Farewell to French Soccer?

If FIFA didn't have enough to worry about, they now have threatened the French soccer federation.

Blatter threatens to ban French from international football

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Blatter-threatens-to-ban-France-from-internation?urn=sow,252242

 

FIFA does this a couple times a year, usually with smaller, less powerful teams. The French government will apologize and promise not to meddle in the affairs of dragons the French football team again, and all will be fine.

 

Pretty much...

FIFA just hates it when governments start interfering because it prevents them from pocketing huge stacks of bills with no oversight. This will blow over like it always does.

 

That is impossible -- FIFA has sworn itself to poverty and puts on the game for the sake of national pride and not profit and wouldn't dare think about trying to increase the amount of cash it makes from events like the World Cup because operating a business for profit is totally an American sensation with no merit anywhere else in the world...... :

 

FYP

 

Zag, there is a big difference between making the game profitable and making those running it boatloads of cash.

 

Meanwhile, Reuters just reported that the Nigerian president is banning the team from international play for two years in the wake of the World Cup disappointment. Assuming that's actually "president" not "president of the federation," wouldn't this be slightly frowned upon by FIFA?

 

I hadn't seen that yet, but if it is the actual president of Nigeria canceling the team, then FIFA will likely lay the smack down again...


UPDATED: And just like that I switch over to my Twitter page to see Grant Wahl write the following:

FIFA tends to frown upon this RT @ColinUdoh Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan has withdrawn #NGA from all intl competitions for 2 years

 

Grant totally stole that line from me.

 

In all honesty, that is pretty weak sauce for Nigeria.

The team cannot improve without playing games. So the end result of removing a team from competition due to poor performance will be an even worse performance in the future!

 

FYP

 

That's pretty much African political philosophy, isn't it? This way isn't working, so let's have a revolution and start over with another subpar and corrupt government.
As for FIFA laying the smack down, is Nigeria's national federation funded by FIFA or the Nigerian government? FIFA may not have a say in the matter.