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Modern slaves

Thursday, 10th July 2008

Why is it that international sporting bodies tend to be headed by people who are, to be polite, repellent?

The IOC - which has apparently cleaned its act up a bit - has historically been corrupt from top to bottom.

Motor racing's FIA is headed by Max Mosley. Enough said.

UEFA's old boss, Lennart Johannson, was a dreadful specimen. 

And as for FIFA's boss, Sepp Blatter: his latest outburst is typically ignorant and offensive. According to Mr Blatter:

I think in football there's too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere. We are trying now to intervene in such cases. The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contacts in order to keep the players and then if he wants to leave, then there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract.

I'm not going deal here with his failure to understand the purpose and nature of a contract of employment. But calling footballers modern slaves is simply disgusting.

Modern slaves don't earn £122,000 a week. Slavery is real and exists today.  This is modern slavery.

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michael

July 10th, 2008 11:18am

You said it.

And don t forget that Juan Antonio Samaranch, he of Olympic Games and IOC fame.

A less respectable face for an initiative of such ideals would be hard to find.

Derah Yasque

July 10th, 2008 5:51pm

What about the Lawn Tennis Association then? Eh? Eh?

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