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| pdf edition | Wednesday July 11 2012 Sport
Downloaded 21:46 GMT
Former Fifa president João Havelange
‘received millions in bribes’ — report
Report from Swiss prosecutor says the former Fifa president João
Havelange and executive committee member Ricardo Teixeira
received millions of pounds in bribes Page 2
John Terry trial: Ashley Cole recounts
heated exchange
Cole says he did not hear exactly what Ferdinand or Terry said but
believes case should not have reached court Page 3
André Villas-Boas: I’ve learned lessons
from Chelsea experience
The Tottenham manager, André Villas-Boas, admitted that he
‘learned a couple of things that maybe I’ve done wrong’ from his
time at Chelsea Page 3
Tour de France 2012: London 2012: army Olympics marketing
Bradley Wiggins reinforcements called rules are damaging
stresses ‘my incredible in for the Olympics British business, says
pedigree’ Page 4 Page 6 Tessa Jowell Page 9
London 2012: Phillips Ravi Bopara set London 2012: Timor-
Idowu says he is for Test recall as Leste athletes do it for
focused and denies England’s No6 against national pride Page 10
injury fears Page 5 South Africa Page 8
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Registered in England and Wales. No. 908396. Registered office: PO Box 68164, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1P 2AP
Page 2 G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
TV rights – but subsequently ISL went bust and its liquidators
examined all payments made by the company.
Former Fifa president João Havelange The document published by the Zug prosecutor reveals that
‘received millions in bribes’ — report Havelange and Teixeira were paid the 41m Swiss francs (£27m)
by ISL over a period of eight years, beginning as far back as
• Money allegedly received from collapsed August 1992, until the most recent payment, of 868,000 Swiss
marketing firm ISL francs (£571,000) in May 2000. The Swiss prosecutors also
found that via a company established in the secretive tax haven
• Executive committee member Ricardo
of Liechtenstein, ISL made 37m Swiss francs (£24m) payments
Teixeira also named as “commissions” or “donations” to unnamed “individuals and
David Conn decision makers of global sports”.
The court order explaining why the prosecutions were
halted, after Havelange and Texeira repaid 500,000 (£329,000)
and 2.5m Swiss francs (£1.6m) respectively, exposes a culture of
rife bribe-taking which it finds Fifa, under Blatter, knew about
and yet left unpunished and kept secret.
“The finding that Fifa had knowledge of the bribery
payments to persons within its organs is not questioned,” the
document states. “This is firstly because various members of
the executive committee had received money, and furthermore
… a [1m Swiss francs] payment made to João Havelange was
mistakenly directly transferred to a Fifa account.”
The court document states that Fifa’s (unnamed) chief
financial officer knew the Havelange bribe of 1m Swiss francs
(£658,000) had mistakenly arrived in a Fifa account, and also
Joao Havelange preceeded Sepp Blatter as President of Fifa,
that another Fifa official knew – the identity of this Fifa official
between 1974 and 1998 Photograph: Jorge Adorno/REUTERS
is not disclosed. However the prosecutor recounts over several
João Havelange, the former president of football’s world pages the intensive efforts made by a lawyer acting on behalf
governing body, Fifa, and a senior executive committee of Fifa while Blatter was president, to have the prosecutions
member, Ricardo Teixeira, were paid huge bribes by the stopped. The lawyer argued to the court that Fifa did not have
company to which Fifa awarded the 2002 and 2006 World Cup to ask for the bribes “pocketed” by Havelange and Teixeira, for
TV rights, according to a Swiss prosecutor. their “personal enrichment” to be repaid.
In a legal document finally published after lengthy court The case was settled and the prosecutions stopped following
proceedings in Switzerland, Fifa, under the presidency of Sepp negotiations with a lawyer who stated that he represented Fifa
Blatter, Havelange’s successor, was found to have known about itself, on March 17, 2004, while Blatter was the president of Fifa.
the bribes, yet argued it did not need to have the money repaid. The lawyer, unnamed, appeared to state it was a Fifa policy not
Prosecutions were mounted for alleged embezzlement against to be named in “unjustified speculation” concerning ISL and
Havelange and Teixeira, and “disloyal management” — a breach said: “Fifa intercedes to help bring about settlements where
of its duties – against Fifa, but they were stopped on May 11 foreign football functionaries have received commission.”
