David Conn on Abu Dhabi and Human Rights

[TheBeast]

At the end of the day, human rights violations or not, this is what football has had to become in order to become more competitive. If it wasn't for our owners, or PSG's or Chelsea's the leagues would be bland and the Champions League as well. The money has also inflated transfer fees, which allows a team like Valencia every year to sell a play for 35 million and then replenish the squad. Instead of losing that immensely talented player for 17.5 and not having anything to show for it.

The top four every single year would be Madrid, Barcelona, the rags and Liverpool in the CL. With teams like Juve and Bayern everyone once in awhile making a shock entrance. Only the teams with 100 years of history and massive fan bases would be able to sustain the model and they would outspend absolutely everyone, as they have recently. The only reason teams like Chelsea and PSG have been able to step up is because of foreign investment. Those teams alone could not have drawn the finances needed to compete. Now they are able too, but only because of the initial investment in the 100's of millions. That was the catalyst for shirt sales, sponsorship deals, kit deals, etc. If those initial 100's of million were not spent, all of which followed which not have come to fruition. PSG would be still be a mid-table team in Ligue 1, and Chelsea would be struggling to get over that hump to win the league.

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

I think some people on this thread are under the impression that yankcitizen76 designed, set up, sanctioned and runs Guantanamo Bay personally.

Maybe he did but I'd have thought the chances of him having personal input to that disgrace are pretty slim.

To be fair to yankcitizen76, millions of Americans see through the pernicious abuse of human rights by the Administration. Others here have made reference to such abuse, and we only have to look at the treatment of Bradley Manning following his whistle-blowing to wikileaks, whose own leader, Julian Assange, has similarly been stitched up. Orwell wasn't far wrong when he wrote 1984.

 

[grim up north]

Fellow members. I am having a real big problem with this issue. I love City but am not cool with the idea of the owners as human rights violators. I realize that the Sheik who owns us may not be directly involved, but he's still part of the ruling family. I've asked several family members of mine, and all they can say is, "how much is your morality worth?" Is it possible to support the team but dislike the owners. In their defense, they've put quite a bit of money behind the team and are directly related to our resurgence. But it is obvious they are using the team for good publicity. The same way they plan to use the New York City franchise.

Can someone put this issue in perspective for me?

Says the man whose president sanctioned Guantanamo Bay, Extraordinary Rendition and waterboarding.

Do you honestly believe our Goverments are whiter than white

 

[samharris]

Fellow members. I am having a real big problem with this issue. I love City but am not cool with the idea of the owners as human rights violators. I realize that the Sheik who owns us may not be directly involved, but he's still part of the ruling family. I've asked several family members of mine, and all they can say is, "how much is your morality worth?" Is it possible to support the team but dislike the owners. In their defense, they've put quite a bit of money behind the team and are directly related to our resurgence. But it is obvious they are using the team for good publicity. The same way they plan to use the New York City franchise.

Can someone put this issue in perspective for me?

Says the man whose president sanctioned Guantanamo Bay, Extraordinary Rendition and waterboarding.

Do you honestly believe our Goverments are whiter than white

Our government is shiter than shite..

 

[CarlosTevezLegend]

At the end of the day, human rights violations or not, this is what football has had to become in order to become more competitive. If it wasn't for our owners, or PSG's or Chelsea's the leagues would be bland and the Champions League as well. The money has also inflated transfer fees, which allows a team like Valencia every year to sell a play for 35 million and then replenish the squad. Instead of losing that immensely talented player for 17.5 and not having anything to show for it.

The top four every single year would be Madrid, Barcelona, the rags and Liverpool in the CL. With teams like Juve and Bayern everyone once in awhile making a shock entrance. Only the teams with 100 years of history and massive fan bases would be able to sustain the model and they would outspend absolutely everyone, as they have recently. The only reason teams like Chelsea and PSG have been able to step up is because of foreign investment. Those teams alone could not have drawn the finances needed to compete. Now they are able too, but only because of the initial investment in the 100's of millions. That was the catalyst for shirt sales, sponsorship deals, kit deals, etc. If those initial 100's of million were not spent, all of which followed which not have come to fruition. PSG would be still be a mid-table team in Ligue 1, and Chelsea would be struggling to get over that hump to win the league.

This isn't about whether it's right for clubs to be bought and funded by sugar daddies in order to gain success. As an opposition fan I accept that it's part of football now and I largely agree that football would be bland without new competitors, and the only way for these teams to compete at the top is with lots of money.

The fact is though that human rights being abused can't be excused by making football more competitive. The lives and wellbeing of people are more important than the game of football.

 

[grim up north]

Says the man whose president sanctioned Guantanamo Bay, Extraordinary Rendition and waterboarding.

Do you honestly believe our Goverments are whiter than white

Our government is shiter than shite..

Didn't just mean this one

 

[samharris]

Do you honestly believe our Goverments are whiter than white

all governments are shiter than shite..

Didn't just mean this one

re edit fella..

 

[Balti]

perhaps all you newbies who profess to have some sort of problem with our glorious owners will just kindly fuck off then?

the rest of us will still be here

byebye
xxx

 

[laserblue]

Fellow members. I am having a real big problem with this issue. I love City but am not cool with the idea of the owners as human rights violators. I realize that the Sheik who owns us may not be directly involved, but he's still part of the ruling family. I've asked several family members of mine, and all they can say is, "how much is your morality worth?" Is it possible to support the team but dislike the owners. In their defense, they've put quite a bit of money behind the team and are directly related to our resurgence. But it is obvious they are using the team for good publicity. The same way they plan to use the New York City franchise.

Can someone put this issue in perspective for me?

Says the man whose president sanctioned Guantanamo Bay, Extraordinary Rendition and waterboarding.

Do you honestly believe our Goverments are whiter than white

I honestly believe that no-one who posts on BM thinks that.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

When Sinawatra, who had been democratically elected in Thailand, was deposed in an army coup, the media here spent most of its time slagging him off. The illegal unelected regime that replaced him was much more oppressive but that story wasn't written.
Now David Conn attacks the Abu Dhabi government for apparently oppressing a group of dissidents. What he doesn't mention is that this group of so-called dissidents are apparently part of another group of people who spend a lot of their time killing innocent people and are part of a movement that would deny the most basic human rights to anyone that does not follow their twisted beliefs.
I am not taking sides here but I am always suspicious of those who take the moral high ground.