Elephant in the Room...Boycott of Russia 2018?

[beachesl]

...or is it too soon to even guess?

[jpg75]

A lot can happen in 4 years.

[beachesl]

...yeah, but in 3 1/2 years you'll be heaaring from FIFA, "it's too late to change".  

[Blackdude]

We said the same things about the Olympics. Russia will calm down 6 months before the WC.

[Cheeta]

^ Apples and oranges comparison.  Too many corpses have been stacking up too fast.

 

Long winded Cheeta post....

 

We're not seeing it publicly but I'd bet President Dithers is finally showing a grand hairy pair off behind closed doors to friend and foe alike.

 

If you haven't been paying attention the new found stern looks towards Russia that have been coming from some of the more enabling EU leaders recently aren't from a moral change of heart as it were.  Think it has more to do with heading off serious unilateral economic sanctions being developed in Washington (real, imagined, threatened or otherwise) which would create serious collateral damage for a Russia friendly EU.

 

It really is amazing the unmatched global power the USA still holds when it chooses to unilaterally wage war on the front it fights best on.  The economic one.

 

And the instance some anti-Russian legislature with congressional support (in an electoral year) or the US Department of Justice decides FIFA's economic activities with "shadowy money" warrants a detailed investigative look because of the possibility criminal connections occurring on a global scale all bets for a WC Finals in Russia are off.  I'm no expert but I'm under the impression the Swiss are weary of The Great Glaring Eye from the Dark Tower in Washington focusing on them.  Its not only morally embarrassing but it's also been bad for business and protecting FIFA is not a hill on which the Swiss are willing to die on.

 

I also don't think FIFA, or Budweiser, or Coke, or McDonalds or Adidias want to part of that sort of attention either.

 

And isn't that the greatest tool of terrorism?  Be it private or state.  The real threat can be very, very, small but if its applied smartly the reactionary response of those threatened can achieve the terrorists ends.  

 

Russian tanks & Russian troops in Ukraine + a FIFA WC Finals in Russia = the end of the status quo for FIFA.  Forever.

 

If President Dithers, whilst sitting in the White House gazing up at Osama bin Ladin's Beard in the Oval Office trophy case is getting any sort of reasonable advise from his so called advisers he'll be playing the threat to FIFA card HARD.  And Putin can't be liking it one bit.

 

And....breeth. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blackdude]

Why would Switzerland care? It's not a country that will take sides and I don't see why it would change. There's a reason why FIFA and the IOC have their headquarters in Switzerland. Why would it change now? It's not like Switzerland is going to ally itself with either one of those people. Plus, they don't care about the US who are far from being the exemple to follow.

[Cheeta]

Money, money, money.

 

In the big scheme of things FIFA and it's not-for-profit charitable status within Switzerland isn't even a small fish.  Not even a minnow fry.  If the US wants its financial records it'll get them or it'll put enough hurt on the Swiss financial industry until it does gets them.  Just the implied threat of putting hurt on the Swiss financial industry will put hurt on their financial industry.

 

They've been there, they've done that, they've made off like bandits.

 

Sides?  The Swiss won't take anybody else's side but their own.  They're real good at that.  "Sides" feels like a flawed concept.  Almost a technical term.

 

It's kind of like saying it take two sides to make a fight.  Technically true I guess.  But it only takes one to decide if there is going to be a confrontation.  And with or without a fight a confrontation can still lead to one party having things entirely their own way and the other party (parties) suffering a PLB (parking lot beating).

 

But if you want to talk about sides I'd suggest that if the US administration decided it wants to it can strongly suggest that the Swiss side of any confrontation between the USA and a FIFA  WC Finals in Russia, even if viewed as a lesser of two evils, is still aligned with the US.

 

Much as the French have suddenly come around to denying deliver of already paid for billion dollar warships to Russia.

 

For the French its become obvious where their best interests lay, and its not with Russia.  They thought so until today but something seems to have changed their minds and it wasn't the death of almost 300 civilian on a commercial airliner was is?  

[youllneverwalkalone]

Pretty good chance Canada will "boycott" this tournament.

[beachesl]

The elephant keeps getting bigger, but .... the bigger it gets, the quieter everbody seems to be. It is like we are afraid to make it worse by talking about it. Even Litterbox, the alcoholic telepathic fly, has gone silent.  A very latino attitude, nobody here likes talking about contingency plans if something goes wrong.

 

The 2010's seem like the 1930's all over again, on oh so many levels.

 

Will the western governments decide to force thier football associations to boycott the WC, perhaps starting from Confed Cup in 2017? Will this result in punitive measures from FIFA, perhaps resulting in an alternative organization splitting the football world into what boxing was and still is (especially if Bladder is reelected, or the necessary reforms or investigations are not done)? Will there be separate world cup tournaments, with some kind of unifying match or series for the 2 victors? Time will tell. 

 

I know that this is perhaps among the least of the world's problems, but it is eerily fascinating as it plays or does not play out. 

[madmonte]

I suspect that real world issues will be pushed to the background, in a maelstrom of hype, and commercials promoting world unity under football.