2010, after Havelange and Texeira repaid a small proportion of The investigation following ISL’s collapse cited the
the 41m Swiss francs (£27m). chairman of the company explaining that bribes had been rife
The court order documenting the settlement, published and common-place since the 1970s, “whereby well-known
by the prosecutor in the Swiss canton of Zug, explains why individuals in sports were favoured”.
the prosecution was settled, while the publication of its Between 1989 and 1998, the prosecutor’s document states,
investigation findings deliver a devastating indictment of Fifa, just one ISL company paid “commission” to such insiders of
under both Havelange and Blatter. 123m Swiss francs (£81m). That only partially included the
Havelange was the Brazilian president of Fifa from 1974 payments to Havelange and Teixeira, and the identities of those
until 1998, when he was succeeded by Blatter, the current who received other huge sums is not revealed.
president, who had been his loyal general-secretary. Teixeira, The prosecutor believed Havelange and Teixeira were guilty
Havelange’s son-in-law until his divorce, was a long-serving Fifa of criminal breaches of their duties to serve Fifa as senior
executive committee member, and president of Brazil’s football executives. However the prosecutor agreed, after extended
federation, until he stepped down on the grounds of ill-health efforts by Fifa to have the prosecution stopped, that the
earlier this year. payments of 500,000 Swiss francs (£329,000) and 2.5m Swiss
Both men were found to have received those massive francs (£1.6m) respectively were reasonable to settle the action.
payments, as “commissions”, stated explicitly to be bribes, This was partly because the bribes paid before 1995 were time-
by the marketing company International Sports Media and barred (outside the statute of limitations), and the prosecutor
Marketing, known as ISL. Commercial bribery was not a crime also took into account Havelange’s advanced age.
in Switzerland at the time. Havelange, then the president of Fifa presented the document’s publication as part of its
Fifa, in December 1997 granted ISL Fifa’s exclusive marketing process of reform, saying it was “pleased” it had now been
rights, and in May 1998 sold ISL exclusive TV and radio rights to made public.
the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. ISL paid Fifa 200m Swiss francs
(£131m) for the marketing rights and $1.4bn (£906m) for the
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
said: ‘no, no.’.”
The two players then shook hands.
John Terry trial: Ashley Cole recounts Asked about Terry, Cole described him as an “inspirational
heated exchange captain”, and “cool, calm and collected” who did not rise to
taunts on the pitch. Of the abuse Terry received over an alleged
Cole says he did not hear exactly what affair, Cole said he had had “the same said” to him, and they
Ferdinand or Terry said but believes case used to “laugh about it”.
Cole said he had not wanted to become involved, but the FA
should not have reached court
summoned him to make a statement, which they drew up after
Caroline Davies he requested it be a “neutral statement”.
Terry is accused of calling Ferdinand “a fucking black cunt”
during the Premier League game at Loftus Road on 23 October
2011, which was televised by Sky and watched by more than 2
million viewers.
A complaint of racism was made by an off-duty police officer
watching the game on television.
André Villas-Boas: I’ve learned lessons
from Chelsea experience
• New Tottenham manager admits failings
at Chelsea
Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole arrives to
attend the trial of his team-mate John Terry at Westminster
• André Villas-Boas praises Tottenham
magistrates court. Photograph: Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images ambitions
England footballer Ashley Cole, a team-mate of John Terry, Press Association
thought he heard Anton Ferdinand shout words of abuse to the
Chelsea captain during a heated pitch exchange, he told a court.
The 31-year-old Chelsea left-back said that as Ferdinand
made a fist-pump gesture he heard him shout “Bridgey or
black” and “cunt”, he told Westminster magistrates court.
“I can’t make out – him either saying Bridgey or black.”
Terry, 31, denies a racially aggravated public order offence,
saying he was sarcastically repeating back an accusation that he
thought Ferdinand had made to him.
Cole, a reluctant witness, said he did not think the case
should have reached court. “I think we shouldn’t be sitting
here,” he said, from the witness box where he had been
summoned as a defence witness.
He was “close friends” with his team-mate Terry, and had
André Villas-Boas said Tottenham’s reputation was more
known Ferdinand and his brother Rio, and their family, “for a
important than his own. Photograph: News/Action Images
long time”, he said.
Racism should never be tolerated, he said. But repeating The new Tottenham Hotspur manager, André Villas-Boas,
what you thought someone said was “completely different”. He insists he learned lessons from his short time at Chelsea but
said while he saw Ferdinand gesture and shout, he could not believes bringing silverware to Spurs is more important than his
hear what Terry said, as he was “about a car length” away from own reputation.
him. Villas-Boas arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer
The court has heard the fist-pump gesture was a reference to amid huge fanfare but his intended transformation of the
Terry’s alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of former team-mate club foundered and he was sacked in March after a string
Wayne Bridge. of disappointing results. His attempt to move on from an
During the game, and after the alleged race-abuse incident, established core of Chelsea players proved more difficult
Cole said Terry spoke to him about Ferdinand. “He said: ‘He than he had hoped but he thinks he can do better as Harry
thinks I’m being racist’, or something along them lines,” Cole Redknapp’s successor as a result of those experiences.
told the court. “You always learn from experience,” he told Sky Sports
After the match, Terry asked Ferdinand to come to the News. “From my understanding the Chelsea experience was
Chelsea dressing room and Cole heard Terry ask the QPR maybe not so gratifying in terms of success but very gratifying
defender what had happened. professionally for me. I learned a couple of things that maybe
“I think John said” ‘Did you think I called you a black cunt, I’ve done wrong and I’ve learned in a club you have to trust the
did you think I was bring racist?’ right people at the right time.”
