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Lord Coe says F*ck the Scots, Welsh and N. Irish...
Seb Coe confirms football team for Team GB in 2012, regardless of opposition from by Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish
by Dominic Midgeley
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
TEAM GB will have a football team for the 2012 Games, Seb Coe has confirmed, whatever opposition is put up by the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish.The creation of the team has been opposed by the Football Associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are concerned it may compromise their individual status within Fifa.
But he said the BOA, which selects teams for the Games, has decided to press ahead with a football squad despite the opposition.When asked last night about the opposition from the Welsh and Scots, Coe replied bluntly: “F*** em!”
The Olympics chief also revealed that Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has agreed to act as manager of a Great Britain team at the Games.
Speaking to thelondonpaper at a reception hosted by the British Olympic Association at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham , Coe confirmed: “He’s told me he’ll do it”.
This represents a U-turn by the United boss who said in July that he was unlikely to accept such a post..
“I will be 70 in 2012,” Ferguson said then. “I’ve not made any commitment to anything like that.
“I would not, in any way, shape or form, try and commit myself to something that is four years ahead.”
However, Ferguson does plan to leave Old Trafford at some point in the next three years and appears to have relented in the face of persistent lobbying by Coe.
Coe, himself a former Olympic gold medalist, who celebrated his 52nd birthday last night, is on the record as saying of Ferguson : “I would love to have him there because he is a phenomenal coach and a great man manager. Who else would you want to have that mentoring role?”
A British Olympic Association spokeswoman said: “We have already said that we are committed to entering a men and women’s football team at the 2012 Olympics. How those teams are made up is still under discussion and obviously we would like the involvement of all the home nations.”
A spokesman for the Welsh FA said: “If that is what he said, clearly it’s disappointing." Seb Coe confirms football team for Team GB in 2012, regardless of opposition from by Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish ... more -
Rhys Ifans praises date rape in controversial outburst
Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has provoked outrage with comments made in a recorded interview that appear to make light of date rape.
Ifans, 40, who sprang to fame in the film Notting Hill, was asked by the station Q Radio to comment on a track by the band the Gutter Twins. The Welsh star expressed his enthusiasm for the act by saying: "It's kind of like being date raped, which I like."
When pressed further by the presenter on whether date rape was a good thing, Ifans added: "Well yeah, for guys."
Graham Rhodes of the Roofie Foundation, Britain's only helpline for victims of drug-related rape, was enraged by the comments. "If he wants to retract that, it would be nice for the 9,000 people who have been drug raped in the past 12 years. It shows a total lack of understanding and compassion for the issues. I hope everyone boycotts everything he does now."
The interview with Q Radio is part of Ifans's attempt to break into music. He has set up a band, the Peth, with Dafydd Ieuan of Super Furry Animals.
Earlier this year he made a joke about paedophilia at a concert organised to raise money to end child slavery and prostitution: "Why is paedophilia so popular?" he said at the event. "Because kids are so fucking sexy."
A dark sense of humour or a joke taken too far? Do 'celebrities' have a responsibility not to make jokes like this when people are horribly affected by the things they're laughing at? Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has provoked outrage with comments made in a recorded interview that appear to make light of date rape. ... more -
Man of Many Masks
Following the work an artist whose work is based upon his experience within the UK graffiti scene since the mid 80's.
Through these experiences, he has developed and experimented with the concept of producing marks within locations in acts of portrayal and literal vandalism with the intent to cause reaction from the onlookers.
The imagery is framed within our ornate world diverse and subversive, creating unique and paradox moments which are documented and transferred to new vantage points producing an alternative perspective. Following the work an artist whose work is based upon his experience within the UK graffiti scene since the mid 80's. ... more
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