The embattled president of the governing body the FIA yesterday survived an extraordinary general meeting of the organisation, in which Mosley won a vote to keep his job by a majority of 48.
Mosley argued that the details of his private life, however embarrassing or distasteful they may be to some, should not have any bearing on his fitness for office.
He has been fighting to keep his job ever since allegations in the News of the World three months ago about his private life.
The newspaper's allegations included the claim that Mosley engaged in Nazi role-play during a five-hour orgy in a Chelsea "torture dungeon", something he strenuously denies.
The disclosures led to widespread calls for him to stand down, ranging from car manufacturers, former racing drivers and Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder in Formula 1.
However, Tim Crow, chief executive of sports marketing agency Synergy, does not believe the scandal will have a lasting impact on the sport.
Crow told Brand Republic: "I don't think a single fan or a single sponsor will leave the sport because Max Mosley has kept his job. The only lasting negative affect will be on Max Mosley's image."
Crow said the only sporting scandals that run the risk of seriously damage a sport's image are usually those that are revealed to have "a material impact on the field of play" such as doping in athletics.
He said: "When something happens on the field of play that is revealed to be a fake, that's when the consumer and commercial fallout is significant.
"When the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke the 100m record at the weekend, the first thing people asked [was] is it a real performance or is he taking something?
"It's the same in the Tour de France which has become totally tainted by doping allegations. From a brand and sponsorship perspective, these are far more important considerations than what officials get up to in their private lives."
The decision to allow Mosley keep his job now leaves the FIA's membership body seriously fractured, with 24 motoring organisations having already voiced their opposition to Mosley in a joint letter before the vote was taken. Together, they represent 86% of motorists worldwide.
The American Automobile Association, whose membership numbers 50m, is among those who will now consider pulling out from under the FIA umbrella.
German organisation ADAC have also confirmed it will now take a far more passive role in FIA affairs until Mosley has departed.
Robert Darbelnet, the head of the AAA, said: "There's a possibility we will withdraw, or do something similar. I think there is a willingness to call for alternate structures to ensure the motorist is appropriately covered.
"I don't know what the future of the FIA is, but we will have to give it some thought. These are very troubling times after what was an unfortunate outcome, and a very unfortunate day for the FIA."
He added: "It was not the right decision -- absolutely not."
Comments
None of the controversy is because Mosley is not entitled to privacy. But hideous (and disturbing) revelations have now been compounded by a bizarre decision going against the most basic rules all public interest institutions must follow.
Boxing ate itself in the 90s. The struggles between a small number of megalomaniacs at the top ultimately destroyed what was a proud and popular sport. The same seems very likely with F1. I can't believe the main teams will want to continue their associations with Mosley, and for that matter, Ecclestone, who is hardly clear of controversy.
As an occasional watcher I will never take in an F1 race again.
Does he not have any pride - Surely he has a few quid in teh bank and would get some sort of severance - Walk away Max you deviant.
Shameless and selfish. Walk away Max.
I myself occasionally enjoy a Nazi-themed bondage session in a dungeon... but that's okay because I'm not the head of the FIA and my father wasn't Oswald Mosley.
But it wasn't Nazi themed. And you can't blame the sins of the father on the son.
Distasteful? Yes. Illegal? No.
A right to privacy is a fundamental human right.
I can't believe for once the rubbish to come out of the News of the World is being taken so seriously!
The guy monumentally f***ed up. Because of this eipsode, F1 will lose hundreds of millions in lost revenue, and the sport may well fragment. As in any well-paid, high-profile position, there's no reason why Mosley should still be in a job.
I don't think this tarnishes F1very much at all really. Mosley has a lot of enemies who are clearly very happy to kick him when he's down but does his private life, no matter how bizzare, have any impact on his ability to do his job? Not really. I agree with what Tim Crow says in that not a single fan or sponsor will walk away from the sport because of this, so it's not that big of a deal...
Absolutely agree, Jim Tigersrule. In fact given Tim's well-arttgued opinion I'm not sure that this is a story at all
That's meant to say 'well-argued' - will BR stop making my spelling wrong
I am laughing into my coffee at the last two posts. I won't watch again, so there's one deserting fan for you.