“Then I said: ‘Did you think John was being racist?’. Anton But he added that he was entitled to some satisfaction for
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page 4 G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
the Champions League and FA Cup successes Chelsea enjoyed
following his dismissal. “For Chelsea to have won the FA Cup
and the Champions League, it means we were still present in
Tour de France 2012: Bradley Wiggins
those competitions at that time [of sacking],” Villas-Boas said. stresses ‘my incredible pedigree’
“The squad was being put in place towards the future and
the owner took the decision, which I have to respect, but I • Wiggins is first Brit to wear yellow jersey
never accept it. I was very honoured that I was able to put that for four days in a row
team together. You could say part of what they achieved is also
• France’s Thomas Voeckler wins 10th stage
down to that squad being put together by myself, but what was
done after was down to Robbie’s work and the work of those Richard Williams in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
magnificent players.
But the Portuguese was keen now to place the emphasis
on Tottenham’s quest for success ahead of his own. “It is not
a mission of restoring my reputation, it’s a mission to put
Tottenham back on track with titles. Since 2008 we haven’t won
anything,” he said.
“It is right we take the club forward, with titles and with
success. Hopefully I can bring them to this football club. It is a
massive opportunity for me and I am extremely pleased to be
given that opportunity. I am pleased to come to a club with such
high ambitions for the future and I hope to repay the trust of
the chairman with success.”
Villas-Boas indicated he had been involved in talks with
other clubs since his Chelsea exit, but is certain he has found
Bradley Wiggins, the leader of the Tour de France, leaves
the ideal job. He said: “Since I stopped there has been a couple
the anti-doping control bus after Wednesday’s 10th stage.
of discussions with other clubs, a couple of them have even
Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images
been made public, but I was always willing to wait for the right
opportunity at the right time. When he sets out for the Alps on Thursday morning, Bradley
“After Chelsea it was important to be surrounded by the Wiggins will become the first British rider to wear the yellow
right commitment and the right people and I think I have found jersey for four days in a single Tour de France, eclipsing the
that.” record set by Chris Boardman in 1994 and matched by David
Millar in 2000. And on Wednesday night the leader of the
2012 Tour responded to an invitation to revisit his outburst of
Saturday night, when he gave his expletive-splattered opinion
of those who insinuate, via social media, that he and his Sky
team-mates are not above the sort of suspicions that regularly
darken the horizon of professional bike racing.
“I’m not some shit rider who has just came from nowhere,”
he said at the end of the 10th stage through the Jura massif that
was won by the Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, “and I don’t feel
I should have to sit here and justify everything I’ve done to the
world.
“I’ve been three times Olympic champion on the track.
People have to realise what kind of engine you need to win an
*
Olympic gold medal as an individual pursuiter. I’ve been six
times world champion, fourth in the Tour de France, third in
the Vuelta last year. I was a junior world champion. I’ve got an
incredible pedigree behind me.”
On a day that British Cycling – the organisation at the heart of
Team Sky – announced that its membership has risen to 50,000,
Compare and buy double the figure at the time of the Beijing Olympics, Wiggins,
who maintained his 1m 53sec-advantage over the second-placed
Use our free independent Cadel Evans, emphasised the integrity of his performance.
comparison services to switch “Yes, I’m in the yellow jersey and I’m inspiring maybe kids to
suppliers and save money on take up cycling, this, that and the other. But there’s one reason
why I’m in this position and that’s because I’ve worked hard.
all your household bills. I’m tested by the [sport’s ruling body] UCI God knows how
guardian.co.uk/money/ many times a year, God knows how many times in this race and
the Dauphiné. Blood-tested in the morning. What more can I
compareandbuy do, other than that?
“I’m only human at the end of the day. I’m not this robot. I’m
just a kid from London who happened to be good at cycling, and
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
made it here. I make mistakes in my life. I’m not this fantastic to myself. The people most important to me are my family,
role model that everyone wants me to be. I’m good at riding my representatives and my coach [Aston Moore].That is the
my bike and performing on my bike. Other than that, sitting small circle of people I work with and who are involved in my
up here, answering all these questions every day, trying to be preparation for the Games, outside of that no one else needs to
articulate about it – I don’t know what else I can do.” be involved.”
Idowu was always sure of securing a place on the Olympic
team, but by skipping the trials he was contravening UK
London 2012: Phillips Idowu says he is Athletics’ official selection policy – which has been rigorously
focused and denies injury fears adhered to by Van Commenee. It states that to be eligible for
the selection all athletes must “compete at the trials in the
discipline in which they wish to compete in at the Games” and
• Charles van Commenee had said triple that “Permission to do otherwise must be gained in advance
jumper was injured from the head coach, which will only be granted in exceptional
• Idowu will jump at Diamond League circumstances.”
meeting on Saturday The decision to miss the trials, Idowu says, was
“precautionary”. “After Eugene I had been working really hard
Andy Bull
with a 10-day training programme, I had a day off and then went
on a solid five-day programme, so physically there was a lot of
fatigue in my system and I didn’t want to jeopardise my chances
at the Games by competing when I wasn’t in tip-top form.”
