There are times when you wonder if some sporting officials are on the planet, and not floundering somewhere in outer space in a world of their own.
Like the IOC banning Australian husband-and-wife shooters Russell and Lauryn Mark from rooming together in the London Olympic Games village because of a clash in bathroom facilities.
Like the AOC supporting the London Olympic selection of rogue swimmer Nick D’Arcy.
Like FIFA boss Sep Blatter taking six years to agree to electronic assistance in the goal-mouth, insisting there’s no racism in football, and endorsing the selection of postage stamp sized Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
Like the new A-League team – the Western Sydney Wanderers – wanting to deface and denigrate rugby league icon Ray Price’s statue when the Wanderers play home games at Parramatta Stadium.
And the same tunnel-visioned officials selecting an exact replica of the North Sydney Bears jersey that has been in existence since 1908.
Like selecting John Grant as chairman of the newly-formed Australian Rugby League Commission to run the code.
Like SANZAR adding Argentina to the Tri-Nations rugby tournament.
And like Wimbledon insisting all players wear predominately white clothing to sustain tradition at the home of tennis.
All bollocks, and only worthwhile mentioning because they are all so outrageously stupid decisions.
Russell and Lauryn roomed together at the last Commonwealth Games in Delhi, with no drama. It will be Russell’s sixth Olympics, Lauryn’s first, and hopefully that decision will be reversed sooner than later, with 10 buildings and more than 5,000 rooms available.
If sex is the problem, why have organisers made 150,000 free condoms readily available?
If there was a public referendum on D’Arcy there would be a 90-95% vote to rub D’Arcy right out of swimming for life for viciously assaulting compatriot swimmer Simon Cowley and avoiding paying a $135,000 fine by declaring himself bankrupt to dishonour his responsibility.
A cowardly cop out.
The 76-year-old Blatter is sport’s biggest and most dangerous joke, with his decision to support Qatar, one fifth the size of Tasmania, to host the World Cup.
Farcical.
The respectability and honesty of that decision will have a major question mark hanging over it for all time.
Football is the biggest sport in the world, but a poor fourth in Australia behind AFL, rugby league, and rugby, and always will be. It doesn’t need bad publicity like the Wanderers are generating, who haven’t kicked a ball in anger as yet.
Football saviour Frank Lowy should get on the phone and sort these tunnel-visioned Wanderers officials out before they do irraparable damage to the round ball code.
Football fans should always remember if it hadn’t been for the millions of dollars Lowy has sunk into the code, it would now be as spectator interesting as synchronised swimming.
John Grant is power hungry and wants to take hands on with every ARLC position. Forcing David Gallop out in the first year of a four-year contract as CEO was a bad decision, which will have serious repercussions.
So too adding Argentina to the Tri-Nations, Watch the burn-out factor rise alarmingly with all the extra travel on top of Super Rugby, and the June internationals, that include the Bledisloe Cup.
And while there’s nothing wrong with tradition, Wimbledon has gone too far with its all-white edict.
Ease up English, a bit of colour only brightens the atmosphere. Austerity can be suffocating.
mahony
Guest
I understood it - why don't you? You scared old dinosaur. The 'wogs' are comming (some of them by boat) and there is nothing you can do to save the Anglosphere from crashing down and letting the football in...... Wont somebody think of the children?
mahony
Guest
You are a loss to the game. A minutes silence at a sold out Sydney Derby for your absence...
Dublin Dave
Guest
Oh come off it, apaway. There WAS no official "code of football" when Webb Ellis committed his "fine disregard of the rules". That legendary incident took place in 1823. The Football Association was not formed for another 40 years, and it was only in that year 1863 that the first official rule book of "Association Football" was produced. The rules that Webb Ellis so finely disregarded were not rules at all but merely the traditions of the game as played in Rugby school at the time. As to this whole nonsensical issue of soccer fans getting miffed about other codes "stealing" their name. I grew up in a city in Northern Ireland which has two names: the official one, and the one that everybody uses in everyday speech. Sometimes people try to make a political point about using one version or the other. I always call it by one name. If somebody uses the alternative I don't bat an eyelid; we each know what we're talking about. I use the word soccer just to be clear about what code we're talking about. Because in every English speaking country in the world, apart from Britain, there is a different default meaning of the word "football". Live with it.