I too agree with Tim Crow. What Max Mosley does in his private life is his business. His alleged nocturnal activities are distasteful but not illegal. His mistake was getting caught but I'm not sure he is doing anyone any good by stubbornly refusing to budge. Lewis Hamilton recently won the Monaco Grand Prix - a great achievement - but it was overtaken on the sports pages by headlines about Max. By refusing to step down the story has run and run and will continue to as long as he sticks around. The NOTW will dig for more dirt. The headlines should be made on the track and it's to the detriment of the drivers, their teams and their sponsors that in the short-term Max will be getting the oxygen of publicity and not them.
Yeah I sort of agree but I don't think most right-minded punters, other than Alastair Bevan and the late Mary Whitehouse, actually care what he gets up to, other than out of prurience, because they will be more interested in what's going on on the track
Alastair - so, you're saying you'll not be watching F1 because one man, albeit very high-profile, has been found out as a sexual deviant!? ...we certainly need more fans like you in sport!! Prawn sandwich anyone??
PS. why are you laughing into your coffee?.... seem like a rather odd thing to do.
BTW - should I be proud or embarrassed that I'm ranked number one, just ahead of Darren and Jim Tigersrule, in terms of number of postings on BR? I'm unsure
I couldn't give a rat's arse what or whom Mosley puts his shrivelled up.
What bothers me is that for years F1 has increasingly been run like a personal court for messrs ecclestone and Mosley. Mosley's ability to stay in the face of the condemnation of the 23 biggest motoring associations is a dire, dire reflection of the sport.
Oh and Jimmy 'I'm a tiger hear me roar' - if you're not keen on the prawn sandwich brigade, wow are you defending the wrong sport.
PS missed a word in thre first sentence there - obviously would have rhymed with 'sock'.
PPS jezwaspsrule re your number of posts dilemma: both. You should be proud of how many contributions you make, and embarassed how sh*t most of them are.
Can't beat a bit of moral outrage although quite why it took til now for you to make to shun F1 because it is run as a personal fiefdom, I'm unsure.
And thanks for your kind words
I can not believe they have allowed him to hang onto his job. He has brought the whole sport into disrepute.
What a joke! A very unfunny joke.
Totally agree G and J. Disbelief is the prevailing feeling.
I think a bit of hoar fucking makes F1 more interesting. Well done Max
Steven - 04/06/2008
Re: Allistar Bevan, you say your an occasional watcher, so F1 hasn't really lost a fan then. A Formula One fan is somebody who never misses a race, gets up at 3am in the morning to watch when the race is in Oz, spends a fortune each year going to Silverstone and then spends another year trying to get out of it, has a subscription to BR's sister publications Autosport and F1 racing, and most importantly hates Ferrari. Now that's a fan. Max Mosley isn't F1, he isn't the boss of F1, he's the boss of the FIA, these national motoring clubs are the equivalent of the AA and RAC in the UK, in fact they both would have had votes on the issue. Sponsors and fans aren't going to walk away because of their opinions, any F1 fan also knew that Mosley was never going to lose his job over it either, even more so that he'd stand down. The background skull duggery of F1 is part of it's charm, a ongoing power struggle, survival of the fittest. This is what this whole affair is about, something unknown probably to the casual fan. All for example Vodafone is bothered with is that the casual fan has a contract with them or a current account with Abbey, (part of Santander naturally). When making that buying decision Max Mosley doesn't really come into the process.
Of course its not going to effect the sport. I think every bloke likes a bit of F1.... fast cars nice girls..... Do we really care what he does in his spare time as long as it doesnt involve children then sod it..... Some people like feet (Gordon Brown) but it doesnt effect his ability to do his job.....
Gordon Brown likes feet? Extraordinary.
Prevailing feelings of disbelief? Ridiculous
Steven - if I switch off from F1, neither Vodafone or Abbey have my attention for two hours. You might not care, but they do.
It's been blindingly clear from my first post that I'm no hardcore F1 'fan'. But sports and their sponsors make billions from people like me, who dip in and out of a sport when they feel like it. I've fancied a GP day somewhere for a few years. But each time I've been put off by a sport that stinks of corruption and fixing.
