FIFA have stolen the game from England! So said Sir Dave Richards at conference today. What a pleasure to read Sir Dave Richards comments on the origins of the game! If there was need to prove that the governing body of English football, The FA along with the Premier League, of which Richards is the chairman, have lost the plot, he has delivered it today. Speaking at a sports security conference held in Qatar, who host the FIFA 2018 World Cup, he accused them of putting their heads in the sand when the ban of alcohol is confirmed. He did not stop there. He went on to describe FIFA and UEFA as thieves who took the game away from its craddle after modern football was established in England, notably Richards home town Sheffield.

Rant against FIFA and UEFA

Reading the quotes in the guardian newspaper one cannot help but think if Richards was drunk when he went on his rant against UEFA and FIFA and also Qatar, the hosts of the conference and a World Cup. These comments come at a time when it appears that the relationship between FIFA and English football appear to be improving after the fall out of the disaster of late 2010, when England crashed out of the voting for the World Cup with just two votes in the first round. It underlines that some just have not learned from past mistakes and proves English insularity is alive and kicking.