More Fix Than Kicks, in Sixty Six

[Uilleam 5,924]

 

New book raises questions over 1966 World Cup win

 

Didn't ya just know it?

Strip the Title!!

Can the Trophy be awarded to West Germany?

 

SPORT NOTEBOOK | MARTYN ZIEGLER

New book raises questions over 1966 World Cup win

Martyn Ziegler

Chief Sports Reporter

Saturday November 21 2020, 12.01am, The Times

 

Accusations that the 1966 World Cup was rigged in England’s favour by Sir Stanley Rous were sent to the Foreign Office by concerned diplomats, a new book about the previous Englishman to be the Fifa president has revealed.

João Havelange, the head of Brazilian football who went on to succeed Rous, alleged that Rous had packed the match officials list with Englishmen, with the favourites Brazil then facing organised disruption such as locked-up training grounds and uncut grass on the training pitches.

In August 1966, the British Embassy in Rio sent a report of Havelange’s claims, including that “England took care to arrange the appointment of political referees … and to offer evidently, the appropriate financial advantage.” The British ambassador, John Shakespeare, described Havelange’s claims as “ravings”, suggesting he was covering up Brazil’s poor showing.

Havelange was not the only senior official to make such claims, however. Alan Tomlinson’s book, Sir Stanley Rous And The Growth Of World Football, details how the vice-president of African football, Ydnekatchew Tessema from Ethiopia, wrote to Uefa questioning the refereeing appointments throughout the tournament. He said: “In playing all of England’s matches at Wembley, in designating seven British referees for Brazil’s three games; in appointing as referees for the games England-Argentina and Germany-Uruguay a German and an English referee respectively ... Fifa has committed a pile of blunders.”

Tomlinson’s book also provides detail on Rous’s efforts to keep apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia inside Fifa. The former teacher was on the wrong side of history in that fight, and paid for it when Havelange beat him easily in the 1974 presidential election.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/new-book-raises-questions-over-1966-world-cup-win-hs7mdlwpm

 

And the book itself is on Amazon:

 

Sir Stanley Rous and the Growth of World Football Hardcover – Unabridged, 1 Nov. 2020

by Alan Tomlinson  (Author)

£64.99

 

ISBN-13 : 978-1527558878

ISBN-10 : 1527558878

Hardcover : 345 pages

Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 1st edition (1 Nov. 2020)

Language: : English

 

At Wembley in 1966, Englands football captain Bobby Moore received the World Cup from Queen Elizabeth and FIFA president Stanley Rous. This book takes the life of Rous (1895-1986) as a lens through which to understand the escalating profile of football both nationally and globally. It illuminates how it was possible for Rous to emerge from a Suffolk village and ascend to the top of FIFAs hierarchy and the company of elites. Educational opportunities, service in the Great War and an international referees profile prepared Rous for the position of Secretary at the Football Association, alongside charity work in World War II and organisational responsibilities for the London 1948 Olympics. His FIFA role combined diplomacy with development, in post-colonial times of volatile international relations. The book informs scholars and fans alike, showing too that Rouss crowning achievement as FIFA President at the 1966 World Cup marked a peak for Englands power and influence in world football.

 

As for the author, well seems like he has a dream day job....

 

About the Author

Alan Tomlinson is Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Brighton, UK. He has published widely on cultural and historical sociology, focusing upon analysis of the sports spectacle, the place of leisure and popular culture in consumer culture, and the role of sport both within and across societies. He received his MA and DPhil from the University of Sussex, UK, and has published more than 40 volumes, 80 book chapters, and 45 journal articles. His books include Consumption, Identity and Style (1990); FIFA and the Contest for World Football (with John Sugden, 1998); Sport and Leisure Cultures (2005); A Dictionary of Sports Studies (2010); FIFA: The Men, the Myths and the Money (2014); Sport and Peace-Building in Divided Societies (with John Sugden, 2017); and Understanding International Sport Organisations (with Lincoln Allison, 2017).

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-Rous-Growth-World-Football/dp/1527558878/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Sir+Stanley+Rous+and+the+Growth+of+World+Football&qid=1605949217&s=books&sr=1-1

[Scott7 5,928]

Double post.

Edited November 21, 2020 by Scott7

[Scott7 5,928]

England were fearful of Argentina in the quarter final at Wembley. 
 

The German referee sent off Rattin the Argentine captain after thirty five minutes. The Saxons went on to secure an emphatic 1-0  victory against the ten men.

 

For some reason the Argentines call the match el robo del siglo, the robbery of the century. Emotional fellows, Latin Americans. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by Scott7

[Gonzo79 15,203]

Ah, 'the theft of the century'.  Thanks Google translate. 

 

They did their best to get revenge, in 1982 and 1986.

[compo 6,966]

England by far were the best team in the competition Alfs wing free team were a joy to watch 

[ChelseaBoy 2,431]

I wouldn't put much faith in this. 

 

Is that the same João Havelange that was charged with bribes, embezzlement and had reportedly amassed $50 million or more in bribes through his roles in Olympic Committee and FIFA  - even Sepp Blatter wanted to strip him of his honorary presidency but at 90 Havelange was let off charges as he paid back some money and cited ill health. He lived till he was 100. 

 

Blatter learned all his tricks from Havelange.