Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Four days ago, Chuck Blazer, a FIFA official from New York, admitted to pocketing almost $2 million as commissions from marketing deals during 2010. Andrew Jennings of transparencyinsport.org reported that in addition to his salary he paid himself approximately $9.6 million in bonuses over the last five years.
In 1990, Blazer played a major role in Jack Warner’s instatement as President of Concacaf in 1990. In return, he became the general secretary of the confederation; he now serves as chief executive and treasurer, giving him access to the confederations confidential accounts and the right to collect 10% of ‘all sponsorships and TV rights fees from all sources received by Concacaf.’
Despite his own questionable dealings, Blazer had the nerve to blow the whistle on Warner back in May. Apparently, Warner took a $1 million bribe from Mohamed bin Hamman from Qatar in return for the support of the Caribbean nations in Qatar’s bid for the World Cup, which it will host in 2022.
In addition, Bin Hammam has been accused of bribing lower-level FIFA members to help him oust FIFA president, Sepp Blatter. I wonder if the bribes to win the World Cup bid would have been an issue if bin Hamman hadn’t tried to throw out the long-standing president.
Gunter Gebauer, a sports philosophy professor (which by the way sounds like an awesome class), says,
It is not democratic and governed by transparency. It’s a male culture of giving and receiving and making favors and taking favors. It’s a culture which in some respects is the same as a gang.
Certain governments are expressing their concerns publicly. Both the British and Swiss Parliaments said that they FIFA to take action in this matter. Last year, $32.6 million was paid out as “short-term employee benefits,” and though the financials do not disclose who received these benefits, I think we can infer. Especially when at least 4 of FIFA’s executive committee are under investigation. Everyone knows you get caught when you get greedy.
Still, this problem is not reserved for the highest ranks of FIFA. In fact, it is a widespread issue throughout soccer. So much of a problem
that “FIFA pledged $20 million in May to create a unit within Interpol” to try to eradicate game fixing in Asia.
Sepp Blatter’s explanation for this decision was that no one will go to matches if they are rigged. No matches, no money. No money, no benefits. You see, it is OK for them to rig the system, but it is not alright if that cuts into their P&L. (Oh, and it is kinda the right thing to do.)
I do think that both problems should be dealt with, and I think that FIFAs move to create the Interpol Unit is crucial to stopping the spread of rigging. After all, what’s the fun in watching a game if you know someone is pulling the strings. The best part of the game, uncertainty, would be lost.
In the past few months there have been more than 100 players, coaches and club officials have been jailed, indicted, and investigated on charges of game fixing. Such scandals have popped up in Turkey, South Korea, Finland, China, Hungary, Italy, Germany, and Zimbabwe, among others.
The corruption has spread throughout the world and has crept into all ranks of FIFA. Ronald K. Noble, secretary general of Interpol writes,
Match fixing has been a cancer within football that is only now being recognized for its deadly consequences to the sport. FIFA’s section of Interpol to develop comprehensive global anticorruption and anti-match-fixing training programs will help to kill this cancer before it spreads further.
Notice how he calls it anticorruption and anti-fixing? If FIFA wants the game to be more transparent and less corrupt, they need to set the example. If it truly wants to do as it says, it needs to turn a critical eye at itself as well.
Though there have already been some investigations, FIFA has been anything but eager to share the results of such matters with the public. The group of soccer diplomats rides around like kings and plays its hand close to its chest.
In the case of bribing countries to support Qatar’s World Cup bid, Bin Hammam says his only hope is that the matter stays within the FIFA family and not “based on the wishes of people outside.” In other words, the public has no right to meddle.
As things stand, it looks as though we will continue to hear about corruption in soccer for some time. Or maybe FIFA will just go into lockdown. I’m sure there’s an armageddon shelter in Switzerland if things get bad enough.
But hey, look on the bright side, women’s soccer hasn’t been implicated in any of it (knock on wood).
-HD
The World's Sport 