The article is nothing but a bunch of innuendos and Amplification of political hatred of Russia, receiving fever pitch in American politics, like supposed meddling in elections (loughably, for example, by two ladies who came as tourists and after "organizing Black Lives Matter demonstrations" pitched Americans against each other causing election of Trimp). The conclusion is not that Russia won. It is that America lost. And not just by not qualifying. NY Times should not give a platform to these over-politicized comments. This is just a game. Relax and watch, forget politics.
S
4
It is surprising and disappointing that this article does not mention Andrew Jennings, the UK reporter whose dogged pursuit of FIFA over many years powerfully enabled the FBI's move against Sepp Blatter's crew. Mr. Steele was hardly the only investigator on the FIFA case, and Jennings got there first and deepest. He will be remembered as one of the greatest figures in sports journalism, not only for his work on FIFA, but for his prior investigations of the International Olympic Committee. I hope that the author's book will correct the oversight of this article.
3
As a child I would read with pleasure of the victories of the Soviet Union against the Nazi invaders.
Even as an adult I'd enjoy reading of the victory at Stalingrad or the blaring of Shostakovich's music in Leningrad so that the Germans could hear it.
But, now there's different victories for Russia. The country that one American president, with total hubris, named a regional power is widely suspected of having influenced an American election.
Getting the World Cup to be played in Russian seems minor to having had, seemingly some influence, in electing a 'moron,' in the words of his own Secretary of State, as the president of your enemy country.
3
Do you all know that Russia is a distraction from the great I nequality that has continued to grow since the 1980s?
That those big banks that rise among us are drowning us in personal debt? But go ahead, live by compound interest, die by it.
1
To reward Russia and Putin with the honor of hosting the World Cup speaks to what a disturbingly dark place the world is in right now.
2
The New England Patriots stole the Superbowl for years without punishment.
1
None of this should suprise anyone given an ongoing,ever present, absence of personal accountability, for individuals as well as systems and organizations, globally, as a value, ethic and norm. A personal challenge remains,if one chooses... experiencing the power of outrage and using it, alone as well as with others, to make a needed, helpful, difference. No matter its size, shape, temporality. Taking a step out of toxic complacency.Abstaining and distancing oneself from a WE-THEY daily, violating, weltanshauung. Seeding and harvesting menschlichkeit. Discerning mantras.Taking personal responsibility for helping to uncover relevant facts, and then helping to actually use them. Effectively. And learning from the outcomes. Being willing to fail, and then to "fail better," the next timeS. One does not need Steele's documented memos, whatever their validity, to steel ourselves to learn to effectively plan. Do. Assess. Learn from...Begin again. Continue. Etc. Etc. Personal accountability being more than a longish-string-of-letters. The choice is ours.
1
Who cares if they did? Better them wasting their nation's tax dollars than mine. I don't ever want to see one of these legalized robberies of tax dollars - World Cup, Olympics, sports stadiums, et al. - where I live. Athletics is a hobby as far as I'm concerned. And no tax dollars should ever be supporting hobbies.
1
An interesting story on exposing the corruption in FIFA and Russia. We need a similar effort by the FBI in the collusion and corruption of the NCAA, shoe companies, college coaches, and agents. How they manipulate, abuse, suck the life from and discard many young powerless athletes is a scandal that continues to fly below our radar.
4
Did Russia steal the World Cup? Did Russia steal the United States Presidency? Of course they did. So what are we going to do about it, now that we know? We must stop analyzing the situation and take action against Russia. Otherwise, we are just playing into Putin's hands.
2
This article begins by describing retire MI6 agent Christopher Steele being hired by "a group of wealthy individuals and corporations supporting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup" and then seems aghast that Russians operated in a similar manner.
In the same oblivious vein (or vain!), the writer is aghast that after "one of the largest and most ambitious investigations of international graft and money laundering in American history, one that would expose decades of deep-seated rot and corruption in global soccer", that "Russia", whose interest in FIFA began only in 2010, was never mentioned.
This article might have mentioned what "collusive, corrupting, scandalous" players actually were involved.
2
>>Mr. Steele had been hired...
>>In the early 1990s, he had worked undercover in Moscow...
They purchased a spy)) And they say about 'corruption' in Russia))
1
yes, steele uncovered russian corruption. what's your issue here?
5
Boycott.
2
Hitler was allowed to host the Olympics in 1936...just as the Holocaust was unfolding. And it's a disgrace that Russia's genocidal dicator Vlad Putin is hosting the World Cup. But FIFA is defined by its corruption...more than by than anything else. Thus, child-minded adult men will play a children's game to entertain the child-minded masses to enrich the soul-less rich and powerful...and the NY Times is also promoting the World Cup, another disgrace.
1
Jay
World Cup doesn't need the Times.People in different times zones rarely sleep during the carnival to get a glimpse of the beautiful game.Box office ticket sales dip.Major cultural and political events get postponed.Traffic gets lighter.Stores close early and so on.Follow the spectacle. You will be remiss as a citizen of thus planet if you skip this dazzling display of the beautiful game.
4
An earlier comment said this about Putin: "He does however share a weakness with many of his Russian comrades; a weakness that the West can exploit: he loves showing off because he feels he's not getting enough respect."
He also shares that trait with Trump. Perhaps it's why they get along so well (besides that "pee tape"). Both are desperate for what they define as "respect", neither is worthy of it and their now constant, increasingly desperate, attempts are making the world a much more dangerous place. We will soon be back to the 17th century where hurt feelings and bruised egos were considered Casus Belli by despots. But now, instead of massed troops with muskets we'll have nukes.
5
Seriously? To say that Russia has no soccer tradition to speak of is inane –– the current World Cup record for individual scoring in a game is held by former Russian player Oleg Salenko (5 goals, against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup game played in Palo Alto - I was fortunate enough to be there); and the greatest goalkeeper of all time is still considered to be Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin (an excellent article about him can be currently read on the BBC Football web page). Yes, I intend to buy Ken Bensinger's book because I'm a soccer-obsessed fan and former player who was grateful to see FIFA corruption prosecuted, but he didn't really need to pen an opportunistic, self-promoting op-ed piece capitalizing on current geopolitical sentiments to get my attention. Is this really the NY Times idea of coverage for the 2018 World Cup?
2
when it was discovered that a football foundation linked to Mr. Abramovich, Mr. Putin’s oligarch pal, destroyed the Russia bid team’s computers. (A FIFA report released last year cleared the bid team of any wrongdoing.)
And in other news FIFA cleared the Wicked Witch of the West from attempting to harm Dorothy.
5
Mr Steele, I presume that South Africa had a great history in the World Cup?
1
"FIFA is and international crime syndicate that occasionally organizes soccer matches."
