Friday 8 January 2010

Barcelona FC: an embarrassment to humanity and football

There is no point in having rules if they are not enforced, this is a chunk of FIFA's 2009 edition of the rules and regulations concerning the transfer of players:

"A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the
player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him. A
professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his
contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months.
Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions."

It is strange that FIFA are so keen to punish Chelsea by enforcing the rules concerning the protection of minors that is set out in the very same set of FIFA rules and regulations. The behaviour of Barca and other Spanish clubs in attempting to unsettle our captain Cesc Fabregas has been quite appalling and arguably outside the rules set out by FIFA. Here are the Barca President Joan Laporta's, a girl's name incidentally, latest words:

"Cesc Fabregas is desired by us for many reasons. Barcelona have decided to fight for the kid for next season. The money? This will be decided at the end of March to prepare the way for a deal.
Cesc is such a big player. Our intention is to convince the Londoners about the sale. It won't be easy but we have good relations with the Gunners."

Good relations with the Gunners, I wonder where Joan gets this from, judging by Peter Hill-Wood's latest comments I think Joan he is losing touch with reality:

"I am really p****d off with Barcelona and all that nonsense.....It is not the first time they have done this and it is a most disrespectful and tiresome thing to do. You would think there would be some action you could take against them, but I suppose you cannot stop the man shooting his mouth off."

Laparta has been caught punching below the belt time and time again. Arseblogger had it nailed on with his exclusive on Laporta's personality and family history. The baseless speculation continues in the Spanish media and I am sure most of us can put up with a bit of rumour or gossip. However what we should not have to put up with is a football club's President repeatedly openly stating a desire to sign one of our players who is tied to a long term contract.

The FIFA rules and regulations are inadequate in my eyes. If a club cannot speak to a player of another club who is under a long term contract with that club before it has been mutually agreed between the two clubs; then it clearly should not be within the rules to openly state one's desire to sign the players of another club. Obviously this would lead to grey areas, fine everything does, for example if a manager simply talked of his admiration for a particular player then this would be perfectly acceptable. What I find completely unacceptable is the behaviour of Barcelona and Joan Laporta, they should be punished for their complete lack of manners and flagrant disrespect for the rights of other clubs and players.

FIFA are a pathetic bunch of corrupt crooks in my opinion. Real Madrid spent years illegally tapping up Ronaldo and FIFA did precisely nothing about it. The Premier League had the balls to nail Chelsea for illegally tapping up Ashley Cole, but even though the Premier League has much more bite than FIFA, they have their problems as the tapping up must be reported by the club that was sinned against, meaning that the sinners can escape punishment by paying the sinned against off, as in the Frank Arnesen tapping up scandal when he was poached by Chelsea. The Hleb tapping up affair was another case of the clubs being able to escape without punishment due to the weak rules that are never enforced. There have been numerous other recent cases in which no punishment was dished out for blatant offences, Berbatov to Manu, RVN to Manu and on and on.

Unless the governing bodies FIFA and UEFA get their acts together then the big unethical bullies like Barca and Real will continue to ride roughshod over what is good and proper. If the rules don't allow for punishing clubs for the blatant tapping up of under contract players, then the rules need changing. It's already a world for the big boys with the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer, if this carries on then it is only football that will suffer in the long run as the competition dries up. One thing I will never forget is Barca's behaviour throughout this whole Cesc affair, for the rest of my life I will ensure that no money of mine ever makes it anyway near that damn football club.

27 comments:

lolcat said...

any embarrassment to humanity?

hyperbole much?

SteveO said...

We're an English club so therefore not entitled to protection.

TonytheGooner said...

I have been frustrated with barca for years. We've had to put up with this nonsense for years. overmars, petit, vieira, henry, cesc and trust me arshavin or nasri (or vela if he fulfills his potential) will be next. & when guardiola leaves they'll want wenger again/ its so disrespectful. is it spanish culture? i don't want to insult the spanish people but is this the acceptable norm in spain?
I think the Arsenal should announce that they refuse to speak, negotiate or deal with FC Barcelona now or in the future until we feel like they show us the respect we or any other football club deserve

Goonerinho said...

They are obviously THE BEST team in the world.. this past year they have been unbelievable.. but it is such a shame they have to act in such a classless way. They did it with Petit, Vieira, Thierry, Hleb and now are relentless in their pursuit of Cesc. Doesnt he still have 5 years left on his contract? I would want Arsenal to get an insane amount of money for him if so.

leomaster said...

Tony Thats a great idea.....i think if we made a statement to we will not negotiate with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid for the transfer of any players until some respect is shown.

Lars said...

I find this post extremely funny! You do remeber how you stole him from Barcelona in the first place?

Using the fact that english clubs may give professional contracts from the age of 16, while spanish clubs have to wait until the player is 18..

My club, LFC did the same thing when they stole Pacheco

leomaster said...

