By Andrew Warshaw
Nvember 5 – Critics of Sepp Blatter have long been calling for his head and while he has certainly been feeling the heat, residents in a small south of England town have taken the burning issue of his alleged role in FIFA’s unprecedented corruption scandal to somewhat incendiary lengths.
Guy Fawkes night annually commemorates the failed November 5 attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605, with fireworks and bonfires being lit throughout the country. Many towns and villages spend weeks building their own fake “Guy” to set ablaze and one of the biggest festivals takes place in Edenbridge in Kent on Saturday.
Edenbridge residents have announced they will make Blatter, currently suspended while he is investigated over corruption allegations, their ‘Guy’ having constructed a 36-foot (11-metre) effigy showing the veteran Swiss FIFA president carrying wads of cash, the World Cup and a football.
The traditional Edenbridge ceremony sees a leading public figure burned as a result of some indiscretion or controversy. Political figures such as former British prime minister Tony Blair have been selected in the past, but sport has provided two effigies in recent years. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong’s exposure as a drugs cheat saw him burned in 2012.
There is a serious side to the occasion, however, since it raises money for local charities.
“We let Edenbridge decide who our Celebrity Guy should be this year, and they were pretty clear who they thought it should be,” Jon Mitchell, a spokesman for the Edenbridge Bonfire Society, told The Daily Telegraph.
“Sepp polled 37% of the public’s vote in our online poll – three times more than his nearest rival, David Cameron. It seems we have caught the public’s opinion.”
Other sporting candidates might easily have included England’s failed rugby World Cup coach Stuart Lancaster, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho or Blatter’s alleged partner in crime, Michel Platini.
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