By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – Former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman today hit back at his former employers saying the way the game is run in England is completely unsatisfactory.
Triesman, appointed the FA’s first independent chairman in January 2008, was giving evidence on the first day of a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry into English soccer governance.
Triesman was appearing for the first time in public since resigning in May last year following a newspaper sting and painted a grim picture of the game’s administration.
“Trying to describe how all the bodies have completely different approaches and things fall through the gaps of those approaches, is very difficult,” Triesman said.
“When you try to describe that to football supporters it becomes almost impossible.”
He reserved particular disdain for Premier League chairman Dave Richards who, he said, often used threatening behaviour.
Even before his resignation last year Triesman had fallen out with the Premier League after he criticised levels of club debt.
“My experience is he [Richards] will put his point politely in Board meetings but discussions outside are extremely aggressive discussions, really aggressive discussions, points are made in a very colourful way,” said Triesman whose appearance generated a healthy media turnout.
“I wouldn’t use that language.”
Talking specifically about England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid, Triesman claimed FIFA had changed the goalposts during the process.
“When we set off on the bid there was a huge amount of encouragement from FIFA because we could do it, create tremendous returns, organise events of those kind and handle security,” he said.
“Had they said at the time that the aim was to break into new territories, then I would have advised the FA board not to start in the first place.
“I think there will be a time when the contact that I and others had with members of the Executive Committee should be described in detail because some of the processes I don’t think stand up to proper scrutiny.”
Triesman also revealed that an idea by former FA chief executive Ian Watmore to have a group of advisers drawn from more ethnically-diverse backgrounds, and with more women, was also “dismissed after about two minutes on the grounds that all the talent that was needed was in the room”.
Sports Minister Hugh Robertson last month described football as the “worst-governed sport in the country” and Triesman partly agreed.
“There is no appetite for change,” he said.
“In terms of our clubs we obviously have fantastic success with the Premier League, it is an amazing example.
“But if we look at England as a country playing international football, the outcomes are very poor.
“I don’t think they are satisfactory for England football fans and if the minister was asking if we have a good system, then we have systemic failure.”
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May 2010: Triesman resigns from England 2018 and FA after he accuses rivals of bribery