Sepp Blatter vs Richard Scudamore? I’m Backing Blatter.

By: Daryl | March 27th, 2009

There’s a PR battle of the heavyweight underway between FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Premier League chief exec Richard Scudamore. It’s all based in Blatter’s infamous (but probably never going to happen) 6+5 proposal. Sepp wants it introduced, Scudamore definitely does not, basically because 6+5=the end of the Premier League as we know it.

The two men met for a pow-wow earlier this week, and apparently it didn’t go so well. Because they’ve been gunning for each other ever since.

Scudamore accused Blatter and his 6+5 of being borderline racist:

“I do struggle where nationalism, jingoism and patriotism stops and where actually some sort of xenophobic rhetoric takes over,” said Scudamore. “And there is a certain amount of that in the football world when I keep getting told ‘how can English football be English football when there are not enough English players in a particular team?’ I struggle with that when everyone bar David Beckham who is qualified to play for England at the top level is playing at home.

“I start to worry that these start to sound like the sort of attitudes that are quite difficult to justify in my football world and I for one am not going to allow that agenda to be washed over. There is nobody more proud of the England football team than me but we can’t let that spill over into fear and this sort of agenda.”

While Blatter told us he was the good guy, and Scudamore was just a dirty capitalist:

“He is working to make a lot of money and I’m working to have football as a social, cultural event around the world, being a school of life, bringing hope, bringing emotions. That’s the difference.

“He said that with the exception of [David] Beckham all England national team players play in the English league so therefore still his league is playing English football.

“As long as you have in different teams only one or two English players, I think this is not enough.

Hard to pick a dog in this fight when both are spouting enough sh*t to fill every football stadium in the world.

The idea that there’s no one more interested in promoting English players then Richard Scudamore would make me Incredible Hulk style angry if it wasn’t so hilarious. And Sepp Blatter accusing someone else of putting money first? There may be a severe irony shortage for the rest of 2009, because I think Sepp just used up the annual quota.

Part of me is hoping for a metaphorical fight to the death that ends with a double career kill. But if only one of these men can win, I’m backing Sepp Blatter. Not because I’m a big fan of Sepp himself 6+5 (although it would be interesting) but because he’s the lesser of two evils.