back to article Sepp Blatter dubbed 'Bellend' by SA gov website

Sharp-eyed Fifa watchers have spotted that either Sepp Blatter has an unusual middle name, or someone in the South African government was relying on Wikipedia when knocking up the presidential website. Blatter, well known as the president of Fifa, since April has also been a proud bearer of the Order of the Companions of OR …

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  1. Code Monkey

    Mr

    If the helmet fits, Sepp...

  2. Citizen Kaned
    Grenade

    its true tho!

    what right does someone who has never played the game at any level got to manage the world's favourite sport?

    he ruined this world cup for many, and only now listens to all the major footy managers that goal-line tech is needed. after 3 teams went out because of it.

    all much less popular sports have it (tennis, rugby, cricket etc) yet football doesnt. ridiculous!

  3. Sam Liddicott

    What?

    What is this story actually about?

    I've never heard of the man, but I expect a well written story to make it's point anyway and educate me as well.

    As far as I can tell "Bellend" is "obviously" not one of his names, and in a subtly news-worthy sort of way - but the story here only hints that.

    I'm sure I'm missing a lot.

    1. Lottie

      You're missing

      The whole "words yoinked from Wikipedia and passed off as own" thing along with wikis accuracy.

    2. Rhyd

      FTA:

      "Blatter, well known as the president of Fifa"

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Fifa

        Sam probably thinks 'Fifa' is a poodle. After all, the FA is Capello's, it would seem.

    3. Rob 96

      Assuming Sam isn't a Brit...

      Sam, bellend is slang for glans in the UK. Not the kind of thing that generally needs explicitly stating.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Title

    Very well done that man.

  5. Raspy32

    I actually LOL'd

    That has to be one of the funniest web cock-ups I've seen in a very long time. It seems Wikipedia has since been corrected (as the rest of the text is almost identical so it seems likely the source) but the presidency website still shows the same thing.

    So is this the first official, presidentially sanctioned bellend in history?

  6. RyokuMas
    Thumb Up

    Well...

    This is the man who wouldn't ban the Vuvuzela... "Bellend" is comparatively tame, considering some of the things I saw him called during the world cup...

  7. Code Monkey

    Vuvuzela

    IMO Bellend was right to allow it. It's a part of South African footie culture and its World Cup should reflect that.

    That said, anyone blowing one near me next season will be down A&E getting it removed from their jacksy.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    It is not Sepp who determines goal scoring tech

    Goal scoring tech and football game rules are determined by International Football Association Board which should be called "International My A*se Association Board" as it consists of guess whom: English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and FIFA as a not really wanted 5th member.

    So, the entire Lampard affair is what is generally referred to in English as "Hoisted by Your Own Petard(TM)".

    1. frank ly

      Sayings

      Shouldn't that be 'Hoisted by your own Lampard'?

    2. DavCrav

      Close

      IFAB has reps from the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish football boards, and four members from FIFA, balancing it out.

      1. lglethal Silver badge
        Thumb Down

        FIFA holds the balance

        On this topic, the English (and unless the report i read was wrong the Scottish as well) have been pushing for the goal line tech. Wales and Ireland have been saying no (i imagine because of the cost involved and the fact there leagues dont earn huge amounts of cash). Therefore its 2-2 and that leaves FIFA to decide.

        So far FIFA have buried there head up there *ss... Will that change now? I dont know, but no doubt its bound to leave a bad smell in the air for all of us...

  9. Combat Wombat
    Coffee/keyboard

    Damnit James!

    You owe me two new monitors and a new keyboard...

    Coffee over everything !

    Well spotted :D

  10. Duckorange
    Thumb Up

    Gone now...

    ...but thanks to El Reg, Bellend Blatter lives on.

  11. hugh

    No one mentions his sister Fanny any more.

    (c) Frank Skinner

  12. Tom 38
    Headmaster

    @AC 'Not Sepp who determines goal scoring tech'

    Well, look who decide to whack on the AC and be a pedant.

    The first rule of pedantry is never do it AC. The purpose is to demonstrate how awesome you are to the whole world, so don't be shy.

    The second rule of pedantry is to make sure you are right. Unfortunately, this is where you fucked up. Loser.

    IFAB is made up of the four home boards and FIFA. Each home board gets one vote, and FIFA get 4.

    The Northern Irish and the Welsh boards are arse-bendingly tight, and have always refused to discuss goal line technology, as they would then have to pay for some of it.

    FIFA exec seem to be mostly some sort of 'mm Jumpers for goalposts' old farts who refuse to ever change anything in the game, lest you make it different from how it was when they were kids.*

    The FA have been trying to get FIFA and IFAB to allow them to trial goal line technology since 1999.

    * One of the more interesting proposals I've heard for football is adjusting the size of the goal. Bigger goal-mouth -> more goals -> more emphasis on skill.

    The size of the goal hasn't changed since it was first decided in the 19th century by some guy in a pub seeing how high he can jump. I shit you not.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @different from how it was when they were kids

      I guess that would be them who increasingly try to make the game like it was when they were kids playing with a beach ball?

      1. Peter Ford

        Beach Ball...

        Or Jabulani, as the manufacturers would like you to call it...

  13. Xris M
    Thumb Up

    Also

    I saw this yesterday and it was on another site as well, politifi.com. I just went back to check and it seems as if it has been changed although the google cache still shows the page as of yesterday:

    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gDQUpCMZKVEJ:politifi.com/Businesspersons/Sepp-Blatter/page4+http://politifi.com/Businesspersons/Sepp-Blatter/page4&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

    Very strange yet appropriate.

  14. Cloggie
    Coat

    Barking?

    Bellend is German for barking...

  15. ElNumbre
    Thumb Up

    New 'Truth' Icon Required?

    Think its time for a 'It was on wikipedia, so it must be true' icon.

  16. Combat Wombat

    I am sure the residents of..

    Bell End are horrified that that they being associated with Sepp

    http://www.pagemost.com/Bell-End-Worcestershire

  17. Charles King
    Megaphone

    Bellend not too popular in SA right now

    The pressure that Bellend Blatter put on Nelson Mandela to attend the final did not go down well in some quarters. Mandela's currently mourning the death of his 13yr-old granddaughter and is becoming increasingly frail. Mandla Mandela, one of his grandsons, was quoted, "Their focus is having this world icon in the stadium, yet not really paying attention to our customs and traditions as a people and as a family."

    Even during the games there was growing restlessness at the level to which Fifa-inspired laws were being imposed on the local populace, although the 'Fick Fufa' campaign ended up rather low-key.

    I suspect this jab was a manifestation of the level of discontent felt towards Fifa and their high-handed ways.

    http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-06-18-fick-fufa

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jul/15/sepp-blatter-south-africa-fifa

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Airbrushed from history?

    Blatter was once known as Joseph B. Blatter. He now styles himself as Joseph S. Blatter, where the S stands for Sepp, an abbreviation of Joseph. It would be interesting to find out what the B really did stand for. It is reminiscent of when Rolls-Royce decided to re-name the Silver Mist when they found out what it meant in German.

  19. JDX Gold badge
    Thumb Down

    Played at any level...

    Yeah because professional footballers are typically well-endowed with brains. Being able to take a corner has no bearing on managing a global association.

  20. Jesthar
    Go

    Not the first time it's been done... ;)

    And they went for the jugular in the Background section on this 2009 effort, too ;)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sepp_Blatter&oldid=302580587

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