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Race Row: Blatter Urged To Quit As Fifa Boss

Fifa president Sepp Blatter is facing calls to step down after he said racist incidents in football matches could be settled with a handshake at the end of the game.

Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, told Sky News the comments were “disgraceful”.

“He has presided over a lot of issues that just haven’t been good enough,” he said. “If he’s going to be the leader of world football then I’m not going to be a follower.

“I believe you can be kicked about, of course you have banter, but when that becomes racist, when that is prefaced with the colour of your skin, it is not acceptable.”

Les Ferdinand – the older cousin of footballing brothers Anton and Rio – told Sky Sports News it was “about time we stopped hearing from him (Blatter)”.

Asked if he believed the head of world football should now go, he said: “I certainly do.

“Like a lot of these people, they don’t understand racism. It’s never happened to them so they’re making comments on a subject they know nothing about.”

In two interviews, Mr Blatter appeared to make light of racial abuse between players during matches.

“There is no racism. There is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one, but also the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game,” he said.

“We are in a game, and at the end of the game we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination.”

He later issued a statement on Fifa’s website claiming he had been “misunderstood”.

Mr Blatter said: “What I wanted to express is that, as football players, during a match, you have ‘battles’ with your opponents, and sometimes things are done which are wrong.

“Having said that, I want to stress again that I do not want to diminish the dimension of the problem of racism in society and in sport.

“I am committed to fighting this plague and kicking it out of football.”

The comments came as the FA charged Liverpool player Luis Suarez with racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

The FA is also investigating claims that England captain John Terry racially abused QPR player Anton Ferdinand. Terry denies the allegation.

Anton’s brother, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand described Mr Blatter’s comments as “condescending” in remarks posted on Twitter.

He tweeted: “If fans shout racist chants but shake our hands is that OK?

“I feel stupid for thinking that football was taking a leading role against racism…..it seems it was just on mute for a while.”

The England player was also critical of Fifa’s attempts to clarify Mr Blatter’s comments with a statement on their website underneath a picture of the Fifa president with South African minister Tokyo Sexwale.

Mr Ferdinand wrote: “Fifa clear up the blatter comments with a pic of him posing with a black man…I need the hand covering eyes symbol!!”

Shaking hands doesn’t resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn’t resonate with the victim of the abuse.

Anti-racism campaign Kick It Out

The Fifa boss replied directly to the footballer saying: “The ‘black man’ as you call him has a name: Tokyo Sexwale. He has done tremendous work against racism and apartheid in Africa.”

The remarks have received widespread condemnation in the British media but little attention in newspapers elsewhere in Europe.

The FA-backed anti-racism groupKick It Out was scathing about Mr Blatter’s remarks, accusing the Fifa president of being “worryingly out of touch”.

It said: “Shaking hands doesn’t resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn’t resonate with the victim of the abuse.”

Mr Blatter recently won a fourth term as Fifa president, despite allegations of corruption among delegates.

Times sports writer Matthew Syed told Sky News: “It’s an astonishing intervention from Blatter.

“He has a track record of coming out with very ill-judged comments, we’ve seen it before with women’s clothing in football, gay rights in Qatar.

“And this is a really characteristic gaffe by somebody who many people who support football around the world cannot understand is in the position that he is.”

Ladbrokes have now slashed the odds of Mr Blatter being out of his current job by the New Year to 2/1.

Sky

November 17, 2011
UK Foreign Minister Hague to ‘draw torture claims line’

Foreign Secretary William Hague is to stress the Government’s commitment to “drawing a line” under the alleged involvement of Britain’s intelligence agencies in the torture of terror suspects held overseas.

In a rare speech on the use of secret intelligence, Mr Hague will praise the agencies as “vital assets” which protect lives and make a “critical contribution” to safeguarding UK national interests.

He will, however, acknowledge that Britain’s reputation had been damaged by a series of claims that MI5 and MI6 officers had been complicit in the extraordinary rendition of terror suspects leading to their detention and torture overseas.

“The very making of these allegations undermined Britain’s standing in the world as a country that upholds international law and abhors torture,” he will say, according to advance extracts of his speech.

“As a Government we understand how important it is that we not only uphold our values and international law, but that we are seen to do so.”

Mr Hague will point to the establishment of the detainee inquiry under Sir Peter Gibson and the recent green paper proposals to enable the greater use of secret intelligence material in court cases as evidence of the Government’s commitment to tackle the issue.

“We are confident that taken together these changes represent the most comprehensive effort yet to address the complex issues thrown up by the need to protect our security in the 21st century, and to do so in a way that upholds our values and begins to restore public confidence,” he will say.

