Keane tells England to 'get over it, nobody died'

SOCCER:ROY KEANE believes England should "move on" from the disappointment of missing out on hosting the 2018 World Cup.

The 39-year-old Cork man believes Russia deserve their chance to host world football’s showpiece event. “They (Russia) have never had a World Cup, so why not? You’ve got to give these guys a go.

“I think England need to move on and not keep complaining about votes or what was going on in the background.”

England secured just two of the 22 Fifa members’ votes and were knocked out in the first round, with Trinidad’s Jack Warner one of those who failed to back the bid.

Keane was in charge of Sunderland when England played a friendly in Trinidad in 2008, which resulted in Kenwyne Jones picking up an injury.

“We’ve played some needless friendlies over the last year or two . . . dragging players to Trinidad two or three years ago,” said Keane. “Whatever reason was behind it I don’t know but Kenwyne Jones got injured and I wasn’t too pleased about it.

“They reckon they were playing those games to get votes. What rewards do you get? Two votes and one of them is your own . . . Apparently England had a good bid but they didn’t do it. Get over it, nobody died.”

Former Chelsea owner and chairman Ken Bates has urged the major European football nations to break away from Fifa in the wake of the World Cup decision.

“I’m of the opinion that the big European nations should resign from Fifa and start their own organisation,” said the Leeds chairman. “If they didn’t have Spain, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom there wouldn’t be a Fifa.

“The only way to deal with Fifa is to withdraw from it and let them get on with it. Fifa are a two-bob organisation above any law and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.

“It’s a case of the tail wagging the dog. We have little Jack Warner standing in the corner, Oceania, the Caribbean, and the oil states. All that happens is they keep giving the votes to (Sepp) Blatter so he stays there in power.

“And as for Qatar . . . How are they going to develop football? Australia, who have all the stadia and put a tremendous Olympics on, would have put on a great show.”

How newspapers around the world reacted to Fifa’s decision . . .

"Qatar? Really? Has the Fifa cartel seriously lost all of its soul? Is it only about the dirty oil money? Does it really care about growing the game? Or lining its pockets?" – The Seattle Times

"Bringing the World Cup to new places is the right thing to do . . . there was quite an outcry when the US was awarded the 1994 World Cup. Critics assailed the thought of soccer's biggest showcase being in a country without a professional outdoor league.– Kansas City Star

"It was not so much a defeat as an abject humiliation, an embarrassment that reeked of newcomer's naivety and misplaced trust."– Brisbane Times

"Fifa sold the 2022 World Cup to the sheikhs – Qatarstrophe. This is how the word is spelt since yesterday.– Germany's Bild

"The World Cup is a competition that is, essentially, forged in corruption, which is why it goes to countries that are essentially corrupt."– English Daily Mail