Said & Done: Dave Whelan's red line; Qatar; and what makes Sven enchanted
Kicking it out
"It has no place in football; it has no place in society. It's disgusting, a horrible thing. I'm shocked, and I'll support any punishment imposed. I cannot tolerate it. It saddens me. It's totally unacceptable" – Dave Whelan, 2025, on spitting.
• Last week's highlights: Whelan discussing Jews chasing money, a decade after JJB Sports' £6.3m fine for price-fixing replica shirts; and Mail Online readers weighing up his relaxed take on "fkn chinky", fat Jew and "gay snake" banter: "Good on you Dave"; "Total legend"; "It's a left-wing media witch-hunt"; and: "Whelan's dead right. I wouldn't be offended if I were Jewish."
Meanwhile
Last week's other zero tolerance headlines:
1) Uruguay: Penarol president Juan Pedro Damiani issuing a clarification after he tried to end a heated live radio telephone interview early, failed to hang up properly and was heard by listeners calling the host "a dirty Jew": "This unfortunate phrase reflects neither my thoughts, nor my values."
2) Italy: Lazio president Claudio Lotito giving a live TV interview to defend FA president Carlo "banana eaters" Tavecchio – discussing Tavecchio's good works in Africa. "Tavecchio's no racist. He built two hospitals in Togo, he even adopted some things …" Interviewer: "I'm sorry, he adopted … he adopted what?" Lotito: "He adopted some children." Interviewer: "I thought you said 'things.'" Lotito: "I said children."
Other news: Qatar's week
Last week's Qatar 2025 headlines as Fifa prepare to re-review their ethics review:
1) A new rebuttal: "We stand by the integrity of our bid. [Allegations] have been investigated, tested, considered and dismissed."
2) A new misunderstanding, after Spain's athletics federation head José Maria Odriozola attacked the way Barcelona's bid to host the 2025 IAAF World Athletics Championships was beaten by a rival bid at the last minute. "Qatar offered the IAAF $37m [in a sponsorship deal] after the deadline. We say it's illegal, and I'm very angry." The IAAF say no bidding rules were broken.
3) And a new landmark: a report ranking Qatar fourth in the world for the highest proportion of slaves to non-slaves – 29,400 slaves being 1.36% of Qatar's population, behind only Mauritania, Uzbekistan and Haiti.
And elsewhere
The week's other football family moves:
1) Cayman Islands executive Canover Watson – part of the Fifa internal financial watchdog panel tasked with re-reviewing Michael Garcia's ethics report – charged with fraud, breach of trust, conflict of interest and money-laundering. He denies wrongdoing.
2) Former New Caledonia FA head Edmond Bowen banned for three years for lying during his application to join Fifa's disciplinary panel.
3) Ghana FA head Kwesi Nyantakyi filing a $3m libel claim against Asempa FM for "years of lies" about his ethics record. In April Nyantakyi said he was dogged by "lunatic" journalists. "Only if you are sick in the
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