“So this will be our Government’s approach: drawing a line under the past, creating the right legislative framework so that the interests of national security and justice are reconciled, and drawing on the talents and capabilities of the intelligence agencies to support foreign policy and our national security.”

Both approaches have been controversial. Lawyers representing detainees have said they will boycott the Gibson inquiry complaining the hearings will largely be secret and it will not seek evidence from other countries involved.

The green paper has been criticised by human rights groups who have warned that it will lead to greater secrecy in the justice system, making it more difficult to hold the authorities to account for alleged abuses.

Press Association

November 16, 2011
Gang ‘yelled racist abuse as Stephen Lawrence was knifed’

The mother of Stephen Lawrence today listened intently to a graphic account of her son’s murder 18 years ago by five white youths who shouted racist abuse as they stabbed him.

The 18-year-old A-level student was “swallowed up” by the sheer weight of numbers in an unprovoked attack and forced to the ground.

He had been waiting for a bus in Eltham with his friend Duwayne Brooks. Prosecutor Mark Ellison told the Old Bailey the attackers were “a group of like-minded young white men who acted together… reacting as one on seeing two black men”.

He said: “The one that did not manage to run away was forced down and stabbed twice to the torso. The only discernible reason was the colour of his skin.”

The group “shared the same racial animosity”. Stephen’s mother Doreen was in court as the jury was told he staggered 220 yards after being stabbed before collapsing from loss of blood.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, both of south London, plead not guilty to the murder in April 1993.

The case against them is based on new forensic evidence, the court was told. Mr Ellison said Duwayne managed to escape, shouting “get up and run, Steve”. But Mr Ellison said: “Stephen Lawrence did not manage to get away. The group quickly surrounded him.”

Duwayne told police he heard one of the gang shout “what, what, n****r” as they launched their attack.

Mr Ellison said: “A racist comment was the precursor to a totally unprovoked rushing at them. The group response showed that they had the same racial animosity and motivation and that racist violence of this kind might be the result when they all joined in the attack on the uttering of that racist comment.”

Mrs Lawrence sat with son Stuart close to the dock. Stephen’s father, Neville, left court seconds before Mr Ellison started to address the jury but returned later. Mr Ellison said the attack happened on a Thursday night, as the two teenagers were waiting in Well Hall Road, Eltham, to catch a bus home to Woolwich.

“There was trouble with the buses that night and after waiting for a while at the stop where others were also waiting the two of them walked towards the Well Hall roundabout to see if any buses were coming,” said the QC.

“As they reached the area just beyond the junction with Dickson Road, they turned around and started back towards the bus stop.

“By the time they had reached the zebra crossing there was a group of about five white youths crossing over the Well Hall Road towards them.

“One of the group was heard by Duwayne Brooks to say ‘what, what, n****r’ at the same time the whole group suddenly began to rush towards them.

“A woman at the bus stop also heard something being said by someone in the group but could not make out what it was. Duwayne Brooks turned to Stephen Lawrence and told him to run but the group caught up at the junction of Dickson Road.”

The court heard that even though Duwayne was only a little way ahead of Stephen he managed to escape but Stephen was caught.

Stephen managed to run about 220 yards after he was stabbed. Mr Ellison said: “Although as we know by now he was mortally wounded, Stephen Lawrence was able to run some way up Well Hall Road and join Duwayne Brooks.

“He couldn’t, however, keep up with Duwayne Brooks and having run what was later measured to be around 220 yards or metres from where he was stabbed, he collapsed on the pavement … never to get up again.” Mr Ellison told the court that the group who attacked him had acted “as one”.

He said: “This group, we allege, looking at the eyewitness evidence, had acted essentially as one.

“The stab wounds were inflicted and then they had decamped as one up Dickson Road.”

Mr Brooks called 999 from a call box before trying to get help from passers by. A couple who were walking and an off-duty police officer driving with his wife stopped to try to help.

But by that point Stephen was showing no signs of life and he died later in hospital from loss of blood.

Mr Ellison said that none of the eyewitness had been able to identify the attackers but now there was new scientific evidence which came to light as a result of a cold case review that started in 2007.

Earlier the judge had warned the jury that they should ignore anything they may have seen on last week’s TV drama The Jury.

“That is not real life and how we work in this court, please adhere to the instructions I have given you and I am sure you are all people of sound common sense and fairness and you will understand fully the instructions I have given to you,” said the judge.

He has banned the 12 jurors from doing any research or inquiries on the internet into the case.

Mr Lawrence and his ex-wife sat feet from the accused as the jury of eight men and four women was sworn in. Only one of the jurors was black.

The case continues.

