Boycott The Daily Mail for sabotaging England’s World Cup bid

Dan Taylor
May 16, 2010
23 Comments
Another delightful read

Another delightful read

Freedom of speech is one of the most essential tenets of democracy and something we often take for granted in the Western world, but you have to sometimes wonder what newspaper editors are thinking when they allow certain stories to emerge.

England’s 2018 World Cup bid, which had been going so smoothly that the bookmakers made them 10/11 to host the event in eight years’ time, has suddenly been thrown into turmoil by revelations in tawdry Tory tabloid The Mail On Sunday. In today’s rag, the chairman of the Football Association, Lord Triesman, has been caught claiming that the Spanish FA have struck a deal with Russia to bribe referees in their favour at next month’s World Cup, in exchange for their support for Russia’s bid to host the 2018 tournament.

There’s no doubt that this is a big story and Lord Triesman, who allegedly also had an extra-marital affair with the shameless undercover reporter in question, appears to have been caught with his trousers down in more ways than one. Indeed, as I write he has stepped down from England’s 2018 World Cup bid committee. But why on earth has the paper decided to run a story which will seriously compromise England’s chances of hosting an event that will bring in an estimated £3bn to the UK economy?

As a journalist I know all too well how much the newspaper industry is struggling at the moment, and a scoop of this magnitude will certainly help boost readership in the short term. But what about the long term? What about the bid?

You could argue that it is a newspaper’s duty to report the facts and not allow outside influences to dictate editorial decision-making. But that doesn’t really wash here – as Triesman has effectively been stitched up in another sleazy honey trap. He made these comments in a taped conversation with his former aide and alleged lover two weeks’ ago and so the paper has waited until the very weekend England, represented by David Beckham, is formally presenting their bid in South Africa to wreak maximum havoc on the World Cup bid.

This, by the way, is a jingoistic, right-wing paper which will doubtless be throwing their weight behind England to win the tournament in South Africa next month and will doubtless blame the naive Triesman if the 2018 bid goes pear-shaped. What is it with the UK press and its unquenchable short-sighted desire to bring its own down at all costs? Never in a million years would you see an Italian, French, Spanish and certainly not a Russian newspaper publishing a story that could be so harmful to its own national game.

It’s no great surprise that The Mail On Sunday is at the heart of this latest contribution to outstanding journalism, which has seen England’s World Cup bid odds pushed out to 5/4. All I can say is, shame on this (toilet) paper and if you haven’t had the good sense to do already, avoid this miserable publication like the plague.

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Tags: Article, Daily Mail, Lord Triesman, Sports
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  • mrd100

    How bloody stupid must they be,what he said is stupid.
    This will cost us the bid………thanks THE DAILY CRAP

  • boycottthemail

    The Mail is a ridiculous paper. Barely 6 months ago they published the degrading article on Stephen Gately's death. Then they make out that Nick Clegg is a Nazi. Then they publish an article based on a private conversation. I'm all for freedom of the press, but this has damaged Lord Treisman's freedom of speech. Unfortunately I fear that their readership will not be damaged, and should England not win the bid for the 2018 World Cup the Mail will blame it on Treisman and praise their own investigative journalism in the process. DONT BUY THE MAIL!!!!!

  • boycottthemail

    The Mail is a ridiculous paper. Barely 6 months ago they published the degrading article on Stephen Gately's death. Then they make out that Nick Clegg is a Nazi. Then they publish an article based on a private conversation. I'm all for freedom of the press, but this has damaged Lord Treisman's freedom of speech. Unfortunately I fear that their readership will not be damaged, and should England not win the bid for the 2018 World Cup the Mail will blame it on Treisman and praise their own investigative journalism in the process. DONT BUY THE MAIL!!!!!

  • boycottthemail

    The Mail is a ridiculous paper. Barely 6 months ago they published the degrading article on Stephen Gately's death. Then they make out that Nick Clegg is a Nazi. Then they publish an article based on a private conversation. I'm all for freedom of the press, but this has damaged Lord Treisman's freedom of speech. Unfortunately I fear that their readership will not be damaged, and should England not win the bid for the 2018 World Cup the Mail will blame it on Treisman and praise their own investigative journalism in the process. DONT BUY THE MAIL!!!!!