Lots of you fellas clearly couldn't give a monkey's about Mosley's home video. For the Nth time, nor could I, really. I do care about increasingly bent sporting bodies that undermine faith in the authenticity of the sport (of which the FIA is just one). This is the nail in the coffin for a potential punter like myself - I'll go out for a drive with my family on a Sun afternoon instead of sitting in front of the GP. If I was the only one who thought so BR would not have published this article.
I really don't understand your argument. 'Bent sporting bodies'? Mosley's moral compass, or otherwise, has absolutely no bearing on the authenticity of the sport
By all means go for your drive but presumably only after you've checked whether the bloke who made it is faithful to his wife, doesn't swear and washes behind his ears
Good grief - you were right along! I feel like Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus.
I take it all back. F1 is clean as a whistle. I'll move my mortgage to Abbey National right away. See you at Silverston for prawn sandwiches and a win for Lawrence Hambleton!
Wow - an F1 big wig has a private life - what is all the fuss about??! It's not as though he's a children's tv presenter. And remember the upheaval Harry/William (i forget which) caused when they went to that fancy dress party wearing the Nazi uniform - it didn't get him the sack from his charities or kicked out of the army. Next thing you know we'll be picketing fancy dress shops and burning copies of 'Allo 'Allo.
Max Mosely is a very strange individual - but what goes on behind closed doors should stay there - why are we all so interested anyway? it's like peeping through your neighbours' curtains and then complaining about what you've seen - Don't look then - don't buy trashy papers and...relax.
Susan, it's naive to pretend it's not news when the son of Oswald Mosley engages in a BDSM session with a concentration camp guard/prisoner role play theme. It might not be the kind of news you like or want to read about, and it almost certainly has no bearing on how fit he is to do his job, but it's definitely news.
I'm certainly not pretending it's not news - I enjoy watching F1 but I personally couldn't give a fig about what some guy who helps to run it gets up to in the privacy of his own home.
Is he racist - or does he have father issues - or is this just one of the many outfits he wears when he's feeling a little sprightly? I'd have a problem with anyone who had been proven to be a fascist but this hasn't been the case.
I disagree that everything that goes on behind closed doors should stay there ... granted, this smacks of entrapment by the NOTW, but there you go.
So he's not a proven fascist. Not the point IMO. Clearly I'm the Disgusted of Tunbridge of this thread but even I can accept that his private proclivities ought to have stayed that. There are two bigger issues - his incompetence at letting his private life be exposed, and his subsequent unwillingness to protect anything other than his own skin. He're's praying for something else to talk about tomorrow - I'm knackered.
I have to admit that a person holding a top-ranking post comes with responsibilities on one's private life as this has a bearing on all that the person does, his personality, his behavioural attitude - that's my perspective
I agree. I'm the top ranking poster on BR and I don't carry that burden lightly
Get in line, top ranking poster indeed. lol.
yes Gordon you are champ poster by a good 600 ish posts - Jez you need to do better
Comments
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
None of the controversy is because Mosley is not entitled to privacy. But hideous (and disturbing) revelations have now been compounded by a bizarre decision going against the most basic rules all public interest institutions must follow. Boxing ate itself in the 90s. The struggles between a small number of megalomaniacs at the top ultimately destroyed what was a proud and popular sport. The same seems very likely with F1. I can't believe the main teams will want to continue their associations with Mosley, and for that matter, Ecclestone, who is hardly clear of controversy. As an occasional watcher I will never take in an F1 race again.
AwallafaShagba - 04/06/2008
Does he not have any pride - Surely he has a few quid in teh bank and would get some sort of severance - Walk away Max you deviant.
Mark Smith - 04/06/2008
Shameless and selfish. Walk away Max.
Andrew Wilson - 04/06/2008
I myself occasionally enjoy a Nazi-themed bondage session in a dungeon... but that's okay because I'm not the head of the FIA and my father wasn't Oswald Mosley.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
But it wasn't Nazi themed. And you can't blame the sins of the father on the son. Distasteful? Yes. Illegal? No. A right to privacy is a fundamental human right.
Adam Cheesman - 04/06/2008
I can't believe for once the rubbish to come out of the News of the World is being taken so seriously!
