:2 +4 8Bayern München 2-2-0 5:2 +3 8Bayer Leverkusen 2-1-1 10:9 +1 7Hannover 96 2-1-1 4:3 +1 7If everyone is thinking that Bayern is going to run away with the league, then they are missing their chances to get a lead on them now.If it stays this tight for long and Bayern gets going, they will pull away quickly. I'm hoping for this, naturally.
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Good preview of the game today.

The last one is good.

 
Sammy3469 said:
NewlyRetired said:
Toronto FC is holding a ceremony today to kick off the massive renovations of BMO Field. The renderings look really nice.http://www.torontosun.com/2014/09/22/toronto-fcs-stadium-set-to-undergo-massive-renovations
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What's the biggest SSS these days? 30K seems largish and that definitely looks like a great facility.
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Largest capacity is StubHub at 27k. They can fit 30k when they use the grass hill for ever flow. The 30k was more chosen for the possible CFL sharing deal I think in Toronto.

 
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The Gator said:
Autumn Wind said:
Is Swansea/Everton airing or streaming anywhere reasonably accessible today?
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I think Bein carries the league cup
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This is what they are showing today

English League Cup LIVERPOOL-MIDDLESBROUGH (delay) 4 pm.

English League Cup ARSENAL-SOUTHAMPTON (delay) 7 pm.

I have not seen the Everton game listed anywhere so Autumn will have to look on the normal sketchy streaming sites to find a link.

 
If you are a sports fan, Kevin Johnson might be the greatest mayor ever. This article talks about how he has helped Sacramento come from no where to being now close to an MLS expansion team. It obviously helps that some how they looked to have uncovered a Portland like fan base that no one knew about.

If you get the idea Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson knows what he's doing running the full-court press he's currently putting on MLS, it's because he does.

Sacramento -- with no track record of soccer success until the arrival of USL PRO's Republic FC in 2014 -- has come out of nowhere to jump to the head of the MLS expansion line. If it is awarded what could be the 24th and final slot in the 24-team league MLS envisions by 2020, it will almost be as stunning as the successful effort Johnson engineered to save the NBA Kings.

For years, the Kings were rumored to headed out of Sacramento. Anaheim and Virginia Beach were mentioned as possible destinations. But then a group headed by then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen came forward to buy the Kings from the Maloof family and move them to Seattle. The NBA even announced it had an agreement to sell the Kings, but the same day in January 2013 Johnson cautioned Seattle fans, "Don't celebrate too early."

Johnson, a three-time NBA all-star guard, had to come up with a Sacramento investor group that could match the Seattle offer for the equivalent of $525 million. And he had to come up with a plan to build a new arena. But most of all, he had to show NBA owners Sacramento wanted basketball.

Johnson assembled a 35-person Sacramento investor group -- his "whales" as he called them -- led by Vivek Ranadive from Silicon Valley. They paid an NBA record of over $534 million for the Kings and he got the city to agree to build a 17,500-seat arena at a cost of $477 million as part of a new entertainment district.

Think Big Sacramento, a lobbying outfit headed by Chris Lehane, famous for his p.r. work for Bill Clinton (he authored the "Vast right-wing conspiracy" espoused by Hillary Clinton in the late 1990s) and Al Gore (he described Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris as "acting in the finest tradition of a Soviet commissar" during the 2000 Florida recount), was hired to woo NBA owners.

Within four months, NBA owners voted 22-8 to keep the Kings in Sacramento. (But not before the Seattle group twice upped its bid and also offered to kick in more than $100 million in "relocation money" to be spread among the 29 other NBA owners. Ballmer has since purchased the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion.)

The cost to bring MLS to Sacramento will likely be a fraction of the $1 billion price tag to keep the Kings in town: $100 million to pay for the expansion fee and another $100 million to build a soccer stadium. But the elements of Sacramento's MLS expansion bid are the same as those of Johnson's NBA campaign.

Kevin Nagle, the largest local investor in the Kings investor group, is just one of several "whales" who've also signed on for the soccer bid. The proposed soccer stadium is located in the Sacramento railyards, just blocks away from where the Kings' arena is going up. And Johnson has brought back Lehane and Think Big Sacramento to handle the lobbying effort. (Yes, MLS expansion bids have gone, well, big-time.)

The Sacramento bid is no slam dunk, to borrow another basketball phrase. The investor group and stadium financing plan must all be fully flushed out. Right now, Sacramento's biggest competition appears to be Minnesota, where one of the two MLS bidders are the NFL Vikings. Like the successful MLS Atlanta 2017 bid, the Vikings' project has the advantage of single deep pockets (co-owners Zygi and Mark Wilf) and an NFL stadium project (to the tune of more than $1 billion) that will incorporate soccer.

But there is a lot to like about the Sacramento bid. "I leave incredibly impressed with what we've seen," said MLS president Mark Abbott -- by sheer coincidence a ball boy for the old Minnesota Kicks of the NASL -- of the reception he and his MLS staff received last week in Sacramento.

As expansion bids go, Minnesota is to Atlanta what Sacramento is to Orlando. Indeed, there are lots of similarities between Sacramento and Orlando, beginning with the USL PRO roots of Republic FC and Orlando City.

Both markets are similar in size -- Orlando is No. 18 among metropolitan markets and Sacramento is No. 20. Both cities have NBA teams, but both are top 20 markets without NFL or MLB teams. The mayors of both cities -- Buddy Dyer for Orlando and Johnson for Sacramento -- have driven their MLS bids. And they are both putting soccer at the forefront in entertainment districts as part of downtown revitalization projects.