He also happens to be an ambassador for the Hackney
Weekend festival, which was taking place that weekend. Van
Commenee said at the time that “medical confidentiality”
prevented him from explaining why Idowu was not competing.
Idowu’s own version of the story suggests that Van Commenee
could have been covering for the athlete by making sure that
he had an excuse for breaking the official selection policy. “I
am always feeling aches and pains. It is Olympic year so I don’t
want to do anything to jeopardise my chances of performing in
the best possible shape that I can be in at the Games, so missing
The British triple jumper Phillips Idowu said he is not injured the trials was a precaution.”
and has been focusing on his preparation for London 2012. It is all as clear as mud, and both Van Commenee and Idowu
Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images are doing a disservice to the public by being so opaque. Still
on 7 August, when the triple jump competition starts, none
Phillips Idowu has risked widening his rift with Charles van
of this will matter much. Particularly if Idowu delivers. Van
Commenee by insisting he did not pull out of the Olympic trials
Commenee only cuts him slack because of his track record. “I
in Birmingham last month because of injury, as Great Britain’s
am confident,” Idowu said. “I have put in so much work and it
head coach had said.
won’t be until the final two weeks before the Games when we
“I have not mentioned anything about an injury to be
start to drop down and the workload reduces that everything
honest,” Idowu said. “No one has heard the words come out of
is going to be completely sharp and I can feel completely
my mouth, or from my coach, or any of my team. So I have let
confident in what I am going to do at the Games.”
that rumour mill stir itself and it has given me an opportunity to
He feels he can replicate the kind of form he showed at the
focus on my preparation for the Games.”
world championships in Daegu last year, when his jumps were
This Saturday Idowu will jump in the Diamond League
all between 17.38m and 17.77m. Still, that was only good enough
meeting at Crystal Palace. It will be only his fourth competition
for silver behind the USA’s Christian Taylor. “I have that level of
of the season, and his first since he pulled out of his fourth
consistency, now it is a case of performing and getting that big
jump in a meeting at Eugene in the USA on 1 June. “It was
jump out.”
precautionary,” Idowu said of his withdrawal there. “I never
mentioned or said anything about having an injury. I pulled
*
out because it was wet, it was raining, I slipped on the board. It
happens. You hit the board, your foot slips, and it kind of sends
the fear of God through you. I didn’t want to take any chances.”
In an Olympic year, Idowu said, it is best to “always err on
the side of caution”. Which begs the question, why did Van
Commenee say that Idowu was injured? “I don’t know. I don’t The Guardian digital edition
know anything about that. I don’t know what happened,” was Read the Guardian on the web exactly the
all Idowu would say. way it was printed.
The two have a notoriously poor relationship, having fallen With award-winning Guardian
out during an idiotic spat last year when Idowu announced photography accessible from anywhere in
on Twitter that he was pulling out of the European Team the world.
Championships. Idowu certainly does not seem to value Van
guardian.co.uk/digitaledition
Commenee’s input all that much. “This year I have kept myself
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page 6 G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
military has been asked to help, so of course the military will
help. I think the general public will be relieved to see members
London 2012: army reinforcements of the British armed forces at the venues providing security.
called in for the Olympics Quite a lot needs to be done, this is a big issue for us, but we can
do it.”
Exclusive: Military to provide up to 3,500 The issue of venue security has been the most contentious
extra troops amid fears G4S may be unable for organisers and the government in the runup to the
Olympics, after the London organising committee (Locog)
to supply 10,000 guards it promised to
admitted in December it had wildly underestimated the
deliver number of staff required to deliver security at 34 Olympic
Nick Hopkins and Owen Gibson venues in London and around the country.
The figure required more than doubled from 10,000
to 23,700 and the budget went up from £282m to £553m.
All security costs for the Games are met from the £9.3bn
government funding package provided from public funds, as
opposed to Locog’s £2bn operating budget.
The Home Office permanent secretary, Dame Helen Ghosh,
has admitted that Locog’s original “best estimate” of 10,000
security staff within venues had been a “finger in the air”
exercise.
Another source on the London 2012 board has previously
described the security operation as a “blind spot” in Locog’s
planning for the Games.
It will spark fresh questions over the extent to which the
Games will appear overly reliant on the armed forces – last week
An army training exercise in Blackheath: Whitehall’s patience
it was confirmed that surface-to-air missiles would be located at
with G4S ran out last weekend and it turned to the MoD to fill
six sites around the capital, despite protests from residents and
the gap. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP
some MPs.
The military has been asked to provide up to 3,500 extra troops The navy’s biggest warship, HMS Ocean, will be stationed in
to guard the London Olympics, amid concerns that private the Thames and four Typhoon fighter jets will be on standby at
security firm G4S will be unable to deliver the number of staff it RAF Northolt in Middlesex. Armed Puma helicopters will also
promised. be on standby.