the facts
Guest
"Football is the biggest sport in the world, but a poor fourth in Australia behind AFL, rugby league, and rugby, and always will be." David, I could make a solid argument against league and afl, but I will stuck to rugby union. fact 1 - more people at every age,gender play/have interest in football more than rugby. fact 2 - the national football team are made up of players from EVERY mainland sate in Australia, unlike the wallabies who represent like it has for the past 100 years players from NSW/QLD. fact 3 - Football has a national league (has had one since the late 70's) unlike rugby which doesnt have one and needs to beg to the Nz/SA RU to create some form of competition. fact 4 - 50k Australian's went to the FIFA WC 2010. Did 50k Australian cross the ditch to watch the wallabies DON'T THINK SO. fact 5 - The FFA receive more now from TV rights p.y from a contract that was signed in 2005 then the ARU who have TWICE upgraded their tv rights deal since 2005. The next TV rights will see the FFA make the ARU rights look like the ANZ netball TV rights. fact 6 - in 2006 3.5 million Australians stayed up to watch the National football team play their first WC game against Japan, the next year the wallabies played Japan in their first rugby WC game. 600K people watched. I could go on but I'm bored. Conclusion: Football at EVERY level is far superior to rugby. It has NEVER been raked 4th of the 'codes.'And Lordy, that WILL ALWAYS BE THE CASE.
c
Guest
The Back Page programme another group of australian media illiterates on the world game
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
See this is where it starts,people believe what they hear or read without looking into to it properly,this story was on The Back Page programme last night saying Ray Price would be covered over so now Joe Blow Rugby League fan is going to tell all his mates and their all going to be against the club now.....mission accomplished.If you look a little below the surface you would realise that the statue was not going to be covered over,just the mere suggestion that they might pop a WSW jersey on it which is just abit of fun.Look further and you'll find WSW fans were very anti even the thought of doing it.Its not gonna happen.
Titus
Guest
Hi Joshie, just to fill you in and to save you from reading or thinking, no-one ever said the Ray Price statue was going to be covered up, it was complete media speculation and Lyall Gorman has confirmed it was all BS............you really need to take David Lord articles with a grain of salt, he is pushing an agenda.
Joshua Wells
Roar Rookie
Great article. Well done! I agree with a lot in this. I do not like the ray price statue thing at all, how dare they!?
Kasey
Guest
If it wasn’t a dig at football and a blatant attempt to pick up comments by kicking the round ball hornets nest, then why was this under the football tab?
c
Guest
What is Football then? Glad you asked .. Football is any game played using a ball while all the players remain on their feet normally associated with the middle to lower classes oh good hockey and lacrosse and golf are forms of football bwahahaha and btw a ball is round
Titus
Guest
Well a quick Google tells me that Rugby has 10 clubs playing statewide, while Football has 9 in the North and 10 in the South, each League in Football has promotion/relegation to division 2. There was a short lived statewide competition but now there appears to be a cup competition between the best teams in the North and South. There are regular thrashings in the AFL, does that mean the AFL isn't a very strong League? The Southern Football competition has been going since 1900. My spidy senses tell me that Football is No. 2 in Tassie.
c
Guest
roger i didnt take the bait i stopped when i saw the name of the author. what offended me was he was talking about soccer a game he hates
Patrick
Guest
Yep regular 10-nil, 7-nil thrashings in the southern premier league must equal a strong comp. Dream on. As for NSW, Vic; Tassie is a small state. Running a statewide comp is cheaper than on the mainland. The longest trip is from Hobart to Burnie, easily done in 4hrs.
Titus
Guest
Maybe because there are so many players they are able to have two strong competitions, one in the north one in the south. NSW doesn't have a statewide competition in Rugby or Football, nor does Victoria. I have seen footage of the Tasmanian Premier League and it looks like a very strong competition and not kids as you put it.
Patrick
Guest
In Tassie there is a statewide mens RU competition whereas in soccer there isn't. I'm sure there are more kids playing soccer, but somehow this hasn't translated into a Tassie state comp. Not sure why. Also, the NRL trial game between Storm-Broncos got a larger crowd than the regular season match involving Melb Victory. So not sure you can make such a grand claim that RU and RL are non-entities in Tassie.
Roger
Guest
Yes, because Clive Palmer's GCU was the standard arrangement for A-League teams last season. No..... wait....
Roger
Guest
Well David. I trust you consider this "mission accomplished" with this drivel, as you managed over 180 comments. For the record, I spotted that your article was rubbish 2 lines in, and stopped reading. The rest of the Roar readership should have done the same. Unfortunately some took the bait.
Australian Rules
Guest
You didn't see the parts where David attacked all the other sports in the article too? Or at least, their administrations?
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football
Guest
The last time I came across an anonymous sauce it was on a kebab and made me quite ill. Never trust an anonymous sauce!
Cameron
Guest
have a look at your own A league backyard. Did GCU keep to a professional standard by making a bemused 17 year old their captain?