Abbott has said one only had to look at the Orlando soccer stadium project within that city's downtown entertainment core to see how it all felt right. The same could be said for what Johnson is pushing in Sacramento.

It's said Orlando City, having just completed its third USL PRO season when it was awarded an expansion franchise last fall, came out of nowhere to become MLS's 21st team. But that is nothing like longshot Sacramento Republic FC was until recently.

Sacramento, which will conclude its first season by hosting Saturday's USL PRO final, could -- to borrow one last phrase from Kevin Johnson's former profession -- steal MLS's final expansion slot.
Click to expand...
 
NewlyRetired said:
If you are a sports fan, Kevin Johnson might be the greatest mayor ever. This article talks about how he has helped Sacramento come from no where to being now close to an MLS expansion team. It obviously helps that some how they looked to have uncovered a Portland like fan base that no one knew about.

If you get the idea Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson knows what he's doing running the full-court press he's currently putting on MLS, it's because he does.

Sacramento -- with no track record of soccer success until the arrival of USL PRO's Republic FC in 2014 -- has come out of nowhere to jump to the head of the MLS expansion line. If it is awarded what could be the 24th and final slot in the 24-team league MLS envisions by 2020, it will almost be as stunning as the successful effort Johnson engineered to save the NBA Kings.

For years, the Kings were rumored to headed out of Sacramento. Anaheim and Virginia Beach were mentioned as possible destinations. But then a group headed by then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen came forward to buy the Kings from the Maloof family and move them to Seattle. The NBA even announced it had an agreement to sell the Kings, but the same day in January 2013 Johnson cautioned Seattle fans, "Don't celebrate too early."

Johnson, a three-time NBA all-star guard, had to come up with a Sacramento investor group that could match the Seattle offer for the equivalent of $525 million. And he had to come up with a plan to build a new arena. But most of all, he had to show NBA owners Sacramento wanted basketball.

Johnson assembled a 35-person Sacramento investor group -- his "whales" as he called them -- led by Vivek Ranadive from Silicon Valley. They paid an NBA record of over $534 million for the Kings and he got the city to agree to build a 17,500-seat arena at a cost of $477 million as part of a new entertainment district.

Think Big Sacramento, a lobbying outfit headed by Chris Lehane, famous for his p.r. work for Bill Clinton (he authored the "Vast right-wing conspiracy" espoused by Hillary Clinton in the late 1990s) and Al Gore (he described Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris as "acting in the finest tradition of a Soviet commissar" during the 2000 Florida recount), was hired to woo NBA owners.

Within four months, NBA owners voted 22-8 to keep the Kings in Sacramento. (But not before the Seattle group twice upped its bid and also offered to kick in more than $100 million in "relocation money" to be spread among the 29 other NBA owners. Ballmer has since purchased the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion.)

The cost to bring MLS to Sacramento will likely be a fraction of the $1 billion price tag to keep the Kings in town: $100 million to pay for the expansion fee and another $100 million to build a soccer stadium. But the elements of Sacramento's MLS expansion bid are the same as those of Johnson's NBA campaign.

Kevin Nagle, the largest local investor in the Kings investor group, is just one of several "whales" who've also signed on for the soccer bid. The proposed soccer stadium is located in the Sacramento railyards, just blocks away from where the Kings' arena is going up. And Johnson has brought back Lehane and Think Big Sacramento to handle the lobbying effort. (Yes, MLS expansion bids have gone, well, big-time.)

The Sacramento bid is no slam dunk, to borrow another basketball phrase. The investor group and stadium financing plan must all be fully flushed out. Right now, Sacramento's biggest competition appears to be Minnesota, where one of the two MLS bidders are the NFL Vikings. Like the successful MLS Atlanta 2017 bid, the Vikings' project has the advantage of single deep pockets (co-owners Zygi and Mark Wilf) and an NFL stadium project (to the tune of more than $1 billion) that will incorporate soccer.

But there is a lot to like about the Sacramento bid. "I leave incredibly impressed with what we've seen," said MLS president Mark Abbott -- by sheer coincidence a ball boy for the old Minnesota Kicks of the NASL -- of the reception he and his MLS staff received last week in Sacramento.

As expansion bids go, Minnesota is to Atlanta what Sacramento is to Orlando. Indeed, there are lots of similarities between Sacramento and Orlando, beginning with the USL PRO roots of Republic FC and Orlando City.

Both markets are similar in size -- Orlando is No. 18 among metropolitan markets and Sacramento is No. 20. Both cities have NBA teams, but both are top 20 markets without NFL or MLB teams. The mayors of both cities -- Buddy Dyer for Orlando and Johnson for Sacramento -- have driven their MLS bids. And they are both putting soccer at the forefront in entertainment districts as part of downtown revitalization projects.

Abbott has said one only had to look at the Orlando soccer stadium project within that city's downtown entertainment core to see how it all felt right. The same could be said for what Johnson is pushing in Sacramento.

It's said Orlando City, having just completed its third USL PRO season when it was awarded an expansion franchise last fall, came out of nowhere to become MLS's 21st team. But that is nothing like longshot Sacramento Republic FC was until recently.

Sacramento, which will conclude its first season by hosting Saturday's USL PRO final, could -- to borrow one last phrase from Kevin Johnson's former profession -- steal MLS's final expansion slot.
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Click to expand...
I think you mean if you're a rich person looking for subsidies to build a stadium (i.e. handouts) he might be the greatest mayor ever, but that's none of my business.

 
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