Andy's Sting In The Tale (27/02/26) " Well Done Bodo Glimt"
- Andy Smith
- Feb 27
- 7 min read
Sometimes football results make all fans smile.
Back in North Blighty, the Scottish Sports Minister’s Round Table meets again on Monday.
It was moved at the eleventh hour so sadly I’ll be an absentee.
It’s a good forum potentially but I’d say it is in danger of being hi-jacked by particular self-interests.
And Monday is in danger of that.
Many of you know that my old gig, up to last August was Chair at the SFSA.
For those of you wondering, I have never resigned.
And I’ve never been told I’m out, so technically am still chair there.
But last July Reg, their co-founder shut the team doing all the work out.
Shut us out of our email, contacts, projects etc. etc.
No discussion.
No board minutes.
Just the personal whims of a small person running an increasingly political CIC.
You might ask why?
It’s because the majority of the board didn’t share deep held Reg’s belief that an independent financial regulator was the best thing to give Scottish Football a rosier future.
That subject is scheduled for Monday’s Round Table Agenda and Reg’s other co-founder of the political CIC might still present a paper telling the world why he’s right and why everyone else is wrong.
The ‘paper’ should be out by now but hasn’t been published as I go to publishing so I can’t share it or comment.
But I will in the fullness of time.
Maybe I’m lucky to be avoiding the 30 minutes of ‘Death by PowerPoint’ and senseless politicking.
If the English regulator ever comes up with something good we can copy it from over the Emperor’s wall for free.
And after a career in business and a shorter career in football I can say that some key Issues will always exist in football.
Clubs are individual businesses run by owners under UK business and commercial law not just football laws.
And Ambition, indeed Over-Ambition and Fear are constants which will always lead to pressures on football businesses and how they interface with their fans.
The post Rangers SFA rule where clubs have got to have paid their social taxes is one good thing England could steal from us.
But for now well done to the Norwegian Minnows from the Arctic Circle.
This Week’s Sting
1. Good Kompany
2. Extra Funding for Kids Football
3. Ifab Plans
4. Crypto or Corrupto?
5. Security Stuff in the Good Ol’ USA
6. Illegal Streaming
7. Lisa on the Case?
1. If You Haven’t Watched Vincent’s Take on the ‘Face-Hidden Monkey Chants’
I listened to his 12-minute version on YouTube but google it and there is a 4-minute version too.
The man is articulate, insightful, and incredibly fair.
This vignette will be a forever stain on Gianluca Prestianni because his club have dug a hole for him.
Not Mourinho’s or Benfica’s finest hour either.
2. Why Has This Never Been Tried?
Last week I introduced a hint of a wee idea that might just work and some of you asked me to develop it.
It didn’t need much.
So, if you were on the moon then here it is again writ a little larger and comments and insights are again, and as always welcome.
It’s a potential way to deal with the ugly sectarian and racist chanting in some of our grounds and could also combat other bad behaviours like the Pyro Epidemic.
But one at a time.
Basically it’s an escalating fine system where clubs first get a warning about particular and specified fan behaviours and then escalating fines for repeats.
So the fans choose and know that their actions have repercussions.
The first occurrence could be an official warning that the meter is set.
The second occurrence would bring a nominal fine of say £5K.
The third sees the initial fine double to £10k and be added to previous fines.
The fourth double again and the fines would soon mount up and become something that fans know is hurting their club.
And the smart move is all the monies raised go into kids grass roots football turning a current, ugly but deep-rooted negative into a positive.
3. Time for Real Changes Guys?
This week the Fifa, Ifab AGM takes place in Cardiff and the group are looking to deal with time wasting at throw ins and bye kicks.
The meeting doesn’t happen in public but should.
What have they got to hide?
And Fifa too?
We’re all stakeholders.
But fair enough, time wasting and mistaken second yellow cards should be dealt with.
But the top of my list of things to be done would be the incessant cheating.
Stuff like the constant ‘in the box’ wrestling.
And cheating forwards, running into defenders legs and falling over at the self-induced ‘contact’ somehow justified when our pundits ,who don’t know the actual rules, say ‘Definite Contact”, instead of “Self-Induced Contact, No Penalty’ .
I hate the cheating, justified by the end results.
And I hate the way football seems incapable of dealing with it.
4. New Financial Frolicking at Fifa
King Donald has one.
So Jahnnie is looking for one too.
What I hear you thinking?
I’m talking Crypto currencies .
And the rumours abound that Fifa are looking at a Football version.