  • boycottthemail

    The Mail is a ridiculous paper. Barely 6 months ago they published the degrading article on Stephen Gately's death. Then they make out that Nick Clegg is a Nazi. Then they publish an article based on a private conversation. I'm all for freedom of the press, but this has damaged Lord Treisman's freedom of speech. Unfortunately I fear that their readership will not be damaged, and should England not win the bid for the 2018 World Cup the Mail will blame it on Treisman and praise their own investigative journalism in the process. DONT BUY THE MAIL!!!!!

  • boycottthemail

    The Mail is a ridiculous paper. Barely 6 months ago they published the degrading article on Stephen Gately's death. Then they make out that Nick Clegg is a Nazi. Then they publish an article based on a private conversation. I'm all for freedom of the press, but this has damaged Lord Treisman's freedom of speech. Unfortunately I fear that their readership will not be damaged, and should England not win the bid for the 2018 World Cup the Mail will blame it on Treisman and praise their own investigative journalism in the process. DONT BUY THE MAIL!!!!!

  • SimmoUK

    Couldn't agree more. Ashamed to admit this is – er, was – my paper of choice on the rare occasion I buy one, but no more. Narrow minded, selfish journalism. It's not in the public interest – it's in the Daily Mail's interest and them alone. They could cost thousands of jobs in the process too.

    Journalism in this country has been out of hand for years now. It's all about second rate hacks trying to make a name for themselves and they have far too much freedom.

  • disgusted of surrey

    Oh dear what they hell have they done!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Roberts/521529041 Mike Roberts

    Totally agree Dan – I've only ever read the Daily Mail when there really was no alternative and I won't even be doing that now.

  • chrid

    mass boycott im well up for that lets start a facebook group mass boycott daily mail

  • admiral blake

    The Mail is not so much a 'news' paper as a political pamphlet appealing to the right of politics to 'little englanders' who would like to see the country how it was in the 1950's. Maybe there is something political behind the editors decision to publish the story?

  • admiral blake

    The Mail is not so much a 'news' paper as a political pamphlet appealing to the right of politics to 'little englanders' who would like to see the country how it was in the 1950's. Maybe there is something political behind the editors decision to publish the story?

  • jo

    it is time we stood up to the press!!

  • A Patriot

    It seems to me that this newspaper's editorial team is deliberately setting out to undermine this country's efforts to secure the 2018 football World Cup. One has to wonder if they have a hidden agenda.

  • al

    Far better to boycot the companies which advertise with this paper and state to these organisations why you are doing it, cut off the finance and this self righteous bunch will fold. Public Interest is the interest of the british public not a single journalist's paypacket, how can a sabotage of the bid constitute public interest.

    I refuse to buy this junk however the companies currently advertising on the DM website are – Marks and Spencers, British Gas, and Olay. To the marketing executives of these companies, advertising with the Daily Mail is not money well spent, regain the trust and support of your consumers by ceasing transactions with the Daily Mail

  • Dom

    I will never ever read or touch that paper again… Sadly I am beginning to think we need a press regulator who is independent, sane and has a “world view”. Why do we English constantly seem to be falling over ourselves in some sad self-depreciating farce?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/63SFSKVAJ2TUWIXRQVGQUQ46PU Anthony

    damn right the old phrase…the public has a right to know doesn't apply here.i think i speak for most people when i say ignorance was bliss.

  • Peter Froud

    I will be ensuring that I nor any relative of mine or business associatte buys this snotty little rag of a newspaper ever again. However I do have another point to eaise regarding the wigs at the FA. It seems that Triesman was cought in a honey trap sting instigated by his former Aide, if this is the case I feel sure that it was no secret and that staff at the FA where aware of the affair, why wasn't it dealt with in the same way that our best candidate for the England Captaincy was? if morally he is unfit to captain England then how was it decided that Triesman was morrally fit to captain our bid? It is high time that the FA was broken up and became an elected body with annual or bi-annual re-ellections and a very open book policy.

  • Jason Lester

    I feel sorry for Treisman. He was caught good and proper in a honey trap, as men men before him have been, and many will after. There is not a man alive who has not said something to a friend in confidence that if made public would have caused offence. Treisman did nothing wrong. If you listen to the audio of what he actually said, it was totally underwhelming, which makes the whole situation even more ludicrous. I GUARANTEE that no Italian, French or German newspaper would carry a similar story if they were bidding for a major sporting tournament. The Daily Mail's pretence at standing up for Britain has been shown to be nothing more than a stunt to increase readership. They should be branded a Judas paper and shunned. End of story.

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