London Evening Standard

November 16, 2011
Liverpool FC agrees deal with Turkish Tourism

Liverpool Football Club has announced a new two-year partnership with Turkish Tourism.

The deal, the first of its kind in the UK for the tourism body, includes advertising rights and other benefits.

The club’s managing director Ian Ayre said: “Turkey is a great country and we all have fantastic memories of our European Cup win in Istanbul in 2005.

“Through this partnership the club can provide Turkish Tourism with significant brand visibility and access to our supporter base to help raise awareness of their tourism opportunities.”

Tolga Tuyluoglu, director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in London, said: “I am delighted that Turkey will be an official partner to such a historic club. I am sure that all Liverpool fans will have positive associations with Turkey already, following their dramatic Champions League win in Istanbul back in 2005. We hope to build on this to create a dynamic partnership.

“The city of Liverpool is known for its music and culture; its world-class galleries, museums and landmarks, which of course provides a body of shared values for us to work with. Over one quarter of those taking package-holidays to Turkey do so from the North West of England so this area is very important to Turkey. Of course, the fact that Liverpool FC plays in red and white is a bonus too!”

The deal was unveiled at the World Travel Market in London.

How Do

November 10, 2011
Broken Britain: Blame the Interpreters?

Jonathan Downie

“People in Britain who cannot speak English have cost the taxpayer almost £180m in interpreters over the past three years,” says a prominent report by Kevin Dowling and Mark Hookham in a recent Sunday Times article (23.10.11, page 7). In fact, the topic is considered so important by the Sunday Times that it also gets discussed in an opinion piece (‘Immigrant integration gets lost in translation’, by Dominic Raab, Conservative MP for Esher & Walton, page 31) in the same issue of the newspaper.

In the course of these two articles, interpreters are held doubly responsible for the state of the nation. For one thing, they are – we’re told – a huge drain on public resources at a time when we can least afford it. And for another, they stop immigrants settling firmly into the community by enabling them to resist any requirement to learn English.

The “enormous” expense of interpreting services, says the MP, “highlights the hidden costs of uncontrolled immigration”. The solution, we’re told, is pretty straightforward. Interpreters will be hired through a private contractor and paid £22 an hour. Now, let me think, what might suffer if the sums spent on interpreters are so sharply reduced?

Oh, yes – that would be quality. Why is it hard to understand that the knee-jerk of paying poorly will just create different problems?

One, it will mean that experienced professionals will not take on this kind of work. The gaps will be filled by less-qualified people. Now, which other public service professionals – police officers, teachers, doctors who will not be able to do their jobs properly without effective interpreting – would consider £22 an hour to constitute fair and appropriate recognition of their skills?

Two, it will mean that the interpreters available will not be as well-trained for the task. Yet you’d be hard-pressed to spot the clamour for reducing the training required for surgeons or riot police. What’s behind this disparity? Could it be the myth that any bilingual can automatically interpret?

Thirdly, and most importantly, cutting corners and therefore failing to put effective communication in place is a false economy. This Department has argued long and hard for some serious accounting for the real, hidden, long-term costs of inadequate interpreting. Where are the public policy economists who will work with us on this issue? We’re more than ready to take up the challenge.

From 1993-1995, I researched court interpreting (click herehttp://forestbookshop.com/pages/Categories/0946252483.html for some published results of this research) with one group of minority language users in the UK. I watched from the public gallery as a lengthy trial collapsed owing to inadequate interpreting. That false start alone – back in the mid-90s, mind you – cost over £1m.

And, fortunately, the problems in that instance were noticed. What happens when they’re not? What then is the cost in mis-diagnosis, wrongful imprisonment, lost business and, above all, the loss of human well-being?

Of course money shouldn’t be squandered. And without doubt, it is good to facilitate English-language development enthusiastically and in appropriate ways. But, please, let’s not fool ourselves that the cost of decent interpreting can disappear by magic. These measures will not remove those costs, but only ensure that they come with a side-order of misery.

lifeinlincs.wordpress.com,

November 10, 2011
Bankers admit they DO earn too much and “power and glamour” of money dehumanised people

Bankers have finally admitted they are paid too much.

Christian think-tank St Paul’s Institute found many believe their pay is too high compared to teachers or nurses.

The poll of 500 bankers also revealed that only 33% believe in God.

Canon Chancellor Giles Fraser and Reverend Graeme Knowles both quit St Paul’s Cathedral amid anti-greed protests.

The Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu said the “power and glamour” of money dehumanised people.

Meanwhile, Ed Miliband last night said the protesters were a wake-up call to the Government.

In a scathing attack he blasted PM David Cameron for protecting “the privileged, the powerful and the wealthiest 1% of society”.

The Mirror

November 7, 2011