Most Hated Men in Football: Lord David Triesman

Lord David Triesman was, until very recently, the chairman of the Football Association and head of England’s bid committee to host World Cup 2018. In the last two weeks that has all changed.

Disgraced Lord Triesman now adds his name to the ever growing list of Footy Factor’s Most Hated Men in Football.

Thanks to a rather unfortunate sting set-up by the Mail on Sunday and generously aided by his onetime mistress Melissa Jacobs, Lord Triesman’s once-private views accusing Spain and Russia of attempting to bribe referees at this summer’s World Cup left the Lord with no other choice but to resign from his post at the FA and on the World Cup 2018 bid committee. Quite why Lord Triesman feels Russia have something to gain from bribing refs this summer is beyond us (they didn’t even qualify!), but the fact remains that Lord Triesman made a serious error in judgment which has come as a hammer blow to England’s chances of hosting the cup in eight years time.

But Lord Triesman is used to the abuse, right? He has always been less than popular with the suits in football who believed he was too much the politician. And politician he was. As a student at the University of Essex in the 1960s he was expelled for disrupting a speech by a defense specialist. He joined the Communist Party in 1970 and remained a member until the late 1970s when he rejoined the Labour Party. He has been a political hack and union activist ever since but that didn’t stop him from becoming an elitist Peer of the Realm when it was offered to him. We should all have realized the hypocrisy then.

Ironically, Lord Triesman led the criticism of Ashley Cole and John Terry for their out-of-marriage activities earlier this year but was caught out himself for similar activities just a few weeks ago. His resignation was accepted readily and there is now a view within the football community that the FA is a better place and England’s 2018 bid is more likely to succeed.

Most Hated Men in Football