I don’t pretend to understand any of it but it doesn’t feel right or in the long-term interests of the game.
The Infantino man speaking from King Donald’s Mar a Lago Kingdom last week said,
“We are studying the development of a Fifa token and coin. A real potential currency serving 6 Billion fans worldwide.
“Scary stuff by scary people”.
5. This Could/Will Become Even Messier
We live in an ever-troubled world.
This week Mexico has seen an escalation of uncontrollable violence in World Cup host city, Guadalajara after a head of the resident drugs cartel was killed.
This city was never a good choice in the first place because there is no easy way for fans to get to the Estadio Akron.
As a frequent visitor I can confirm that Mexican infrastructure is challenging at the best of times.
And the USA are making things worse with reports confirming this week that $900 Million, the total promised to the 11 USA host cities for security has been frozen by what is described as a ‘Partial Federal Government Shutdown”.
According to the long-winded ‘State of the Union’ by the narcissistic son of a Lewis-born woman, the USA is on the edge of a Golden Period.
The reality is somewhat different to his narrative.
This week also saw New York/New Jersey saying they were cancelling their proposed Fan Fest.
And McDonalds, the ‘Official Restaurant’, or some other bull title like that has said it will not serve its product at any Fan Fest.
Having personally underwritten ‘The Tartan Tent’ at Glasgow Green in 1998 for the World Cup I can confirm Mickie D’s are wise because the Fan Fests are currently a house of cards and New York won’t be the only one not to fledge beyond the planning stage.
This week’s press released ‘bull’ from Jahnnie said, Fifa is closely monitoring the Mexican situation but has complete confidence.
But take it from me, there is a real chance that Infantino’s constant message that The World Cup delivers ‘Billions’ to the hosts will start failing to cut the mustard.
And while I’m on an anti-Fifa rant, I heard this week that last week’s announcement at King Donald’s Press Launch for his Bond of Peace, was done and delivered with no internal discussions, no budget in place and no interface with the Palestinian FA.
But at least Sporrans have been approved for the Tartan Army.
Small mercies and all that.
6. Shades of King Canute?
Illegal streaming happens because ‘paid for viewing’ offers significant margins and profits to nefarious operations who respond to easy opportunities like content piracy.
Uefa this week were on the attack in India where much of the illegals are created and sold on, and are claiming a victory because they have now won the power in Indian courts to shut down existing piracy sites and also their clones without going back to the same courts again and again.
I’d say the pirates will always find other ways and other countries and I hate organised crime but feel this is a thankful break that stops Fifa and Uefa squeezing even more out of fans.
And I’m on a wee trip to Belek, losing golf balls this week and my pal Tam and I watched Celtic’s first ever victory in Germany on his VPN at no cost to him.
Well done the Glasgow side but too little, too late for our plummeting coefficient.
7. Closing the Unlicensed Gambling Loophole
It seems that Lisa Nandy, our culture minister is about to ban unlicensed gambling operators from sponsoring UK clubs.
Why?
Because her press release said “Unlicensed firms want to appeal to British Audiences but don’t meet our regulatory standards. It is unfair competition to firms who meet our requirements”.
And someone equally important called Baroness Twycross then chipped in and said, “We know the real harm that unregulated gambling can cause, exploiting vulnerable people and leaving consumers without the protections they deserve”.
Baroness Twycross, and Lisa Nandy.
Andy Smith, esteemed Chair of The Scottish Football Union Fan Group and arguably the SFSA too, in this wee Friday blog said, “Real harm is done by regulated gambling companies too. Stuff you are not doing nearly enough about. To some fans gambling can be a serious addiction. Gambling is known to kill some people and it damages families and innocent kids. Don’t be such bloody hypocrites. Gambling should be shown the same door as Tobacco”.
Andy’s Sting Blog
Opinions are mine as a fan and like John Maynard Keynes I 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 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
Eric Clapton & Friends : The Breeze
This album is an appreciation of the late JJ Cale by Slowhand and some mutual musical friends like Mark Knopfler, Don White, Willie Nelson and Tom Petty.
It’s a comfortable collection of laidback tribute to the genius that was John Weldon Cale.
I remember some of the reviews at the time saying Clapton and his pals had stayed too close to the originals, just as Eric had done with his version of Cocaine, but it works fine.
Reviewers are often up their own posteriors.
This is a musical warm bath and celebrates JJ Cale’s relaxed style where he always seemed to play his notes behind the rhythm.
Why try to fix what was never broken in the first place?
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