John Oliver (12/29/2015)
That being the case, I don't think Putin had to read The Art of the Deal in order to land the Cup.
5
Christopher Steele is a pitiful example of how bad Trump Derangement Syndrome is among Neoliberals. That's it. "Russia meddling" is a distraction from "DNC meddling," that's that.
I'm not going to be voting Democrat anymore, for reasons obvious to any person with ethics and a conscience.
1
Well when we quickly evolved into a dictatorship - no free speech, no freedom of religion, no free press, no civil rights, no rule of law, then I hope you will be happy. You might want to educate yourself about Caesar Chavez and now Maduro and what life has become for the people of Venezuela. It is a stark picture of where we are currently heading under Trump. Now if you say you will vote for a moral, ethical Republican who repects American values, democracy and our traditions then as of now that is your right under our Constitution. I would have no problem with your exercising your vote for a normal Republican - but I worry about those supporting a tyrannical autocrat as President.
4
In connection with the WC, the BBC interviewed the average Russian on the street and their view of what the US is up to is alarming to say the least. Their views have been shaped through years of disinformation via Putin’s control of the media. If you look at Fox Irresponsible you will see we are going down the same dark and potentially violent path.
2
So why wasn't Russia mentioned in the FBI report? The computers it used to make the bid for the World Cup were destroyed in 2014, but by then the FBI had been investigating for four years. It couldn't be that Russia had clean hands; this is Russia we're talking about here, the world's #1 criminal state, and it's not very good at concealing its criminality - it doesn't even really care.
So...?
4
I'm always eager to discover dirt about my enemies, but this article didn't convince me Russia did anything "wrong" in winning the bid to host the 2018 World Cup. I qualify "wrong" because I must allow room for the usual transgressions; e.g., meals, trips, gifts and -some cash under a table somewhere. Anyone would be naive to believe such behavior is/was totally eradicated. Simply, this article didn't convince me Russia didn't simply out-shout other countries.
3
I agree. I also felt a wave of nausea as I imagined how the US - with its long, storied soccer tradition - won its own World Cup bid.
1
Russia is a world leader in the production of cell phones, cars, software, watches, civilian aircraft and has some of the best software companies in the world. It an ideal society with people in Russia having the best medical care in the world, and the highest GDP. Russian people are happy people. So why not host the world cup? Show how great mother Russia is and how the great NeoSoviet ideology is.
1
Uh, where's the rest of the story--the part that tells us why Russia was not implicated, or mentioned, in the big FIFA investigation. The writer notes that the Russia committee's computer records were destroyed--but there must have been more to the country's absence from the investigation, indictments and trials than that. Russia is a deeply corrupt country.
2
Good to read this article on the World Cup next to today's piece in The Guardian which presents clear evidence that the Russians intervened in the Brexit vote, and in more ways than one. Note, too, that several of the British figures then went on to participate in the Trump campaign. Equally telling: Cambridge Analytica is at the center of both campaigns.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/09/arron-banks-russia-brex...
1
Russia hasn’t “won” anything here. I used to live in Montreal, which “won” the Olympic Games for 1976 and was still paying off the debt on its Olympic Stadium 30 years later. It seems like the main purpose of corruption at FIFA or the IOC is to enable corruption and profiteering at the local level.
It’s good to keep shining the light, though. I’m a fan of soccer, but I’m also a taxpayer, and we need all the help we can get.
4
These days, it's a given that the word "Russia" means the oligarchs and not the long-forgotten people.
2
The World Cup and the World Olympic Games are the modern global version of the old Roman Empire "bread and circus". It is not worse if Russia stealed the venue than it was when South Africa or Brazil got it. After the heat and pride of the games the effects of corruption will surface in more than one way, just review the news from the after times of the old games.
2
I think TV is a more critical part of the modern concept of bread and circus. Especially, “reality” TV. At least, the World Cup and the Olympic Games inspire some people to practice some type of sport.
For the masses TV is only a one way brainwashing message that is delivered and processed while they consume their -mostly- artificial “bread.” As the emperor would say: SAD.
I just wonder what Putin will do when the World Cup is over.
Remember what happened once his Winter Olympics were over.
(One of the excuses he uses is having to protect "his people.")
I do enjoy watching the World Cup; however I am apprehensive. With Trump in the White House, Putin can only be embolden.
How about hosting the Corruption Olympics. Let's see which leader is more corrupt. No tax filing is needed.
Putin has been poking the West in the eye since he became a Russian leader nearly 20 years ago, and the West has been unable to contain him. He does however share a weakness with many of his Russian comrades; a weakness that the West can exploit: he loves showing off because he feels he's not getting enough respect. When combined with massive Russian corruption this provides the West the opportunity to push Russia further towards bankruptcy, dramatically decreasing the average Russian's standard of living and his support for Putin.
International maga-events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics can go a long way towards impoverishing Russia, as such events have been shown to exceed their budgets and produce substantial debt for the host country. Russia's corruption multiplies that impoverishing effect many times overs.
The West should therefore encourage and goad Putin into taking on the role of hosting such mega events. Given the chip on his shoulder it should be relatively easy. These events may allow him to show off and temporarily increase his prestige but his day of reckoning will arrive all the sooner.
3
And let 's not forget the 2014 Sochi Olympics Russian doping scandal. Or the killing of 298 on Malaysian Airlines flight 17 when it was shot down July 17, 2014 with a Russian missile.
17
Let me get this straight. "A group of wealthy individuals and corporations supporting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup" uses MI6 connections through a "former" MI6 operative and now an contractor Mr. Steele to dig dirt on the competing bid from Russia. Is that your definition of fair play and following the letter of the law?
19
Ah, trolls, we love 'em.
The right looks for converts, the left looks for traitors.
This is very very good. Obviously, Trumpians find it unacceptable: too many facts and not enough lies.
6
Russian advocates are very busy trolling in this comment section.
9
And I wish NYTimes headline writers had resisted the temptation to dilute Steele's fine work with the words "pee tape" which isn't even an accurate report of that item which was a minor part of the raw intelligence Steele provided to the FBI.
15
It's a disgrace that Russia, led by genocidal dictator Vlad Putin, is being allowed to host. But that's FIFA. Corrupt to the core. I won't be watching.
5
Didn't the United States host the World Cup without even a soccer-loving crowd to cheer the host team? Soccer is immensely popular in Russia. That makes it qualified enough to host the World Cup.
What's the need for this spiteful article, just before Russia is going to host the World Cup? Why do Americans begrudge that nation's moments of pride even in sports? Isn't it enough that you ruined the Moscow Olympics? Aren't you done after besmirching the reputations of Russian athletes?
Are all Russian achievements the result of corruption?
