Blatter, Checkmate!

Outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter, unable to go against the grain, may have made some risks in a game where the wrong move could cost you your job, and most importantly, your reputation.

Blatter and his gang have been humiliated, and some arrested amid corruption allegations that have tainted the image of the world’s football governing body. The allegations made against the football federation were nothing new and had lingered in the air for quite some time. People have resigned in protest and many knew but remained silent; so why now? Why make a change to the organization and its head?

Blatter did not play his cards right

The eighth president of FIFA did not do what he was supposed to do. Corruption allegations and FIFA is not something new. Even before Blatter, the previous president João Havelange also faced allegations of corruption. The honorary FIFA president stepped down after it was revealed he had accepted bribes totaling up to £1 million between 1992 and 2000. The chairman of the investigatory chamber of FIFA Ethics Committee at that time, Michael Garcia, was one of those members who looked into the sports marketing company, International Sport and Leisure, that was involved in the corruption scandal, and blew the whistle after finding misconduct within the federation.

Under Blatter’s reign, FIFA intended to distribute 56 World Cup commemorative Hublot watches to members of the FIFA Executive Committee. Garcia and Domenico Scala (a member of FIFA Audit and Compliance Committee) prevented the distribution from occurring, claiming the ‘gifts’ violated the FIFA Code of Ethics. Garcia was also in charge of looking into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding race.

After 18 months and £6 million compiling a 430-page report, the FIFA ethics investigator resigned in protest to the publication of only a 42-page summary of the report published by FIFA. In his resignation statement he said: “No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization.” Garcia’s final conclusion was that this was a culture of the governing body, and it is terrifying to know that this is just what only Garcia has witnessed. So in the past there have been hints and clues that indicate something isn’t right. When there are incidents that have taken place before and are quite probably easy to hunt down, why hunt them down now? Why not before? Apparently all this hatred towards Blatter surely did not happen overnight.

The Cold War

Blatter has slowly become the enemy to some countries that are now aiming to overthrow him. The arrest of 7 out of 14 FIFA Officials at Zurich’s luxury Baur au Lac hotel - Blatter himself explains - was stemmed from resentment by the United States and England. An article from The Wire entitled “Make No Mistake, the FIFA War is Not About Football or Corruption” put forth the notion of how politics has played its part in Blatter’s fate. The author, Shobhan Saxena, maintains Blatter’s problems with the US began in 2005. Saxena explains how “US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s demand for Iran be thrown out of the 2006 World Cup as part of sanctions against the country” was turned down by Blatter. He also indicated that the resentment in the relationship between Blatter and the US grew after “Palestinians were allowed to join the global football association.”

It is clear to him who his enemies are: Blatter blames the US justice authorities and the English media for the attempt to unseat him. He spoke to Swiss TV station RTS saying, “No-one is going to tell me that it was a simple coincidence this American attack two days before the elections of FIFA. It doesn’t smell right. This has touched me and FIFA.”

“Not only did they try to denigrate me but also they used the moment to say, 'This is the time to go.” Then it was said, “We are going to boycott the congress.” “But where are we? Where is the sportsmanship? There are signs that cannot be ignored. The Americans were the candidates for the World Cup of 2022 and they lost.”

“The English were the candidates for 2018 and they lost, so it was really the English media and the American movement.”

As a reminder, the 2018 World Cup has been awarded to Russia, and you cannot take the West-Russia relationship out of the picture. Russia is still under Western economic sanctions over the Crimean dispute and relation between Russia and the rest of the West isn’t exactly that pleasant. What’s more is that the money involved in world cups is something each county should consider as an investment. Brazil, who hosted the 2014 World Cup, received an economic boost helping it small businesses and tourism. This is of course something each country or government desires. It is obvious it will not please Russia’s opposition to see the country make use of such an advantage. So, has FIFA found itself caught in the crossfire, and transformed into just another tool in the political arena? Politicians have voiced a variety of opinions, and apparently FIFA has been in the political arena but this time the curtains have risen allowing the whole world to see what really goes on backstage. With the US aiming to meet its demands, Russia seems to be a hurdle and so is Blatter. The US and the UK look to be working in full force to find all the dirty little secret that lie beneath FIFA’s floorboards.

That explains why so many corruption cases have surfaced now. Along with 2010, 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids, recently, the 2006 World Cup bid has also been brought into question. According to reports former German Chancellor Gerhard Shröder supplied arms to Saudi Arabia in return for the Kingdom’s support for Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid. Apart from the bids, other bribes such as FIFA’s secret payment to the Irish FA also made headlines. Apparently the payment prevented the body from pursuing legal action, after Thierry Henry’s handball that was accepted by the referee as a goal in a World Cup qualifier ended Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the 2010 finals in South Africa. Chief Executive of the Football Association of Ireland, John Delaney had confirmed the he accepted a fee of 5.6 million US dollars to keep quite. The US role of probing for dirt and the UK’s active media coverage truly shows they both want a change in FIFA’s policies - a FIFA that is buried under a bad image, but also a FIFA that has given the rest of the world a chance.

The Replacements

There is so much talk surrounding the Qatar 2022 World Cup bidding process, and England has stepped up saying it will be happy to host the World Cup if Qatar is stripped from the privilege. However, that would be unlikely according to British Minister John Whittingdale, since Russia is hosting the 2018 World Cup, FIFA would not turn to another European country. But Russia, just like Qatar, is also facing allegations of corruption, and has also become a target of the West-led investigations. The only way they can make that possible is to remove Russia as well, and replace them with a non-European country. The next two upcoming World Cups may be replaced, but what will be replaced for sure is most of the top FIFA officials, and that’s including President Sepp Blatter. Those who want a change in FIFA are changing everything, and only time will tell who will be replaced. It is obvious there will be a lot of replacements, to keep those who were unhappy, happy.

Checkmate!

Is it corruption they’re after or financial gains? The main hurdles may be removed sooner than we think, and the only thing we, the people, can hope for is a change that will benefit the people and the game. Blatter’s nights and bishops have been removed from the game; his pawns have been used against him; and the king now knows he has lost the game against a group of grandmasters waiting to checkmate the man who ruled FIFA for almost 2 decades.

RG/MKA

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