Andy's Sting In The Tale (06/03/26) "Is Anyone Asking the Right Questions at FIFA?"
- Andy Smith
- Mar 6
- 6 min read
It is 100 days exactly till Scotland will hopefully line up somewhere to play Haiti.
We will have a World Cup dominated by the USA and its current foibles.
Accelerating uncertainty and genuine worry has become a fact of life.
Pragmatic and cynical but always optimistic Andy thinks it will go ahead.
And all will be OK.
Yes, Fifa have evolved into a money driven machine hiding behind and within football naked revenue generation and extraction have become the underlying reasons for the whole ever-growing four yearly sporting charade.
Sitting here and trying to mind-map some of the things that somehow now seem normal in this crazy world to write my wee weekly football blog has been quietly disturbing.
Donald John Trump, son of Mary Anne MacLeod from Tong in Lewis, Jahnnie Infantino’s first ever winner of the Infantino Fifa Peace Prize has in the last few months passed so many milestones that should have been red cards long ago.
But weren’t.
Fit and Proper and All That?
We are where he’s taken us and the die is cast.
The Donald will soon host and no doubt hand over the trophy and bask in glory that isn’t his.
Just one man.
A wonderful member of the Scots diaspora.
A fine son of the island who tells us he has stopped at least 8 wars.
A fellow who then proclaimed to the Greenlanders, the Danish and Europe that Greenland will be his.
Ditto to Canada, his next door neighbours and co-hosts too.
A firm pal of the wee man who invaded Ukraine as step one in the recreation of his particular USSR rebuild dream.
A blatant bully who publicly belittled the wee Ukrainian guys we should all be helping.
A transactionally driven narcissistic colossus whose big break was The Apprentice and Covid.
A man who craves respect from the world’s real giant, Xi Jinping.
An inherent golfing cheat whose support for Netanyahu and everything he has done is deeper than deep and where in his world Palestine is just future real estate to his visions.
The forever president who shut down honest jobs across his country to the point that things like paying for fans security might not happen.
A man who unilaterally sanctioned the invasion of Venezuela, kidnapped the head, and some say plans to fund it all, and more with their oil reserves.
And finally his latest geo political gambit.
A joint warmaker against Iran with Bibi.
Where his first strike took out a sovereign country’s Head of State.
Where there is no practical or thought-through plan for the future.
At times like these I look to those wiser than me.
Insightful commentators and historians like Max Hastings think the outcomes in Iran will probably mirror the post- interference bloody and violent vacuums in Libya and Iraq.
Generations of strife and conflict long after Trump and most of us are gone.
Maybe one day we’ll get the truth about the Epstein files, and dark influences from other states, but not in our lifetimes.
So in the meantime, here are a few pertinent questions that will neither be asked or answered, except in my brackets.
But ask them I will.
Why is Trump’s America still seen as a fit and proper place to hold the World Cup?
(Money and Infantino’s support.
If it sells out and even if it doesn’t it will be the highest grossing sporting event so far).
Is King Donald, (was he ever), fit to be the first winner of Infantino’s Peace Prize?
(No).
(Never).
Will the World Cup be safe for the Tartan Army?
(Yes, but very expensive).
Will Iran be at the World Cup?
(No).
Has Fifa learned anything for the future?
(No, just that money makes the World Cup go around).
Why is nobody in football standing up and asking basic questions about the morality of it all?
(Don’t be so bloody stupid Andy.
Any outward disagreement means nations lose out in the race for the riches in the Fifa Trough.
Don’t forget that most national FA’s across the world only survive because of Fifa monies. Loyalty to the leader and all that).
Will Fifa learn and change for the future?
(No.
But Fair Play to the man Infantino who took a financially challenged Fifa and created a money machine to feed his growing list of backers.
Money oils all the wheels and keeps the show on the road).
Should our women’s team play the matches against Israel?
(That’s a whole new ball game and I don’t know but wish we were in a different group).