Did the Tsar bribe French soldiers to humiliate Napoleon?
Was the Red Army's march to Hitler's bunkers in Berlin to save the world made possible by payouts to the German Army?
Did the Soviets first put a man in space by stealing US tech? Did they launch the first ever space station by stealing from the West?
Why is the Russian-built RS-180 engine still powering US' Atlas V launchers? Isn't its technology the result of corruption?
If Russia does everything through corruption, why is the US warning other nations not to buy the S-400? To destroy its market, why not expose its corrupt origins?
Why would the NYT present to its readers a shady character like Christopher Steele with a painted halo? Why are you always egging on American policymakers to act against Russia? Who is directing your full-on hostile editorial policy towards Russia? What's in it for you if these nuclear-weapon states go to war? Why are you doing this? Why?
8
How shocking that America could write such bad news about courageous Russian soccer players!
Is Clear to all only democratic leaders angry about having American election stoled from them and given to faithful Comrade Trump and Bolshevik congress boyfriends.
Next NYT say that Russian olympians drug themselves for winning gold metals!
1
Pee tape was invented by 4chan and used to troll you all. WAKE UP SHAKE UP America!
Takes the intelligence agencies shackles off! We are in a crisis of democracy because someone they didn’t want got elected!
Think for yourself! Read more sources!
2
Knowing what I know about Russia’s meddling in our election, general corruption, anti-gay, anti-democratic, anti-human rights positions, gangster-assassination tactics against its opponents and otherwise contemptible behavior, I will be very surprised if Trumpty Dumpty doesn’t have a great fall with his “new, best friend, Vladimir Putin.
8
The US and by extension the NYT will do anything to destroy the Russian World Cup and in this endeavor I hope they both fail miserably.
Hating Russia is in their DNA. We are sick and disgusting. Go Russia!
10
No, we love NoSoviets .... we love Putin and his people
No hating is not in anyone’s DNA. Hatred is a learned behavior. It is learned through the irresponsible disinformation spread on Russian run media and Fox...
Two more Russian bashing op-eds again this morning, which seems to be normal these days.
9
I'll wont' be watching the corrupt FIFA mafia put on the world cup.
1
FIFA and the Olympics seem to be infested with the same type of bloated, corrupt bureaucrats. What sliver of credibility they may have once had was lost when Russia was selected for either event. How did Russia manage to keep their World Cup hosting selection after invading Crimea? It boggles the mind.
Everybody has a price, and the Russian oligarchs have demonstrated time and time again they have the oil-fueled billions to pay whatever is necessary to buy a politician, hack public opinion, or sway an election. We all know it's happening, and we all stand dumbfounded, rather than try to stop it.
So I would like to say with unwavering conviction that I am here, I am for sale, and my bank account is open for any oligarch ready to fill it. My A/C unit is about to go out, and it gets really hot here in Texas.
4
Try to remember every time you talk about meddlers the USA is the number 1 sponsor of terrorism in the world, and I do not claim I said that first.
5
Mentioning Steel or any tape in the headline shows just how low you can go. Does that have anything to do with soccer?
4
You didn't bother to read the article, and the automatic refusal to find out what Steele did is not to your credit.
12
Yes, it does!
1
Pending headline:
“Trump Meets Putin at World Cup Opener After Meeting with Kim”
Collusionists Unite!
4
Some countries have mafia...
In Russia Mafia has its own country...
Someone said it precisely as it is...
All of the oligarchs and Gov't officials, "law enforcement", everyone is in service to the "Boss"... who doesn't care anymore about plausible deniability... He's just lying straight faced about everything...
And this thug is being promoted to G7 by a US President...
I'm not a big Trump basher... but it's now obvious that he's owned - stock and barrel by this thug... Putinnochio...
President, who yet to mumble a nice thing about any ally leader, bids up for the godfather of thugs to be re-instituted in G7 or 8...
Collusion in campaign or not... We, Americans voted him in and we need to vote him out...
Enough is enough...
20
How many times can you use “shadowy” in one article to describe a country’s actions...? :)
I think the two most telling lines in this (yet another) piece of Russophobic propaganda from The Times are that FBI officials are always “looking” for conspiracies coming out of Russia, and the claim that Russia is at or near the center of every geopolitical scandal.
Really? Do tell. Let’s kick the tires on this latest claim.
Yet the author fails to provide any evidence.
But that’s the norm for the vaunted Gray Lady these days, isn’t it? The NYT continues to devote a MASSIVE portion of its reporting budget on chasing an endless array of baseless lies and rumors in their obsessive quest to nail that country in Any. Way. They can.
Polls show that the American people think our corporate media has gone completely overboard in their 24/7 dissections of phony “Russiagate” — always at the expense of stories that truly matter: Americans dying due to lack of access to healthcare, Americans bankrupted by their medical costs, crumbling schools and infrastructure (hello, our subway...??), endless illegal wars, rampant political corruption, laws consistently broken by the Trump admin, the ravages of climate change...
We need a new mainstream media. One that is nonprofit so readers can be assured that their quest for more and more $$$ isn’t shoving their duty to report real and relevant news to the sidelines.
6
Hope the World Cup is exciting in spite of a thug such as Vladimir Putin.
1
Excellent work, Ken. Thank you so much.
4
I think soccer's dubious distinction was revealed when the supposedly great Zindane deservedly got that Red card against Italy in that pivotal World Cup game several years back! And then he beomes the Manager of iconic Real Madrid?! Give me a break!!!
2
"When it came to pursuing national objectives, the country had few if any compunctions about employing whatever means — collusive, corrupting, scandalous — might be necessary."
Are you sure you have the right name of the country in this article?
4
In days the WC will begin. Yes there is politics in the WC and Olympics. That's life Mr. Bensinger….. move on and let the games begin.
3
Only the US media cares about the FIFA corruption scandals. FIFA has been corrupt since it’s inception. So what. As long as they are organizing entertaining and successful tournaments and growing the game, so what. I, like many millions of fans around the world don’t really care. Russia will be the best World Cup until the next one and I’m here to watch it, that’s all I care about.
1
Not surprisingly, liberal media can't help but mention trump in an article that has nothing do do with him. And folks wonder why we have news fatigue.
2
Thank you Mr. Bensinger for affirming the role of Christopher Steele, including his bona fides with the FBI prior to his work on the business practices of Donald J Trump.
Putin has skill sets and talents that a mother of an intelligence officer can love, and he has transferred them and strategies into political and economic power.
Putin controls elections, the distribution of wealth, the intelligence apparatus, and the Russian Presidency. He deploys them in combinations to obfuscate through "cut outs" what individuals or institutions are the perps.