Ministers have been forced into the last-ditch move only a The London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, has insisted that
fortnight before the Games because they are concerned that London will not feel like a “siege city” during the Games and
G4S cannot guarantee it will be able to supply the 13,700 guards Chris Allison, the Metropolitan police assistant commissioner
it was contracted to deliver. and national Olympic security co-ordinator, has insisted it will
One Whitehall insider accused the Home Office of “sticking be a “blue Games”.
its head in the sand” over the need to deploy extra military Organisers have insisted that 8.8 million ticketholders
personnel. will be reassured rather than panicked by the sight of military
“This has been an accident waiting to happen. The Home personnel, citing the example of Wimbledon. But such large
Office has waited to make a decision on this because G4S has numbers of military personnel have never been mobilised in
been saying it is all in hand. But we’ve run out of time.” the UK during peacetime.
The home secretary, Theresa May, has been pressing G4S Organisers believe G4S needs at least 19,000 security guards
to provide assurances over its commitments, but patience in to fulfil its £284m contract, which requires 10,400 licenced
Whitehall ran out last weekend and talks began over whether guards and 3,300 students. The extra guards are needed as a
the Ministry of Defence could fill the gap. buffer when staff fail to turn up or fail security screening. G4S
“The army will provide an insurance policy,” said a were also due to manage the 7,500 military personnel and 2,500
Whitehall source. The armed forces are already providing up volunteers. The 3,500 extra troops may not all be required but
to 13,500 personnel for the Games – split between the venues the government is keen to have them in place in case G4S is
and back-up for police. Under the contingency plans, this unable to deliver.
could reach 16,500 – 7,000 more than are being deployed in The government is believed to have agreed to a “just in time”
Afghanistan. approach to training the guards in a bid to avoid costs spiralling
The MoD has been seeking guarantees that any soldiers further. In addition to £553m security budget, a further £600m
drafted in at the last moment will be properly compensated for has been set aside for the police operation, although the Home
cancelled leave. Office has said it should be able to deliver for £475m.
A defence source said that the army units that may be G4S said it had 4,000 staff in venues and more than
required had been identified and put at a state of shortened 20,000 in training. A spokesman for G4S said that issues over
readiness. They will be deployed incrementally, as needed, “scheduling and deployment” were being dealt with.
and logistical and training hubs were already being set up to “Our programme to train and deploy our security workforce
co-ordinate them. for the 2012 Games is continuing and has stepped up in the past
“This is not about the security of the Olympics being in few weeks,” said the spokesman. “Issues we have faced over
peril,” said the source. “Nobody would let that happen. The
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
scheduling and deployment are being worked out and we are More than 2,000 reserves were called up in the spring to help
continuing to work hard to get a robust workforce in place for make up the numbers.
the start of the Games.” Even with that, Locog and the Home Office were relying on
Read the background to the story:’Our people didn’t G4S to provide a total of 10,400 licensed security guards – five
sign up for Queen and country to check bags’ times more than had originally been envisaged. The contract is
Philip Hammond isn’t everyone’s cup of tea at the Ministry reported to be worth £284m.
of Defence, but he’s no pushover, and he has accounted for Last autumn, G4S made it clear it could only recruit
every penny in the over-stretched military budget. substantial numbers if it was given enough time. With time now
His calculations didn’t include offering even more troops running perilously short, it seems it is struggling to meet the
for the security of the Olympics, and being a stickler for detail, commitment.
the defence secretary has been beavering around Whitehall in Last weekend, only half the guards needed to guarantee fully
recent days making plain he has no intention of picking up the staffed patrols of the entrances to venues and undertake other
bill. security duties were ready to start work.
That may be the least of the MoD’s worries as it draws up G4S admitted it had been having “some challenges on
yet more plans to cancel leave and deploy up to 3,500 extra workforce scheduling”, but insisted it could resolve them.
troops, some of whom may have only recently returned from Earlier this week it was reported that it still needed to train
Afghanistan. and accredit as many as 9,000 guards and was calling in retired
None of which will do military morale much good, coming police officers to fill vacant roles.
just a week after Hammond announced a raft of defence On Wednesday, G4S declined to give a specific figure, saying
reforms gu.com/p/38z28 that will see 20,000 posts lost from the the picture was constantly changing. A spokesman added that it
army in the next three years. remained confident it would meet its commitment by the start
Anger within the armed forces at the manner in which the of the Games.
MoD has been called to the rescue has been replaced by weary In Whitehall, though, patience is running thin.
resignation after a year in which the overall number of military With the Games only a fortnight away, the home secretary,
personnel needed for Olympics duty has ballooned. Theresa May, has been co-ordinating talks about how best to
The situation has been caused by a huge miscalculation provide cover. Inevitably, she turned to her cabinet colleague,
by the Olympic organisers, Locog, followed by what appears the defence secretary.
to have been over-optimistic recruitment and training Hammond has been involved in many of the discussions,
assessments by the security firm G4S. and though it would be inconceivable for the military to turn
Locog first realised it had a major problem last summer, down such a request, he has made it clear it will cause avoidable
when its predictions for the number of staff needed at the inconvenience, which must be properly compensated.