This Week’s Sting
1. The Song books Will Be Out in Force
2. What Happens When There is No Right Answer?
3. Uncertainty Time at Camelot
4. What Do Wolves Have in Common With Lewis Select
5. Old Enough to Remember Saturday at 3
6. Cover Your Mouth
1. This Crap Could Be Raising Money for Kids Football
As a neutral, I’m looking forward to Sunday’s semi.
The football that is.
I find the songbooks a public embarrassment, it’s not and never has been ‘atmosphere’.
I personally don’t want to be up to my neck in anyone’s blood or sing songs about an organisation who killed innocent kids in Omagh and other places.
I’m glad readers of Sting agree with me, would like to see escalating fines for club’s fans who cross the decency line and why shouldn’t the monies raised not go to kid’s football.
2. Wrong Time Wrong Venue
The ‘KDM Evolutionary Trophy’ final is between my childhood team, ICT and Raith Rovers, Murray my wonderful Sting picture editor’s club.
When the finalists were known, I’d have started by looking for a convenient neutral ground between Kirkcaldy and Inverness.
Not easy but Aberdeen or Perth would have been to me the best compromise and I’d never have considered a kick off at 16.10 on a Sunday afternoon in Glasgow.
Not fair on any of the fans.
No trains home for the highlanders.
Yes, TV and TV monies was the reason.
When this happens and travelling fans are disenfranchised we should see financial help to add on buses etc.
Scottish football needs a Fans’ Charter for occasions like this.
It will be a great final but as I’ve said before, “In a ‘Laissez Fire Economy’, the consumer should always be king”.
Football often forgets that.
3. Thank You Maree Todd
The last in a series of genuine get-togethers of people from all over football took place on Monday.
Maree Todd, Minister has chaired them all with patience and humour and with May’s election on the horizon this will be the last until Holyrood is reset.
I’d like to go on the record saying two things.
First, thanks to the Minister for her input and balance.
Second, that this forum should not be at the whim of changing governments but something which the football family invites governments to.
I hope she stays involved.
4. The Record Stays in Lewis
I remember playing for Inverness Welfare Select against a Lewis Select in the mid/late ‘70s.
It was a great game but if we had had a commentator there would have been 8 MacLeods to deal with.
Last week Wolves had 4 Gomez and 2 Buenos playing on the park in their win against Villa.
The ‘Bught Stadium Surname Record’ was challenged but the MacLeods and Lewis keep hold of the trophy, and yes it is a certainty that some of them will be related to King Donald also of that clan.
You can pick your friends and all that.
5. What is it About Cup Games and Saturdays at 3?
Four games and all to suit the media not the club’s supporters.
One tonight one early tomorrow, one late tomo/rrow and one evening kick off on Sunday.
Turnstile fans always seem to be an afterthought.
I guess it’s all about TV revenues.
No that’s not a guess.
6. Fighting Against Protocol
Telling kids to cover their mouth becomes second nature for good reasons.
But I never understood why covering of the mouth became an overnight epidemic in football.
It’s like the players think they are passing state secrets in their wee confabs.
I get it when the Benfica player covered his mouth when allegedly making monkey insults.
Anyway IFAB those wonderful people maybe can’t stop pulling, pushing and cheating in the box.
But Mouth Coverers, Whoever You Are?
IFAB are going to eradicate this felony!
Andy’s Sting Blog
Opinions are always mine and mine alone.
And I can always plead the Keysian Amendment i.e. reserve the right to change my views if/when I get better information.
If you’re not a member of the SFU then please help us become a strong representative force.
A broad church who deals with issues collaboratively and with humour to achieve results rather than pointless friction.
And as always feel free to write to me about anything in football or beyond.
Andy’s Album of the Week
Peat And Diesel : Live At The Barrowlands 2020
Proof after all the Trump stuff that there are good things in Lewis and good things coming from Lewis too.
This is raucous joyous noisy stuff.
Raw, rowdy, and playing to what is/was effectively a home crowd.
Teuchters, all of them.
Bloody wonderful Teuchters with music that makes you smile.
Even King Donald’s mum would be jigging to the boys.
‘Makes the Pogues sound like a boy band’ was a wonderful summation.
Island, Pirates of the Hebrides, and Horo Gheallaidh are stand outs.
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