He remains a formidable existential threat and as evidenced by the 2014 Olympics, the World Cup bid and foreign elections he and his ilk are major players on the world stage.
There are no rules he abides by, however, there are so many convenient and greedy idiots. The essential question - what or who is next?
4
I think John Oliver’s skits about FIFA capture the UK attitude to Blatter’s mob very well, if ever anyone fancies YouTubing them.
Russia and FIFA aside, there was a nauseating amount of snooty arrogance here (more so than usual!) when it came to the World Cup bid - a somewhat possessive attitude of “we invented it, it’s ours, jog on you uncivilised Russian types”. It was somewhat unseemly, but then the relationship with football here always is. I’m certain that even at this moment a columnist is writing “This year is the best chance and the best team since ‘66!”, and we’ll still inevitably flop out miserably in the Group stages followed by idiot fans smashing up a bar. I wouldn’t recommend they try that in Russia...
2
Here's the link (13 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I
2
I love the World Cup. For this American who could not even tell you who plays in the Super Bowl, this is my 4 year addiction.
What I hope for is Russia's team to be humiliated on the field at every play. They can bribe FIFA all they want, but they still are an untalented bunch. Let's hope Putin is right there when it happens, on camera for the world to see. while his pet project goes down in failure.
So you got the world to come to you but you can win a game? How does that feel?
6
One of the FIFA execs caught in the FBI round up, Chuck Blazer, lived in Trump Tower at the time. Coincidence?
4
If the world cup was staged only by irreproachable countries with irreproachable campaigns led by irreproachable people, there's only one country where it could be held, forever, and that is Switzerland..Uh, no, not even Switzerland, it's where FIFA is...
So calm down, enjoy, it's only sport, and it's wonderful that it comes at last to Russia...Go world cup!
2
When it is arranged, it is no fun, no sport !
Ummm, hate to break it to you, but Russia is the lowest-ranked team in the tournament....70th, next is Saudi Arabia at 67th.
And Russia is a kleptocracy , which was dealing with other kleptocrats...
3
I love the World Cup, but it’s beyond disheartening that Putin-one of the world’s most corrupt thugs-was awarded the tournament. Therefore, I won’t be watching...
2
I would also like to be able to say I will not watch, although it would be like saying I will not hear any news about trump!
4
Wonder how USA received the world cup ?Guess they also did what was necessary to receive world cup competition,imagine an MI6 whom is not antirussian or not a fellow traveler with CIA.
2
It is strange that the law abiding Swiss found themselves unable/unwilling to investigate the corruption in FIFA which was an open secret.
2
This report certainly puts another hole in the theory by Trump supporters that the Russian investigation regarding whether or not there was anything untoward Kushner, Manafort, Flynn, Gage, et al did in talking and meetings with Russians during and after the election, is, in Trump's words "a Witch Hunt".
It is getting almost impossible to believe that there was no collusion or Obstruction of Justice, money laundering and what ever other charges come out of the investigation, to connect Trump to all of it.
I believe that Mueller has all the proof that he needs right now. Let's see if the Congress allows him to present the evidence and protect Mueller from being fired by Trump.
8
The responses to this expose on Putin's involvement in stealing the World Cup bid from those more worthy, indicate that Russian apologists, trolls, sympathizers, and those who support the corrupt influences of Putin's illegal annexation of Crimea, it's war crimes in the Ukraine and in Syria, and in our local and national elections, are hard at work in discrediting our free press, and dismantling American freedoms. May the NYT, Washington Post, NPR, all the free press as well as Robert Mueller continue their courageous efforts in stopping this insideous infestation of worm Putin and his allies. Let these institutions and investigations persist and bring to light all the corrupt influences of Putin, FIFA as well as the current occupant in the White House.
1
"A football foundation linked to Mr. Abramovich, Mr. Putin’s oligarch pal, destroyed the Russia bid team’s computers. "
Yet a FIFA report released last year cleared the bid team of any wrongdoing. Of course it did, investigating themselves. I'd like to know what the FBI thinks about that.
4
At least Putin had the sense to use other people to destroy the computers, Hillary had her own people destroy hers.
2
Vladamir Putin is the new Kevin Bacon, but he is only separated by one degree from even major scandal on the planet. And no, I'm not being sarcastic.
1
Great article. Thank you!
2
I would rather watch Russian hooligans fight bare fisted. Let’s televise a brawl between Russian and British soccer fans (hooligans). That I would pay to see. Ain’t sport grand.
1
"For starters, Russia didn’t have a great soccer tradition": On what exactly is the author basing this claim?
The USSR won the first European championship in 1960, and was runner-up on two occasions: 1972 and 1988. The USSR also fielded some excellent teams in the World Cup throughout the years, notably in the 1970s and 1980s.
Furthermore, USSR/Russia has a Balon d'Or winner, Lev Yashin, who is the only goalkeeper to win this prestigious award, and is widely regarded as the greatest goalkeeper to play the game.
3
Those mentions are from past history, live in the present ...
1
How do you think tradition formed? Overnight?
3
Traditions by definition are "from past history"...
1
Well, beyond that Russia "destroy computers" and FIFA "clearing Russia's bid", the article said very litter about the FIFA case and Russia. Why didn't they find or publish evidences regarding the link between FIFA corruption and Russia in that FBI case?
"Russia has been accused of interfering in foreign elections, sponsoring cyberwarfare, poisoning enemies with nerve agents, invading Ukraine and abetting a murderous dictatorship in Syria. "
You left out shooting down a Malaysian Airliner, MH17, killing all 283 on board. Dutch investigators have traced it back to Russia's FSB.
5
I have massive concerns for English fans going to this World Cup.
English fans have a reputation for getting drunk then chucking plastic furniture around a piazza, then being chased down by police with water cannons. Generally when you see these guys on the tele they’re pot bellied, sun burnt drunks. However, they face Russian hooligans who are a well trained borderline paramilitary force who come prepared with mouth guards, weapons and MMA gloves in little fanny packs (check my use of American).
I fear some English fans will be murdered at this World Cup and because of their reputation Putin will just shrug and say that the English started it and the Russians were simply defending themselves (perhaps he might call them decent patriotic citizens like those that hacked the US election). I think the English will be targeted by the Russian thugs because of the recent chemical weapons attack in England on the Skripals and the subsequent diplomatic fall out.
I hope I’m wrong and no fans are hurt.
7
Indeed,
Putin will shrug away, as does DJT with the ...
USA extreme right
3
You got it exactly right. The Russians have taken soccer hooliganism to an entirely new level. They're not just a bunch of young, drunk, rowdy guys looking to harass the other side. Violence is the goal. They are armed. They don't care if people are seriously injured.