Olympic venues began to unravel. The MoD will not grumble in public. Earlier this year,
It had thought it would need 10,000 people to undertake General Sir Nick Parker, commander of land forces, said he
routine security checks, but when organisers started doing was unconcerned that the military was required to help the
role-playing exercises at some of the new stadia, they began to Olympics at short notice.
appreciate this was a woeful underestimate. “I am entirely comfortable with the warning time. Short
More than twice that number would be required. The notice, rapid reaction, flexibility is what we do. From my
Metropolitan police could not help because its staff were perspective, 12 hours to grab your kit and go is short notice
already accounted for. (Senior officers say they had been – this is not. And let me reiterate that the feeling amongst
warning Locog for months it had got its sums wrong). military personnel about their involvement in the Olympics will
And with the Olympic budget set, there was a reluctance to be excitement, pride and a determination to do a good job.”
pay G4S to make up the shortfall. As ministers started to panic Parker did not know then how prophetic those words would
during the Cabinet Office briefings – known as Cobra – all eyes be. With only days to go to the biggest sporting event ever held
fell on the MoD. in the UK, the troops are on standby again.
The military had already committed a number of ships,
aircraft and ceremonial personnel to the Games, but it had not
bargained for – and was initially resistant to providing – huge
*
numbers of troops at the venues.
“The military will do what they are told, but I don’t think any
of our people signed up for Queen and country to check bags,”
said one senior army officer.
Though the problem was identified a year ago, the haggling Eat right
over who would do what and when, and who would pay, didn’t Join the Guardian’s health and
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Page G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
so it’s very rewarding in a number of ways. He’s experienced,
I think he’s played about 76 or so one-day internationals and I
Ravi Bopara set for Test recall as think now, certainly in this series, he’s played a number of very
England’s No6 against South Africa confident innings. We all know how talented he is and he must
convert that talent into results for us – and he’s done that in the
• Andy Flower hints at a return for the last couple of series.”
Essex batsmen Bopara, who is 27, has not played a Test since being called
up for the last two games of England’s whitewash of India last
• Squad for first Test at The Oval to be
summer when Jonathan Trott was injured. They were his only
named on Sunday Test appearances since he lost his place at No3 to Trott for the
Andy Wilson decisive fifth Test of the 2009 Ashes series, and he has endured
a frustrating time hoping for a chance in the No6 position filled
mostly by Eoin Morgan, and more recently by Samit Patel
– although he actually batted at seven, below Matt Prior, in Sri
Lanka – and Bairstow.
He has never played a Test against South Africa, but the fact
England have not made him available for Essex’s county match
against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham this week would seem to
be another hefty clue that he is the man in line for The Oval. As
it happened, Bairstow did not play either on Wednesday, as the
first day of Yorkshire’s match against Hampshire was washed
out.
Kevin Pietersen spent the day in the field for Surrey at
Guildford against a Lancashire team coached by his old chum
Peter Moores. But Andrew Strauss showed no obvious rustiness
Ravi Bopara looks set to return to the England Test team
in his first innings since the third Test against West Indies at
against South Africa after shining in the one-day series with
Edgbaston on 11 June, top-scoring with 50 from 97 balls as
Australia. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
Middlesex were skittled for 98 by Nottinghamshire at Uxbridge.
With Australia emphatically sent packing, and England now Ian Bell has also requested, and been granted, permission
within striking distance of climbing to the top of the official to play for title-chasing Warwickshire in their game against
world one-day rankings, the team director, Andy Flower, a Sussex team including Prior that starts at Edgbaston on
has turned his attention to protecting their hard-earned Test Thursday, and the hard-headed Flower almost sounded
supremacy in the three-Test series against South Africa which romantic when he spoke of Bell’s one-day batting at the top of
begins at The Oval next Thursday. the order in recent weeks. “I think we should respect the way
Actually, Flower confirmed that the South Africa series he has grown as a player and rejoice in it. He is a lovely player to
has not been far from his thoughts throughout the summer, watch for all cricket lovers.”
suggesting that he and the rest of his coaching staff have been But his other reflections included a typically tough analysis
settled on the team they want for the first Test for some time. of the bowling line-up who had generally thought to have
There were suggestions when Jonny Bairstow was released performed well. “To be quite frank, I don’t think we bowled at
back to Yorkshire before the last match of the Australia series our best, and I think the bowlers and David Saker [the bowling
to allow him to play in a County Championship fixture against coach] would think that as well,” he added.
Hampshire that he was being given one last chance to stake his He expects Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan to be available
claim for the No6 position in England’s batting order which he next week after elbow problems, Swann having been released
filled throughout the first three Tests of the summer against from the one-day squad to have a cortisone injection.