Difference is Lars....as you rightly point out...what we did was within the rules....

TonytheGooner said...

I don't get how we stole Fabregas? We didn't stuff him in a duffle bag and smuggle him across europe. He came because he wanted to.
The reason Barca keep doing this is because they have had so much success with it in the past. Its time for Arsenal to take a stand!

Barndoor Bendtner said...

It also gets my goat how the English press give these reports credence by repeating them. Why cant they fight for Prem clubs like the Spaniards do.
I love Barca's team, but they have shown that as a club they are small minded and borderline rascist (i.e. anti-English). Real Madrid are worse, but with the backing of the Spanish Royal family, they are never going to be criticised.

Davi said...

Anti-english is borderline racist?
I think you mean xenophobic, but I dont think that's really the case.
Bobby robson was their manager not so long ago.
Wenger plays the same mind games at times, for example with chamakh.

I agree its frustrating, but to be honest I dont think it affects cesc much. I think its inevitable he will go back to barca but only because hes patriotic, and not because of the barca president. I think he needs to win the league with us before he goes. Maybe Im wrong and hel leave this season regardless, que sera sera.

Anonymous said...

Well since you guys poached him away in the first place, you should shut your mouths.

Anonymous said...

A lawsuit in the European Union courts alleging breach of contract between Arsenal, Barcelona, and FIFA would probably resolve the matter effectively. AFC demands compensation for violation of the established rules by Barca and lack of enforcement from FIFA...Ask for say the equivalent value for a fair transfer of Cesc from each of FIFA and Barca. It would get the point across very quickly.

Anonymous said...

can't wait to beat Barca in the champions league quarterfinals.

rahul

Anonymous said...

So why didn't Fifa punished Wenger the hypocrite and Arsenal when they took contact with Fabregas and Merida behind Barcelona's back?

You're a hypocrite club and you make me sick!

Anonymous said...

"Can't wait to beat Barca in the champions league."

LOL! What a joke!

arsenal fans should stop drinking so much said...

hahahahaha i really wanna see which moron wrote this pathetic text since i can't even call it an article.

i can't believe that arsenal fans are complaining about other clubs when THEIR WHOLE FUCKING TEAM is foreigners. the only two english players in their squad are walcott and ramsey.

next time you sign someone who is not allowed to be signed LEGALLY by his current club think about it before talking shit.

1979gooner said...

To respond to some of the points made.

The person pointing out that Arsenal have a few foreign players doesn't deserve a response as his/her comments are so moronic.

Firstly whatever one thinks of the way Cesc came to Arsenal from Barca there are some rather clear facts that need to be repeated to some people, these facts make the accusations of 'hypocrisy' against Arsenal appear rather foolish to say the least:

1. Arsenal were nowhere near breaking any rules when they negotiated or signed Cesc Fabregas.

2. Barca arguably mismanaged the situation by not convincing Cesc that they would have given him the gametime and consequent rapid development. He could well have languished at Barca.

3. The argument that the rules for youth players' transfers needs changing is one I can see, however there are good arguments why it should not change. If players cannot move clubs to sign their first pro contract then the club they start with can effectively keep them as slaves and there is much less of an incentive to develop them/convince the players to stay. Personally I think too much power to the clubs could be very bad for youth development.

This youth argument can be taken to extremes, as how small can a club be before it becomes 'poaching' for another club to take them? The local village team, the town team, the Blue Square team, etc. It will become absurd and no one in FIFA/UEFA ever thinks of things like that.

(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/239572-poaching-foreign-youngsters-not-as-obscene-as-blatter-platini-claim - decent article presenting a very balanced view on the so called 'poaching')

Finally what Barca/Real etc have done in deliberately unsettling and tapping up players who are under long term contracts with other clubs is not defensible by any argument/logic, it is bang out of order and needs to be stamped out.

I know there are lots of Barca/Manu/Real fans out there who don't like to hear the truth about what these big disrspectful bullying clubs get up to, but it needs to be said, FIFA and UEFA need to grow some balls and stop this blatant riding roughshod over the rules/contracts of the game.

Anonymous said...

ramsea is welsh and what about gibbs emmanuel thomas lansbury wilshire sanchez watt look ahead in three years time at the england team and then have a go when this years winning youth cup was 90% english how many other pl teams will produce as much as arsenal have comeing through

Ted said...

I think this is all a bit OTT 1979. Clearly your fondness for Ryan Giggs has left some odd wrinkles in your spleen. Or, as I have questioned before, you are Fergie in disguise.
As PHW knows, Barca have not entered into negotiation with Cesc has so havenot broken the rule that you have quoted.
But just as we did with Cesc, Anelka, Vela, Merida and countless others, we are pretty good at getting close to the rules without, as you say,actually breaking them.
Perhaps the question is not whether Barca are the satanic uber cunts you describe them, but whether Cesc is actually that keen to play for them and how much he is worth.
No one accepted at the time in 2006 but we really should have taken the 50m on offer for Henry that summer. Not giving Henry the transfer he wanted meant we only got 15 m for him 12 months later, a 12 months in which he sulked his way through. It's not a mistake we should make twice, especially as Ramsey is clearly going to be a special player.