Which makes Russia's hosting of the World Cup even that much more perplexing. They were a terrible choice. FIFA officials were well paid for their votes.
5
Please stop calling it "meddling," that evokes images of playful like a cartoon TV show.
Interference or conspiracy to electoral fraud
2
Considering the biblical proverb of the beam and the mote one has to wonder why those crack New York cops don't focus on the murders and disappearances in Honduras and El Salvador - with a heavy involvement of US advisers.
2
I´m glad my team (Italy) didn't qualify this year. There´s always been corruption in FIFA, but between the Sepp Blatter indictments and Putin, I no longer have the stomach to watch.
1
Stop putting political spin into sports, please. I enjoy football tremendously (yes, it is a ball game in which the said ball is being kicked by feet only, hence the correct name), so let me (and BILLIONS on other fans) enjoy the Cup. I would enjoy it equally regardless of where it is plaid geographically: Antarctica, North Korea, or America. The fact it is in Russia this year matters very little, if at all, to me and countless others.
5
Between the unbridled corruption that brought / bought WC18 to Russia and WC22 to Dubai.
And the fact that the pathetic USMNT didn’t qualify.
My passion for this event is gone. It’s a big who cares for American soccer and the average sports fan.
I am rooting for what ever team winning will anger Trump. Go Iran! Go Mexico! Go France! But doubt I am watching.
To echo what others have said, and go further. How many dead soldiers in Niger where the US has meddled? How many dead in Afghanistan? Iraq? Libya? Vietnam? Cuba? The list is endless and sad. Yes, the Russians meddle in other affairs, but so do we. We claim it's for Democracy. I think the Vietnamese would think differently. And in the end soccer is merely a game, and as the US has apparently proven, governed by a group of corrupt individuals.
4
Russia had a decent enough soccer tradition to host a World Cup. Qatar is another matter.
9
Not really. Qatar gives citizenship to some good players, who are then well paid.
Really? It is a pathetic display of Russophobia. How much of soccer tradition did the US have when it hosted the World Cup in 1994? How many times the South African team didn't qualify before it hosted the World Cup in 2010? And economical concerns are very important, although I don't think that Mexico, Brazil or the South Africa were rich countries when they hosted the World Cup. Seems like money and traditions were out of consideration for quite a long time, and yet it didn't bother anybody until Russia was chosen. Why? Why the hosting of the World Cup by the South Africa was ok, but hosting by Russia is a sign of corruption? Of there was corruption, it apparently was there much before Russia got involved. So, pinning corruption of FIFA on Russia, it is same as blame Russia for electoral college in America that allowed Trump to be a President.
3
Corruption is a two-way street and there is always two guilty parties of which none is more corrupt than the other.
FIFA is corrupt and as long as they stay that way any World Cup host country will be called corrupt USA and UK included.
Russia doesn't have a lot of football traditions? Well, how much of the football traditions the US had when it hosted the World Cup in 1994? How many times did the American team qualify for the World Cup before that? Close to zero? How many times did the South Africa qualify when it hosted the World Cup in 2010? And where were economical considerations when the hosting was awarded to Mexico, Brazil or the South Africa. They were hardly rich countries when they hosted the Cup. Clearly money and traditions are not reasons for awarding the hosting. If FIFA is corrupt, apparently this corruption started well before than Russia got involved, and to blame Russia for the corruption of FIFA is like to blame Russia for the American electoral college, because due to this college Trump became the President.
2
I KNOW, ladies and gentlemen, I'm from China, I know, it's the state-of-the-art consulate building which can withstand electronic eavesdropping that should be blamed for the brain concussion, this is the second building using the same technology after the first building technology used in Cuba. It's caused by the special material used in building it in order to make a sound insulation against electronic eavesdropping.
1
My belief that the beautiful game transcends politics, scandal and corruption will be sorely tested at this World Cup. The fact that Putin will preen in his executive box makes me sick.
At least the Russian nation team will crash out in the first round and with any luck Putin may have to watch a his country be humiliated in spite of his manipulations and bribery.
6
I’ll be watching. League football puts me off - too many rich owners injecting their cash and buying all the best players, leading to the same names winning league trophies again and again. The World Cup actually shows a bit of talent, players selected by merit and teamplaying.
I see no real football-related problem with Russia hosting really, apart from the heightened tension perhaps leading to problems off-pitch. Russia is a footballing nation as much as the others in Europe are. There was widespread bemusement here when the WC went to the US in 1994, which wasn’t known for its football back then either (okay, soccer).
FIFA seem inestimably corrupt. They chose Qatar, with dangerous summer temperatures, repeated fatal accidents by workers/quasi-slaves building the stadiums etc - I wonder how many briefcases of cash went towards that. And they nauseatingly claim a benevolent mission of bringing the world (and it’s money and brand names) to a country to provide a ‘boost’. Look at South Africa or Brazil since they both hosted - huge, expensive stadiums falling into disrepair and neglect afterwards once the FIFA train has been and gone, hoovering up all the cash with them, paying bungs to get laws temporarily dropped, other bribes to buy building contracts. Kudos to the FBI for actually holding some of them to account.
6
This expose of the forthcoming World Cup event has dampened its luster and has tarnished the brilliance of this gem that the Russian Bear apparently covets. My knowledge of sports is restricted to an opportunity to go shopping when my spouse is glued to the T.V., with a pastrami sandwich.
Send in the Boys From The Banlieu or The City of Possibles. Cause an upset at the last minute; make it the most watched event in history where our fate depends on a winning outcome. Take back the Free World from Siberia, and give us hope that love and belief for Humanity will always prevail.
"For starters, Russia didn’t have a great soccer tradition..."
I don't know about the accuracy of the rest of this article but I can attest, from my Russian in-laws, that Russians are as insane about soccer as Americans are about American football. As for whether Russians win I don't understand why this matters: look at how many Super Bowls have been played at stadiums where the team that normally plays there doesn't have a strong win/loss record.
5
I’m a pretty avid soccer fan, but I don’t care much about the World Cup. Watching club teams at any level displays the real beauty of the sport. As far as Russia, it’s abundantly clear that they should be regarded as a pariah state.
2
A great summary of the tremendous investigative work that unearthed the corruption. Kudos to the FBI, Christopher Steele, and others who ferreted out the criminal rot of FIFA. Let's hop the revelations continue.
8
The BBC has reported on video of referees in Africa being paid cash before games -- ostensibly to shape the results of matches.
There is every reason to fear similar criminality in FIFA's Russia venture.
Thank you to everyone working hard to clean up this sport, all over the world.
Outside the USA, where football matches drive young fans into paroxysms of enthusiasm and then -- for most -- despair & disappointment, the impact of unfair, tainted, manipulated competition is massive. I will go so far as to say it does massive damage to the psyches of millions of fragile kids, not to mention to vulnerable households where addicted gamblers stake precious cash on specific outcomes.