West Indies.
But Flower scotched that theory, which would seem to
suggest that Ravi Bopara – who had been selected ahead
*
of Bairstow for the first Test against West Indies before
aggravating a thigh injury, and performed impressively with bat
and ball in the one-day games, especially against Australia – will
finally receive another chance.
“We’ve been talking about it, I wouldn’t say constantly
but regularly, and we have got a very clear idea of the way
Fantasy League Classic
we’re going,” said Flower. He said it would be “inaccurate” Manage a squad of 16 players and
to describe this week’s Championship matches as relevant to a budget of £75 million. £75,000
the considerations of the management and selectors before worth of prizes to be won in weekly,
the team for The Oval is chosen on Friday and announced on
Sunday. “We don’t wait until our selection meeting before we
monthly and overall competitions.
form our ideas,” he added. “I think that’s where we are now.” Beat your nearest and dearest in a
Of Bopara, who scored 182 runs and was dismissed only friends league.
twice in four innings against Australia, Flower said: “We want
him to do well, like him as a friend and rate him as a cricketer,
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
rules were designed. I hope that a reasonable compromise
can be found so that these great British architects can get the
Olympics marketing rules are damaging recognition that they deserve.”
British business, says Tessa Jowell Respondents to Armitt’s study, which concluded that the
next 12 to 18 months were a “crucial window of opportunity”
Architects told they cannot enter awards for companies to publicise their association with the Games,
based on their London 2012 involvement were critical of the extent to which they could do so at the
moment.
unless they are official sponsors
One said: “To get any real commercial benefit, companies
Owen Gibson, Olympics editor need to be allowed to demonstrate that they have, and are
indeed working, on the London 2012 Games and this is virtually
impossible in any real sense at the moment.”
Another said that although their reputation had benefited
“this has not been a major enhancement due to the restrictions
on promoting our involvement with the construction of the
2012 facilities.”
Jowell paid tribute to the contribution of British businesses
to the completion of the Olympic venues.
“The story of the Olympic construction is a success story
for British business. A project twice the size of Heathrow’s
Terminal 5 was built in half the time and half a billion pounds
under budget,” she said.
“A strong business legacy and potential area of export
growth has been created — with new capacity created for Britain
The Basketball Arena next to the Athletes Village in the
to compete in construction and project management.”
London 2012 Olympic Park. Photograph: Locog/Getty Images
The shadow Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, has criticised
rules preventing businesses that have worked on the Games but
are not official sponsors from publicising their involvement or
entering awards.
Jowell, who was instrumental in putting together the
original bid in 2005 and remains on the Olympic board, said the
rules constrained the ability of British architects to make the
most of their achievement in building the venues that will host
the Games.
Earlier this week, architect Wilkinson Eyre, the firm that
designed the Basketball Arena, was presented with a special
“protest award” at the 2012 New London Awards, organised at
Guildhall in the City by the capital’s built environment centre,
New London Architecture.
Wilkinson Eyre had asked permission from Olympic
authorities to enter it for a number of architecture awards
but the request was turned down on the basis that it might
contravene Olympic marketing rules.
*
NLA chairman Peter Murray, a prominent campaigner for
the relaxation of strict rules, said it was another example of
the “draconian” impact of the rules enforced by the London
Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
(Locog).
In a report commissioned by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt
from ODA chairman Sir John Armitt, he recommended that Are you getting the best deal on
marketing restrictions be swept away as soon after the Games as
possible, so British companies could benefit.
your mortgage?
In its response, the government said there was unlikely to Compare over 8500 mortgages
be any movement on the issue before the end of the year. It
forms part of an ongoing negotiation with the British Olympic
online to find the best deal for
Association, which will inherit the rights from Locog. you.
“I am concerned to hear that businesses such as Wilkinson
Eyre, who have designed the stunning Basketball Arena, are
guardian.co.uk/money/
finding themselves unable to put themselves forward for compareandbuy
awards ceremonies to promote that good work,” said Jowell.
“This kind of stricture was never the intention when the
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page 10 G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
after a UN-brokered peace deal, and in May celebrated a decade
of self-rule gu.com/p/38vc6 .
London 2012: Timor-Leste athletes do it This year is therefore a hugely important one for the
for national pride nation, not least because of its participation at the Olympics,
which many see as proof that it is fully standing on its own
Representing their country at the Olympics two feet. In March a new president was sworn in – the former
is the prize for Augusto Ramos Soares and guerrilla fighter Taur Matan Ruak gu.com/p/36qbf , who
replaced the Nobel laureate José Ramos-Horta gu.com/p/369ta
Juventina Napoleao
, parliamentary elections took place on 7 July, and the UN
Kate Hodal in Dili peacekeeping force – which has been present on and off since
1999 and can still be seen throughout the capital, Dili – is due to
withdraw fully by December.
