Blatter the “obvious choice” to be incinerated
A giant effigy of suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be torched this weekend as part of a British town’s Bonfire Night celebrations.
The 11-metre tall effigy of the outgoing Swiss head of world football’s governing body will go up in flames on Saturday in Edenbridge, south of London.
Scandal-plagued FIFA has been mired in allegations of bribery and corruption this year.
The effigy is of a sharp-suited Blatter carrying wads of cash, the World Cup and a football. It will be stuffed with oil-soaked newspapers, packed with fireworks and set ablaze.
“We did put some thought into who else it could be but…Blatter was the obvious choice,” said Edenbridge Bonfire Society co-ordinator Charles Laver.
“We started building it two weeks ago, and we are pleased with the result.”
It was erected in a field overnight with the help of a tractor.
STRAW MAN ARGUMENT: Members of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society put the final touches to the effigy.
Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, is an annual event marking the foiling of a plot by Catholic conspirators to blow up Protestant King James I and the Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder on November 5, 1605.
It is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks displays either on November 5 or the nearest weekend, with effigies of plotter Fawkes burned.
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Edenbridge has been poking fun at famous figures for 20 years, torching effigies of them alongside the traditional Guy Fawkes.
Other well-known figures whose effigy has been torched in recent years include former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife Cherie and Blair’s successor Gordon Brown.
-AFP