It's a beautiful game to watch, as so many sports are played at the highest level of skill. But when it's an occasion for cheating, it becomes an assault on everyone who follows it.
6
It absolutely does matter what happens on the field. Despite all the baggage and politics that now surrounds the World Cup it's what happens on the field that makes it relentlessly popular and all else is forgotten during the actual sport itself.
6
This is a story that repeats itself everytime a major sports event is handed out to a country. When Germany hosted the World cup, there where rumors about secret payments to secure it. The USA hosted the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the event was secured by illegal payments. The list goes on and on.
I think this article put the cart before the horse.
I would love some in dept articles about how the governing body of sports are being goverent. I hope what the future of major sports event will become less corrupt and more transparant.
7
This comment appears not to recognize that the content of this article provides specifics on just such a case.
1
Even if Russia fails at hosting the World Cup, Russian state TV will spin it as a victory for Putin. We see this same spin doctoring by Fox for Trump.
21
Too bad we will likely never know to what extensive extent Putin/Russia went to just to win the rights to spend billions of its own money to host a soccer tournament. But imagine to what extent Putin/Russia would go to just to sow discord in the United States and elect puppet Trump. Hyperbole? Well, that remains to be seen.
But, any bets on how well the Russians will do despite all the negative expectations? I thought not.
5
Check out Dec 10, 1982 Washington Post article. US intelligence services tell Congress that Soviets were directly involved in NYC peace demonstration.
I’m still waiting for the name of one, just one person, who changed their vote or didn’t vote because of Russian “meddling” in 2016. To act as if the Soviets were not funding protests in the US for over 60 years is an admission of no knowledge of the subject. Many liberals openly cheered on Soviet involvement.
5
What liberals "cheered on" Soviet involvement in a peace protest? I think you're rewriting history.
Since the electoral college win was decided by the narrowest of margins (less than 80,000 votes), it's logical that Russian meddling tipped the scale. If we elected our president by popular vote, it would be much more difficult for hostile foreign countries to affect the outcome.
38
Please provide a link to the Post story, as well as the liberal cheering.
Why would you expect someone to admit to being duped by Russian meddling? Or even to know they were? I would hope that there were none, that Trump voters were influenced much more by Fox News/Breitbart propaganda than Russian propaganda, but every set of interviews of voters I have ever seen includes many bizarre or trivial explanations of why they supported their candidate of either party.
3
I know a number of people who changed their votes due to the Hillary Smear Machine instituted by Russia and embraced by Trump.
3
This column curiously failed to mention Russia's national, concerted and proven efforts to sabotage the Winter Olympics in 2014 through massive cheating and drug manipulation. Add that to its list of sins and specifically it's sport sins.
32
Proven? By whom? Didn't the Court of Arbitration for sport overturn ban for Russian athletes because there was not enough evidence of breaching the anti-doping regulations? Clearly, the proven was not so much a proof.
1
My thoughts exactly. As well as other blatantly denied crimes like the shooting down of Malaysia flight 17.
3
Putin admitted it.
Do not ever talk about any country meddling into the affairs of other countries without acknowledging that is what the USA has been doing for at least the last 150 years.
Have a little decency for a change!
43
America meddled in Venezuela? In Cuba?
I am of the opposite view. If anything, decent American governments, well-intentioned investors & law enforcement did not do enough & are still not doing enough to support developing societies in our own hemisphere & to protect them from the evil intrusions of Moscow's nefarious armies of subversion, whose goal today is to make more countries more like Russia, exactly as the goal was in 1918.
I opposed the war in Iraq & I still do. American involvement in the ME was badly planned because it pursued the wrong goals -- and still does.
But to allege that "what the USA has been doing" compares to what Russian as well as Soviet imperialism has been exposed as being obsessed with is like saying that a flu epidemic is the same as the cancer pandemic that has gripped the planet for the past 100 years or so.
There's just no comparison. Most get over the flu. The US commits political errors. Soviet/Russian obsession with world domination destroys entire societies & now endangers civilization itself.
It's time to recognize that once Moscow began dreaming of "world revolution" (just look at their symbology from the early 1920s), they never cured themselves of the delusion.
It is not possible for any 1 group, nation, people or society to dominate the entire planet. It just does not work that way. We are tiny; the planet, though small in cosmic terms, is too big for any 1 cohort to control it. Russians are taking too long to figure that out.
7
This comment is a classic example of whataboutism. We can't discuss the Kremlin's cyberattacks because we've had a checkered past too.
I agree that the CIA organized coups in Iran and Chile. I agree that our history is far from spotless. However, I still have every right to talk about Putin putting his hand on our election.
11
of course you can, just do not pretend that Russia is only country that meddles. And all this outrage about whataboutism is nothing more but cover-up for hypocrisy.
2
I disagree with this fine article's conclusion that Russia ultimately won. Did Brazil win with its Olympics? No! Russia, too, has overspent and on assets with no long-term public use.
3
Putin's Russia resembles US involvement in Vietnam with respect to wholesale tactical victories ultimately leading to strategic defeat.
So Putin wins the World Cup, he gains a presence in Syria, he takes over Crimea and he successfully meddles in Brexit and the US elections.
Meantime Russia alienates many of its neighbours, has an economy the size of Italy's and has a relationship with China on primarily Chinese terms (there is a reason it is called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) .
Given Russia's stated aim of a multi-polar world to counteract to US dominance, a genuinely democratic Russia might comfortably align with Europe. However no-one in Europe would contemplate aligning with Putin's rogue Russia.
13
On the other hands, in the 90s Russians didn't annexed Crimea, didn't meddle in Brexit or the US elections and guess what? Their economy was half of what it is now, the respect from neighbors was so low that even Georgia thought it could kill Russian peacekeepers with impunity. I think they are positioned much better now.
If meddling in foreign elections and engaging in cyber warfare and invading and occupying without just cause is reason not to award host nation status, then I don’t hold out much hope for the USA and their bid for 2026.
7
Sadly, our virtuous investigation of FIFA will not be bolstered by the appearance of the U.S. team in Russia.
Somehow, they were eliminated from contention by the football powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago on my son's birthday last fall 2-1.
It would have been nice to see the USA stride onto the pitch in Russia. Instead, the squad is left to try to punch a ticket to that other center of football - Qatar in 2022.
No, FIFA isn't corrupt, right?
16
FIFA's mind-boggling levels of corruption are one thing, but the ineptitude of the USMNT is quite another.
4
Sorry, but FIFA corruption, the Russians, or aliens for that matter had little to do with the USA not qualifying for the World Cup.
