Joan Laporta

beef-supreme

Senior member
sorry, what was wrong with bunyodkor?

did you READ the article in question? where the journo simply assumes that bunyodkor has government links "because many say so"? it's shitty journalism. as far as I can see, bunyodkor are like chelsea and city, which while not being that romantic, is far from what they've been accused of being.

You don't know what it's like to be in a former Soviet or Soviet satellite state.
I can assure you that the amount of mafia activity, corruption, human rights abuse and foul play is mind-numbingly high at Bunyodkor. 45% of the Uzbek population live on less than $1.25 a day and yet you have this one filthy rich, political and oil tycoon-owned club rising from NOTHINGNESS (created in 2005) to signing Rivaldo... No matter how bad the journalism is, if you understand what the Soviet Union was really like, then it won't come as a surprise at all to hear such things.
And I wasn't surprised at all. I was just outraged that Laporta has been meddling with such affairs, the highest level of hypocrisy considering our past with Real Madrid.

Bunyodkor are NOTHING like Chelsea and City. Chelsea and City are old football clubs, that have a lot of history and they have been run in a civilised, developed and democratic England. Bunyodkor have been created under shady circumstances, in a shady country, owned by shady owners and run by shady directors. They have no history and have only begun to exist in the past 4 years. This is Uzbekistan, not England, and it is nothing to do with how good the journalist is.
 

Metaphysical

Bomb Dropper
it's all supposition until you can produce some names. the article names NO ONE and if the corruption was really that bad and teh link that solid then there would be some naming and shaming.

I don't subscribe to "guilty until proven innocent" so unless there's some proof that bunyodkor have connections to the government (which was the big scandal as the government is horrible) then I'm not going to get caught up in the drama.
 

beef-supreme

Senior member
it's all supposition until you can produce some names. the article names NO ONE and if the corruption was really that bad and teh link that solid then there would be some naming and shaming.

I don't subscribe to "guilty until proven innocent" so unless there's some proof that bunyodkor have connections to the government (which was the big scandal as the government is horrible) then I'm not going to get caught up in the drama.

Okay very well, you've every right to hold that view but to be honest it's quite odd that you should think like that, because I would assume that living in the West actually opens up your eyes to these issues.

First thing's first. You're not going to see any names because the Uzbek government wouldn't be stupid enough to release names. It is sort of an open secret. Known to the outsiders but obviously beyond their influence, and concealed from those inside Uzbekistan - obviously not well enough, but surely there is reciprocation if anyone attempts to speak up. When in 2007 in Syria the Israelis found evidence of North Koreans working on a nuclear project there, everyone knew it was true. But it was just another example of shady business, with the NK government denying it. The Uzbek government is very much the same. But I repeat, everyone knows that when you ask a question, if they answer it is likely to be full of crap.

Secondly, you must understand the situation in most of developing Asia. I live in the Philippines, supposedly an open and democratic country. But even here, if you are a businessman and wish to say bring in a new and potentially lucrative product, you don't just do it like you would in the West. You have to bribe the government, the police, the health and safety bureau, the this bureau and the that bureau, the courts and then the police again - you bribe them so you can bribe them in the first place. If you don't bribe, you will be screwed because you'll see that your product doesn't get on the shelf. You'll see that you mysteriously have charges put against you that are completely lacking in substance but will not be excused because you have not bribed the judge, and so you're dead. But assuming that you get all your bribing done, if you want to visit your warehouse or your factory, you have to go there with a bodyguard and a bribed police escort, because if you don't then you will be shot by a) a deluded "communist" b) any trade-unionist, or a subject under bribe from a trade unionist c) a muslim extremist trying to make the headlines. Of course if you don't bribe the government then you'll be shot by someone not as far from the government as any of the above three groups.

That's the Philippines.
Now how about Uzbekistan? Sealed away from most of the world because of its past, controlled by an autocrat claiming to be a democrat... You either play by the rules of the government or you don't play at all.
If it takes that much to do something small in the Philippines, then you can imagine how much it takes to do something big, like CREATE A FOOTBALL CLUB in Uzbekistan.
If the club isn't run by the government (but it is, I'm sure of it) then it must be run by someone who has connections to the government, who has bribed the government, who has crazymoney. If you have money in Uzbekistan, it is because you own some of the industry. And how do you get to do that? Well it's all because you are affiliated to the government. There is no such thing as an Uzbek man who makes a name and a living for himself. Don't even think that Bunyodkor can exist because someone has come and created them out of nothing. Everyone who has anything in Uzbekistan has to have connections. And Bunyodkor is an absolute extreme because of its sheer financial presence. It is morally wrong to deal with a club that prospers while 45% of the country's citizens live below the poverty line. Well, more than 45% for sure, but I woulnd't know the figures. But it is even more wrong to deal with a club that does the above in a country like Uzbekistan, because it's just so damn obvious that everything has to be connected to the government there.
 

Beast

The Observer
Laporta obsession with Perez is becoming a joke..he did it again today
seeing Laporta talk about Perez & Madrid is becoming something like a habit.. i wake up in the morning kiss my kids everyday and with the same routine i expect Laporta to be talking about Real or Perez every day ...

if Schuster was still around he would tell you " laporta has sever Madriditias " :D

he is really making a joke of himself...

P.s Agree with Beef here.. Meta the article is not subject to question.. whether the source (former British Ambassador ) or the newspaper who published it (The Guardian ) ..
 

beef-supreme

Senior member
Laporta obsession with Perez is becoming a joke..he did it again today
seeing Laporta talk about Perez & Madrid is becoming something like a habit.. i wake up in the morning kiss my kids everyday and with the same routine i expect Laporta to be talking about Real or Perez every day ...

if Schuster was still around he would tell you " laporta has sever Madriditias " :D

he is really making a joke of himself...

P.s Agree with Beef here.. Meta the article is not subject to question.. whether the source (former British Ambassador ) or the newspaper who published it (The Guardian ) ..

:sad: but :lol: but mainly :sad:
I don't know, it seems to me that most international Barca fans either don't criticise Madrid as bad as they could, or have just gotten over it.
Rather it's the Barcelona papers, cartoons etc. coming out with the same crap about Madrid's money day-in day-out, and Laporta exhibiting quite a bit of Madriditis.

He's really really paranoid about Madrid stealing Barca's treble thunder, but more than anything, I'd say he's concerned about his own thunder being stolen, because it is his final year in his presidency and he needs to go out with a bang. Not a Madrid bang. So he should stick his head into our transfer workings and laugh all the way to the bank at the end, not act all insecure tbh...
 
E

Esteve

Guest
Haha Schuster. He'd also tell you that it's impossible to win in Camp Nou. S'all good ;)
 

Cule Angles

Visca el filòsof!
A board meeting was held at Camp Nou today, here are the main points to come out of it:

* The next president will have a 6 year mandate with one reelection allowed.

* Socis will be able to vote via the internet in the 2010 elections.

* Electronic voting will replace the traditional show of coloured cards at the club AGM.

* The Trofeu Joan Gamper match will take place on 19th August, the opposition is still TBC.
 

PaulFCB

Banned
I don't agree with the 6 year mandate, 5 years was OK but let's say the president won't do a good job, Socios can always put him to the test with a motion of censure.
 

Cule Angles

Visca el filòsof!
I'm split on it to be honest, 6 years gives continuity and a chance for a board to really see through its project, especially if reelected giving a president a 12 year mandate overall. Stability at the top is a great thing and a moció de censura should only be used in the most extreme of circumstances. To be honest I think 4 years is a very short amount of time in the world of football so a 6 year term is better for the club.
 

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