Day -942. WorldCup2018.
If all else fails go with humour. I almost have to believe that that has become Sepp Blatter's mantra. Despite his self-proclaimed recent near death experience, the constant threat of an FBI, American and Swiss Attorney General investigation finding reason to prosecute him, and just the general mistrust by the majority of anybody with an interest in football following him wherever he goes (which isn't many places because he doesn't dare leave Switzerland for the fear of being arrested), he still manages to come out with a gem of an example of his "you'll-never-get-rid-of-me", Blatter-esque fighting spirit.
The lawyer for his partner in crime, Michel Platini, announced today that the Fifa Ethics Committee is looking to impose a lifetime ban on Platini. Blatter's spokesman said Blatter has not been informed of his recommended sanction, but that he is "deeply surprised" by the possibility of Platini being banned for life. Platini's lawyer says of course that it is a scandal and it is a conspiracy to stop Platini being elected Fifa president. When Blatter stepped down a few months ago, but didn't really step down, Platini was the instant favourite to replace him. Not so anymore. "Disloyal payments" and "verbal contracts" have practically put an end to all of that. But it's all ok. There is a list of very capable looking candidates ready to help us forget about the golden boy of French football and UEFA's great hope for a European-led Fifa. Just forget that one of them, the Sheikh from Bahrain, has been accused of torturing his subjects in Bahrain and that Tokyo Sexwale, the South African, has been a part of Blatter's inner circle and another 2 candidates had intimate knowledge of the workings of Fifa and UEFA and did nothing about all the allegations that came with the knowledge. Platini seems like a pretty clean-cut, upstanding individual next to this lot of fossils pledging the magical "reform of Fifa". Maybe, if nothing else, he should go back to his earlier support of Prince Ali, UEFA's supported candidate and the seemingly cleanest candidate in the elections held earlier this year. After all, hosting the national team of Malta and it's vote-wielding football association president and delegation in Turkey as part of a closed-door friendly against Jordan escapes the radar of corruption and gift-giving. It's just a friendly favour between friends and it's only little Malta after all.
Digress as I may, Blatter's pronouncement today was against this background of "how much worse can this get". When Blatter announced in June this year that he was stepping down as President, only 4 days after winning re-election the world, and not just the football world, took that as a resignation. A few days after that he "clarified" his "resignation" as not being a resignation after all. All he was doing was calling for an extraordinary session of the Fifa Congress to hold another election and that he would not stand for re-election. Or would he? Even that was very unclear. Then came the 90 day provisional ban by the Ethics Committee, while he was being investigated for the "disloyal payment". A few days ago his appeal against the ban was rejected. Today we get the news that, chances are, by association (with Platini's recommended ban) that he may be kicked out of anything football related for ever. Will he give up? Will he finally say, enough is enough and at least concede that it is laughable that he even consider holding on to his position as president? To all those people who can't remember if he did resign or not, will he say, that's it, I'm done.
No, what Sepp Blatter's poor spokesman says is :"Mr Blatter was elected by the Fifa congress and only the congress can remove his power.” In other words he is still hanging on the his friends' support, the presidents of the national associations around the world who have been a part of the corrupt-laden, bribery-ridden world football structure (allegedly, of course) for all of Blatter's years. He believes, therefore, that they may actually vote him back in if he did indeed seek re-election.
To really understand how far Blatter took Fifa down the road of institutionalized corruption please read Andrew Jennings excellent books, "Foul!" and "“Omerta: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Organised Crime Family”, together with his fantastic BBC Panorama film, "“The Beautiful Bung: Corruption and the World Cup.”
Yesterday, I mentioned the reincarnation of Luiz Felipe Scolari, Big Phil. Maybe it's not as manager of a smaller country at the World Cup in Russia that he needs to make his full return. Maybe what the world needs, and what those Fifa Executive Committee members need, is Big Phil barking out instructions in those stately Fifa boardrooms. If he can get something out of Fred, Hulk and Jo (well, OK maybe not Jo) just imagine how he could get those men in the ridiculously priced suits squirming in their fit-for-royalty boardroom chairs. It will be all action in no time.....or just after David Luiz leads them in prayer.
No comments:
Post a Comment