Instead, try a historical and almost jingoistic lack of interest in the sport at a national level as the main driver for the chronic US underachievement in this sport. Simply put, Americans could not care less about it.
1
It's easy to get cynical about FIFA, and there is obviously an element of corruption in anything this organization does, but one thing you can perhaps admire Sepp Blatter for was shuffling around the World Cup to countries without strong soccer cultures or leagues. Also, his stance against racism and violence in the game are laudable.
Before Blatter, the WC was held basically in Western Europe or in the Americas with strong soccer leagues. Blatter helped to get the WC in Africa, in Asia, and in the Middle East -- though the Qatar pick was probably the most blatantly corrupt and irresponsible decision ever made by FIFA. (I'm honestly curious if anyone bothered checking the summer temperatures in Qatar before they picked them.)
That said, the Russia pick seems like classic Blatter. Oligarchs and bribing aside, he probably saw in Russia a country with a turbulent history and now on the rise, which looked ready and able to host this tournament.
Honestly, I'm looking forward to see how Russia hosts the tournament. I'm confident they will not disappoint and the games will be as exciting as always.
5
The World Cup should not be happening in Russia. They bribed FIFA members to get this event. And FIFA caved and didn't pull it out and award it to some other country. FIFA is corrupt and bows down to Putin. Despicable.
32
Exactly like the Winter Olympics that took place in Salt Lake City over two decades ago. Bribery and corruption of Olympic Committee members at the hands of US business interests allowed the event to be hosted in Utah. Money talks.
don't politicize the game: enjoy it.
I hate to break it to you, but every host nation bribed FIFA members to get the event.
If I remember correctly the United States bribed IOC officials to win the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Were you aghast at the time that the IOC is corrupt and bowed to George W Bush?
Russia is very good at winning battles because it ignores all rules of every game it plays. Will Russia win any longer term war, however? Maybe, if the only country with the means to check Russian perfidy decides instead to collude with it for domestic partisan gain.
Russia's military appears daunting against small neighbors lacking the resources to counter whatever might Russia can flex. When it comes to economic prowess, Russia's performance falls into third-world dysfunction.
Russia can create a lot of trouble for a great many countries, but this will hardly make it a winner. The best it can do is to drag the world down to its own sorry level. In doing so, it has gotten off to a roaring start with the United States of America.
36
Don't forget, Russia using its gas and oil reserves as a threat over the countries depending on them.
7
So far in her long history, Russia has won EVERY war it has engaged in. And that, my friend, is a fact.
2
Yulia, The cold war,too? Did they win that one? How about the humiliation at the hands of Japan around 1906? How did Afghanistan work out for Russia 40 years ago? Even Finland in the winter war proved too be almost too much. And these are only the examples off the top of my head.
Just because you say a thing does not make it true Comrad.
This great article is yet another confirmation that Christopher Steele is a very credible source.
I think he has secured himself a prominent place in the American history.
90
Credible? Quite the opposite. This piece shows that Steel had it in for the Russians from long before the 2016 election. He held a grudge for Russia winning the World Cup over UK. That does not make him credible, that makes him biased.
Nice piece.
I think even more corruption will be unearthed when investigators turn their eyes on how Qatar could possibly have won their bid to host the next Cup.
I wish there were some brave players or leaders who would threaten to boycott the tournament there, and expose the hundreds of deaths from third world inhabitants exploited by Qataris to build their football stadiums.
Sadly I still plan on watching.
77
The corruption in the Qatar bid is well documented.
Nothing "new" needs to be unearthed.
There was an attempt to take the tourney from Qatar. But the bag men at FIFA blocked that... and the outrage wasn't enough to be sustainable over multiple news cycles.
10
The only brave people in sports today are the NFL players who are defying Trump's violent racist regime.
10
And the women who have exposed the sexual abuse in sports.
I see one commenter rightly taking issue with the conclusion that "Russia won" by getting the World Cup. We know the populace won't see the benefit; all the money will go to Putin and his cronies in construction and all the related industries. As for winning on the field, I won't be surprised to see Russia get out of the group stage. If South Korea managed to do so in 2002, you can bet every home (off) field advantage will be even more finely honed in Putin's Russia.
24
The populace is already see the benefits. The people of Russia are proud and excited to host the World Cup. Russians love the game. I am not even talking about stadiums that were built. And tell the truth, I am yet to see any big international events that would be greatly economically beneficial to populace of any country. All benefits are going to the construction and tourist companies. Populace may see some spike in construction jobs. Russia is not an exception. As matter of fact, the populace may even get better deal than in other countries. After all, Sochi is attractive destination for many Russians after it was renovated for the Olympics.
5
Great piece, thank you.
As well I suggest Luke Harding's 'Collusion' that also addresses the broader context, and how, ultimately, it ties in with Trump.
20
Thanks for the lead, I am working on a similar subject matter at this time, quite helpful
Another example of TDS... introducing Trump into an topic which has nothing to do with him. You're obsessed with Trump -- and not in a good way! Qatar was awarded the Cup on 2 December 2010... right after Obama's second midterm general election.
Yes, I agree. I ordered Luke Harding's 'Collusion' after watching Christiane Amanpour interviewing him on CNN. It's the best book yet I have read on the subject. I just couldn't stop reading.
3
Fascinating parallels here - that Football remains "relentlessly popular" is a testament to the transformative power of sport.
Not noted by Mr. Bensinger - Russia's hosting of the 2014 Olympics was marred by IOC findings Russia engaged in rampant doping of their athletes.
Kudos to Justice and the FBI.
Viva Sport!
32
..."that Football remains "relentlessly popular" is a testament to the transformative power of sport."
A testament to the stupidity of people who values sports more than they value their own country.
The world cup is entertaining if you have the time to watch it regardless of where it is held, vuvuzelas or otherwise.
Our leaders should work to normalize relations with Russia as Reagan and Gorbachev did to ramp down global tensions and lead the world toward pacifism, regardless of who leads either country. Suspicion and hostility leads to arms races and MAD, not good for anyone except those few working in armaments.
Hyperventilating over Russia since WWII hasn't helped the average American. We need to improve our infrastructure and create better paying jobs for US citizens and not just create millions more low paying jobs at fast food joints, Walmarts, Amazon warehouses and the post office, Uber etc. that don't provide living wages. Our new gig economy with low unemployment is turning large swaths of citizens into low paid hustlers for peanuts without benefits.
33
Focus!
found the Russian.
3
Gorbachev was a fine human being, and he's done a lot of good. Unfortunately, Putin helped Yeltsin take over and here we are.
As for Putin, he's not a pacifist (see Syria and the Ukraine, for example) and he's got Trump in his pocket.