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
The guy monumentally f***ed up. Because of this eipsode, F1 will lose hundreds of millions in lost revenue, and the sport may well fragment. As in any well-paid, high-profile position, there's no reason why Mosley should still be in a job.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
Absolute rubbish
Ed Kemp - 04/06/2008
I don't think this tarnishes F1very much at all really. Mosley has a lot of enemies who are clearly very happy to kick him when he's down but does his private life, no matter how bizzare, have any impact on his ability to do his job? Not really. I agree with what Tim Crow says in that not a single fan or sponsor will walk away from the sport because of this, so it's not that big of a deal...
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
Absolutely agree, Jim Tigersrule. In fact given Tim's well-arttgued opinion I'm not sure that this is a story at all
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
That's meant to say 'well-argued' - will BR stop making my spelling wrong
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
I am laughing into my coffee at the last two posts. I won't watch again, so there's one deserting fan for you.
Darren Davidson - 04/06/2008
I too agree with Tim Crow. What Max Mosley does in his private life is his business. His alleged nocturnal activities are distasteful but not illegal. His mistake was getting caught but I'm not sure he is doing anyone any good by stubbornly refusing to budge. Lewis Hamilton recently won the Monaco Grand Prix - a great achievement - but it was overtaken on the sports pages by headlines about Max. By refusing to step down the story has run and run and will continue to as long as he sticks around. The NOTW will dig for more dirt. The headlines should be made on the track and it's to the detriment of the drivers, their teams and their sponsors that in the short-term Max will be getting the oxygen of publicity and not them.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
Yeah I sort of agree but I don't think most right-minded punters, other than Alastair Bevan and the late Mary Whitehouse, actually care what he gets up to, other than out of prurience, because they will be more interested in what's going on on the track
Ed Kemp - 04/06/2008
Alastair - so, you're saying you'll not be watching F1 because one man, albeit very high-profile, has been found out as a sexual deviant!? ...we certainly need more fans like you in sport!! Prawn sandwich anyone?? PS. why are you laughing into your coffee?.... seem like a rather odd thing to do.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
BTW - should I be proud or embarrassed that I'm ranked number one, just ahead of Darren and Jim Tigersrule, in terms of number of postings on BR? I'm unsure
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
I couldn't give a rat's arse what or whom Mosley puts his shrivelled up. What bothers me is that for years F1 has increasingly been run like a personal court for messrs ecclestone and Mosley. Mosley's ability to stay in the face of the condemnation of the 23 biggest motoring associations is a dire, dire reflection of the sport. Oh and Jimmy 'I'm a tiger hear me roar' - if you're not keen on the prawn sandwich brigade, wow are you defending the wrong sport.
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
PS missed a word in thre first sentence there - obviously would have rhymed with 'sock'.
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
PPS jezwaspsrule re your number of posts dilemma: both. You should be proud of how many contributions you make, and embarassed how sh*t most of them are.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
Can't beat a bit of moral outrage although quite why it took til now for you to make to shun F1 because it is run as a personal fiefdom, I'm unsure. And thanks for your kind words
Gordon Macmillan - 04/06/2008
I can not believe they have allowed him to hang onto his job. He has brought the whole sport into disrepute.
Jacquie Bowser - 04/06/2008
What a joke! A very unfunny joke.
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
Totally agree G and J. Disbelief is the prevailing feeling.
David Pearce - 04/06/2008
I think a bit of hoar fucking makes F1 more interesting. Well done Max
Steven - 04/06/2008
Re: Allistar Bevan, you say your an occasional watcher, so F1 hasn't really lost a fan then. A Formula One fan is somebody who never misses a race, gets up at 3am in the morning to watch when the race is in Oz, spends a fortune each year going to Silverstone and then spends another year trying to get out of it, has a subscription to BR's sister publications Autosport and F1 racing, and most importantly hates Ferrari. Now that's a fan. Max Mosley isn't F1, he isn't the boss of F1, he's the boss of the FIA, these national motoring clubs are the equivalent of the AA and RAC in the UK, in fact they both would have had votes on the issue. Sponsors and fans aren't going to walk away because of their opinions, any F1 fan also knew that Mosley was never going to lose his job over it either, even more so that he'd stand down. The background skull duggery of F1 is part of it's charm, a ongoing power struggle, survival of the fittest. This is what this whole affair is about, something unknown probably to the casual fan. All for example Vodafone is bothered with is that the casual fan has a contract with them or a current account with Abbey, (part of Santander naturally). When making that buying decision Max Mosley doesn't really come into the process.