Peter said...

It seems that the Cesc stories get so much play because Arsenal fans are upset that one of their home grown stars might leave. That's why Barca fans feel the same and want him back. Big clubs sign players from other big clubs all the time, why are Arsenal fans always whining about it? In fact, the quotes coming from Spanish media are usually relatively innocuous, it is the English media that sensationally spins them.
Why are fans still bitter about Overmars, Viera, Anelka, or Henry. Their time was done. How successful were the first three after they left? It was smart business to sell them. Henry wanted to leave for a chance to win a Champions League, which he accomplished.

About the age difference for signing players, it is clearly advantageous to EPL clubs. Cesc, Pique, Merida, Dos Santos, Pacheco are all examples from Barca while numerous others are constantly "tapped up". The difference is that Barcelona spends enormous effort to scout players at a young age, and then brings up several to see which ones have the most promise. EPL teams let Barca expend this effort and then see what players look best and offer them big money contracts at 16 while Barca can only offer peanuts and the promise of playing time.

rivnam said...

hahaha....

Cesc is going to run down his contract, in time for when xavi is going to retire...

food for thought...

get real said...

'a few foreign players' haahahahah

arsenal should play in france with the amount of players who are from french-speaking countries. van persie and cesc are an exception.

Anonymous said...

Lol at all the hypocrite gooner fans over here, first of all they do the same so called "tapping up" to Marouane Chamakh against their club Bordeaux's wish but they don't see anything wrong in it but when Barca does the same to Cesc they say Barca are an embarrasment to humanity?? What a bunch of hypocrite morons. Not to forget how they breached Merida's pre contract with Barca and stole him away from Barca and the way they poached Cesc from Barca. Seriously you gunners are an unethical bunch of hypocrite morons of the first order and should be the lasty fans on earth to speak of such a thing called humanity.

barca2_1arsenal said...

there isn't a need to say so much. you guys complain so much because u are scared. without cesc, gooners are nothing.

if cesc wants to stay, he will stay, no matter what barca say or do. have some faith.

problem is, you know, i know, cesc cannot and will nt resist the temptation of playing for the catalans, his hometown club.

compared to... when was the last time arsenal challenged for anything? oops.

easy choice, easy choice. lets wait and see.

1979gooner said...

Ted,

I take your point, it was deliberately OTT to get across just how pissed off I reckon a lot of Arsenal fans are with Barca's pathetic antics.

http://www.arsenal.com/usa/sh/news/news-archive/wenger-i-ve-not-re-opened-chamakh-talks-

http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog/posts/it-looks-like-chamakh-is-heading-for-arsenal--news-round-up

The talk from Barca fans about the Chamakh 'tapping up' is bull, he has not been tapped up, Arsene Wenger has done everything here well above board.

The rather tiresome talk from various Barca fans about how great their club is, how much they've won, how Cesc loves them like a granny etc is incredibly boring and beside the point.

The point that all Barca fans fail to address is that what Laporta has done is completely out of order and Arsenal have never behaved like this in trying to sign a player, hence the calls of 'hypocrisy' are not based in fact, they are based in Barca fans living in denial and ignoring the actual facts of the case.

Whether Arsenal have a lot of foriegn players, whether we win anything for the next few years, whether Cesc stays; all these things are not that important to me as an Arsenal fan.

I like to see Arsenal do things the right way, play football the right way, do things properly as a club. If we win anything that's a bonus, it's not the be all and end all, it's actually a big anti-climax when it does happen.

Doing things the right way as a club is something that is important to me as an Arsenal fan, it obvious isn't very important to a lot of Barca fans judging from the comments above.

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Anonymous said...

this is wat i wanna write to them:




Dear members of the Barcelona FC's management and players,

Over the years, I have gain respect from seeing how the club was built from debts to riches and from unnoticeable to glory. In fact, it was my favourite club in the SPL till the moment I penned this down.

Why?

FOR GOD's SAKE!!! Please stop ranting and announcing Cesc this, Cesc that. Put up a bid and if it's not accepted again and again, live with it!! Damn it!! I have lost respect for the club, the management and especially some of the players like Puyol and Messi. For FUCK's sake!!

Enough is enough!! Can't I go through a week getting some real news instead of your constant ridiculous desperate begging with absolutely neither trust nor respect!! OMG!! STOP IT!! I feel more incline now to support Real Madrid than your classless community!!

Also, if any of your desperate members happen to be in contact with Cesc, ask him to get off his ass and declared where he is going to be. For GOD's SAKE!! This year? Next year? How many times?

DARN IT!!!