That's not peace (remember "peace at any price" in the European World Wars?) but abdication of democracy in favor of authoritarians, repression, hatred, and kleptocracy worldwide.
4
Nice piece of journalism, but it never answers the question as to why there was no further investigation into Russia's bid to obtain the world cup. It just says Abramovich destroyed the computers... ?
I disagree with the author's conclusion. As we saw with Brazil and many other countries, the WC is usually a big PR public works project which leaves a tremendous financial, physical and psychological hang over for the host country. It's merely a sugar high. Russia will be no different.
64
FIFA is thorougly corrupt. We all know that. Why investigate further?
I will not watch the world cup, despite my home country being qualified.
I can't stand all this money being thrown at white elephants like stadiums.
I can't stand all the advertisements that surround it.
I can't stand the violence and nationalism that certain supporters show.
I can't stand the endless discussions and suppositions regarding who played well or not, or how the referee acted.
I can't stand this stench of corruption.
But most of all, I can't stand Putin and his grandstanding.
This isn't sport anymore. This is just loads of money and bad politics.
101
Grumpiness is no way to happiness. Relax and enjoy the beautiful game, Ma'am.
5
Have been saying to my friends for months that as much as I always look forward to the World Cup, it's going to be a bit harder to stomach this time out. Considering all that the government has been up to both within the sport (and of course elsewhere) the last few years, it would be so welcome for at least one participating nation to protest against - and provide egg on face for - Putin by disrupting the event by skipping it altogether (rather than a hollow show by their representatives/dignitaries in the stands). Of course there's far too much at stake for the players/staff (nevermind their feckless national football associations) to ever consider such a thing but it would make the ultimate statement.
37
This don't watch it. Until you support Fakebook's undermining of American democracy on Putin's behalf. Unlike you support gay people being beaten up on the streets of Moscow. Either you have values...or you don't.
2
Perhaps a few national teams could kneel on the field during various national anthems.
3
No, Russia has not already won. It won't "win" unless the Russian team makes it out of the opening group stage. How wonderful [sic] for Russia that it managed to be placed, by "random draw," in the indisputably weakest group in the opening round robin. Russia, contrary to the column, is going to be the worst ranked team in the 2018 tournament and has a FIFA ranking of 70. It will be playing Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, ranked 14, 67 and 45, respectively. The average rank for this group (A) is 49. The averages for the other groups (B-H) are, respectively: 23, 16.5, 23.75, 16.25, 24.25, 22.75, and 28. All are way under the average of the group in which Russia will play. Was this chance? If you were coach of the Uruguay, Saudi Arabia or Egypt team, would you want to play Russia in the Group stage? Would you trust your players to make it to the field for each game without somehow ingesting something that made them sick? Given Russia’s penchant for poison and tampering with tests for performance enhancing drugs, what do you predict will happen? Given the recent statement by Platini in which he admitted that the draw for the 1998 World Cup in France was rigged certainly demonstrates that rigging the draw for Russia 2018 was possible, and at its worst, even probable.
74
But doesn't that show that there is a possibility and probability that ALL draws for any the World Cup were rigged?
1
I cannot believe the Times has actually published this. What, Larry, you thin k the world is still in 1984 or something? The KGB will be poisoning the Uruguayan team in Nizhni Novgorod to tip the scale to the inept (I agree) Russian national team? C'mon, man.
@yulia
Probably... How's that exculpate Russia, if your question implies it?
The answer it doesn't... Just the opposite reinforces the suspicion that that's what Russian excuse and part of motivation is...
1
I was hopeful given the fact Russia had orchestrated the shooting down of Flight MH17, that the Dutch who had lost almost 200 citizens on the flight, would come out an boycott the 2018 World Cup. The fact now that they didn't even qualify for the World Cup makes it feel a bit more spineless on their part.
Does that sound extreme? Well, most Americans still do not get the impact of the World Cup on... well on the world. Had the Dutch said to the unrepentant, lying Putin administration; We are having none of your ill-gotten hosting of the World Cup Tournament and your murder of our citizens, then other nations might have had a more serious debate about doing the same. And if FIFA had any moral standing at all, when Russia was accused and essentially indicted for state sponsored and wide spread doping at the Sochi Olympics, they would have switched the World Cup to Europe where given the existing great venues and footballing culture, they could have pulled it off on short notice.
Though a handful of nations, in solidarity with England, won't be sending official representatives, you can expect to see Putin strutting around with his cat-swallowed-the-canary smile. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Trump show up, especially once he finds out that some of our allies are going to boycott the event. Just wait and see...
14
Why even have world olympics or any olympics? Between the doping ,lying and many other negatives about it I find it to be a joke. Russia and China are the biggest bad guys in the olympics and should have been banned decades ago. All those millions wasted yearly could have gone into an Affordable Health Care instead of into the court system to investigate corruption and court cost. Time to to end it instead of enabling corruption from Russia to continue. How long and how many more scandles will it need to take to do the right thing?
20
I’m with you. Given the poverty throughout the world and the accompanying poor health care, those hundreds of millions of dollars would be far better spent improving the lives of people rather than lining the pockets of the Russians, tv networks, bookmakers, etc.
The same applies to the joke known as the Olympics.
1
Right now, we're waging a futile war to keep athletes and entire national Olympic teams from doping, advantaging athletes using more newer and more sophisticated doping regimens.
Let's take the opposite tack! Stop drug testing and let athletes do whatever drugs they want short of mechanical aid. Then we can find out what the human body can REALLY do. No more doping scandals and no unfair advantages. I call it the Chemicalympics.
1
..it's a familiar story....widespread fraudulent behavior and corruption in the communist country. Russia, like it's communist neighbor China, will resort to any means possible to achieve its goals. Putin, Xi, Jong Un, Maduro....these autocrats don't care about morals....they have none. Corruption Infiltrating the sport of soccer isn't surprising either...sports are businesses and are vulnerable with owners like Abramovich. Insidious Russians need to be kept at arms length....even on the soccer field.
9
JMS, all that you say is true about soccer but I would rather watch 90 minutes of soccer action than 13 minutes of real play in an American football game or fall asleep when trying to watch baseball.
2
If you thought this is bad, Qatar 2022 is going to be a nightmare, brought to us by even larger suitcases of cash and the enslavement or near-enslavement of tens of thousands of South Asian laborers, many of whom won't live to tell the tale.
Why weren't Russia and Qatar stripped of their hosting privileges following the FIFA scandal, with the hosts chosen in a new vote, heavily scrutinized for signs of corruption?
30
FIFA's World Cup is a fraud. Let us hope that some of the participating countries have enough sense and moral outrage to take a knee and deprive Putin of his public relations victory.
7