With its inadequate training facilities and insufficient
athletic funding, Timor-Leste’s government knows that it falls
short in its ability to support its athletes, but hopes that this will
change. “We can’t yet send athletes from other sports [to the
Olympics] because we can’t afford the pre-qualifications,” says
Afranio Xavier Amaral, who heads Timor-Leste’s the National
Sports Federation. “But I have a vision that in the future we will
have competitors in judo, gymnastics and swimming.”
In a nation where most of the 1.1 million inhabitants are
among the world’s poorest, the government’s recent focus on
sports is an interesting one. Dili has hosted an international
marathon gu.com/p/37ggy since 2010, as well as a mountain-
Augusto Ramos Soares, one of Timor-Leste’s two
biking competition held in September, started by Ramos-Horta,
representatives in the London 2012 Olympic Games.
who says that sports are a form of “group therapy” for the
Photograph: Saki Yakabe./The Guardian
nation to help heal resentment and conflict.
It is nearly pitch black when Augusto Ramos Soares tinyurl. “When you’re confronted with a society suffering from
com/crw4wly starts training. His morning workouts are eerily conflict and violence, you devise strategies to deal with it,” he
quiet: there’s the rustle of palm trees swaying in the early- explains. “Every society needs role models. Now, look at us.
morning breeze; the scratch of his torn running shoes on the For the first time in 10 years, we’re fully eligible to attend the
stadium track; the swoosh of a machete as nearby greenkeepers Olympics on our own merit, instead of ‘being permitted’ out of
cut the grass. When light breaks, it’s 32C, Soares is drenched in sympathy to participate. That creates pride in our people.”
sweat, and university class – in nutritional science and athletics Soares’s coach, Agueda Amaral tinyurl.com/cow4y3l , is
– beckons. perhaps Timor-Leste’s most famous role model and a source
Welcome to Olympics training, tropical island-style. of great national pride. After being run out of her house by
In a country where 40% of the population still lives on less Indonesian troops in 1999, who went on a looting, killing and
than 78p a day, Soares faces pre-Games woes that many of his raping spree after Timor-Leste voted for independence, Amaral
competitors don’t, from irregular training schedules to wrecked was forced to train for the 2000 Sydney Olympics at refugee
trainers and a shortage of proper food and supplements. But the camp where she and thousands of others were displaced. “I
25-year-old is undaunted. Having qualified at February’s Tokyo lost everything – my house, my belongings, my only pair of
marathon tinyurl.com/bmcudsd , Soares – who will represent running shoes, everything,” she says. “So I trained barefoot and
Timor-Leste, formerly East Timor, in the men’s athletics team I trained proud.”
at this year’s Games – says he’s prepared for whatever London Soares was just 15 when he saw the photos of Amaral
may throw at him, from cold weather (“No problem – I’ll bring crossing the Sydney finish line in his local paper. “Then she
a jumper”) to a circular route (“It’s boring and tiring to run in came to my school to recruit runners, and I got motivated,”
loops, but I’ll watch other people and their style of running”). he says. “In my village, no one has any skills or knowledge. I
“A lot of countries don’t know anything about Timor- wanted to be like Agueda: she’s an amazing athlete and a true
Leste,” he says, “so I’m happy to represent my country to inspiration to Timorese youth.”
the rest of the world and prove that Timor-Leste is a country Training whenever he can and eating what he wants, Soares’
that can compete.” only directions are to avoid soft drinks, gassy liquids, ice and
Soares and fellow marathon runner Juventina Napoleao smoking. “He’s the best of my recruits already,” Amaral says.
tinyurl.com/c9vw8fm , 23, are the only Timorese athletes who “As long as he sleeps enough, he’ll be fine.”
will compete at the Olympics this year. Their participation is In mid-JuneLast month, Soares and Amaral headed to
no small feat for a country still shaking off a past so violent Portugal for additional training, before going on to London,
that locals like to joke: “The last time I ran, it was because where the goal is for Soares to run under 2:25:00, shaving more
Indonesian troops were chasing me.” than eight minutes off his Tokyo time of 2:33:46.
A Portuguese colony for nearly 500 years, Timor-Leste Soares, who is one of seven children and donates the prize
finally won its independence in 1975, only to be brutally money from his previous marathons to his parents, says he
annexed by Indonesia a week later. The takeover killed off is grateful for the opportunity to have a life his family long
nearly a third of Timor-Leste’sits population by 1999, and left imagined impossible. “If I didn’t have this opportunity, I’d be
the country in ruins. It finally gained independence in 2002
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
Page 11 G24 Sport Wednesday July 11 2012 21:46 GMT
doing what my parents are doing: farming. Now I get to see
cities like London. I know nothing about it. Is it very modern?
That’s what I heard.”
They are calm and collected now, but at times both Amaral
and Soares seem like they want to pinch themselves. “I never
thought this day would happen,” says Amaral, waving her hand
behind her as if referring to Timor-Leste’s bloody past. “This
really is a very exciting and privileged time for us.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2012 guardian.co.uk