Ricky Harewood - 04/06/2008
Of course its not going to effect the sport. I think every bloke likes a bit of F1.... fast cars nice girls..... Do we really care what he does in his spare time as long as it doesnt involve children then sod it..... Some people like feet (Gordon Brown) but it doesnt effect his ability to do his job.....
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
Gordon Brown likes feet? Extraordinary. Prevailing feelings of disbelief? Ridiculous
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
Steven - if I switch off from F1, neither Vodafone or Abbey have my attention for two hours. You might not care, but they do. It's been blindingly clear from my first post that I'm no hardcore F1 'fan'. But sports and their sponsors make billions from people like me, who dip in and out of a sport when they feel like it. I've fancied a GP day somewhere for a few years. But each time I've been put off by a sport that stinks of corruption and fixing. Lots of you fellas clearly couldn't give a monkey's about Mosley's home video. For the Nth time, nor could I, really. I do care about increasingly bent sporting bodies that undermine faith in the authenticity of the sport (of which the FIA is just one). This is the nail in the coffin for a potential punter like myself - I'll go out for a drive with my family on a Sun afternoon instead of sitting in front of the GP. If I was the only one who thought so BR would not have published this article.
Jeremy Lee - 04/06/2008
I really don't understand your argument. 'Bent sporting bodies'? Mosley's moral compass, or otherwise, has absolutely no bearing on the authenticity of the sport By all means go for your drive but presumably only after you've checked whether the bloke who made it is faithful to his wife, doesn't swear and washes behind his ears
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
Good grief - you were right along! I feel like Judas Iscariot betraying Jesus. I take it all back. F1 is clean as a whistle. I'll move my mortgage to Abbey National right away. See you at Silverston for prawn sandwiches and a win for Lawrence Hambleton!
Susan Billinge - 04/06/2008
Wow - an F1 big wig has a private life - what is all the fuss about??! It's not as though he's a children's tv presenter. And remember the upheaval Harry/William (i forget which) caused when they went to that fancy dress party wearing the Nazi uniform - it didn't get him the sack from his charities or kicked out of the army. Next thing you know we'll be picketing fancy dress shops and burning copies of 'Allo 'Allo.
Max Mosely is a very strange individual - but what goes on behind closed doors should stay there - why are we all so interested anyway? it's like peeping through your neighbours' curtains and then complaining about what you've seen - Don't look then - don't buy trashy papers and...relax.
ormiston groove - 04/06/2008
Susan, it's naive to pretend it's not news when the son of Oswald Mosley engages in a BDSM session with a concentration camp guard/prisoner role play theme. It might not be the kind of news you like or want to read about, and it almost certainly has no bearing on how fit he is to do his job, but it's definitely news.
Susan Billinge - 04/06/2008
I'm certainly not pretending it's not news - I enjoy watching F1 but I personally couldn't give a fig about what some guy who helps to run it gets up to in the privacy of his own home.
Is he racist - or does he have father issues - or is this just one of the many outfits he wears when he's feeling a little sprightly? I'd have a problem with anyone who had been proven to be a fascist but this hasn't been the case.
ormiston groove - 04/06/2008
I disagree that everything that goes on behind closed doors should stay there ... granted, this smacks of entrapment by the NOTW, but there you go.
Nuts n Seeds - 04/06/2008
So he's not a proven fascist. Not the point IMO. Clearly I'm the Disgusted of Tunbridge of this thread but even I can accept that his private proclivities ought to have stayed that. There are two bigger issues - his incompetence at letting his private life be exposed, and his subsequent unwillingness to protect anything other than his own skin. He're's praying for something else to talk about tomorrow - I'm knackered.
Martin Mercieca - 05/06/2008
I have to admit that a person holding a top-ranking post comes with responsibilities on one's private life as this has a bearing on all that the person does, his personality, his behavioural attitude - that's my perspective
Jeremy Lee - 05/06/2008
I agree. I'm the top ranking poster on BR and I don't carry that burden lightly
Gordon Macmillan - 05/06/2008
Get in line, top ranking poster indeed. lol.
AwallafaShagba - 05/06/2008
yes Gordon you are champ poster by a good 600 ish posts - Jez you need to do better