The day before, a news conference had been held, advising that Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner had been suspended pending further investigation into corruption claims. The ethics commitee were satisfied however that Sepp Blatter had done no wrong. A particularly terse FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, seemed entirely confrontational throughout most of the questioning by the media. He too was put under scrutiny following comments he made on a leaked email by Jack Warner in which Valcke apparantly suggested Bin Hammam had "bought" the 2022 World Cup finals for Qatar.
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| Jerome Valcke and Petrus Damaseb just love these press conferences! |
Jack Warner or Mr Turncoat as he should surely be known, said on the 28th May "I tell you something, in the next couple days you will see a football tsunami that will hit FIFA and the world that will shock you."
This 'tsunami' was comprised of emails sent from Valcke to Warner on Bin Hammam: 'MBH (Mohamad Bin Hammam), I never understood why he was running. If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB (Joseph Sepp Blatter).' Another email quote: 'Or he thought you can buy Fifa as they (Qatar) bought the WC (World Cup)'. Warner then accused Blatter of giving gifts of computers and an unauthorised $1m to Concacaf officials.
More of a splash in a puddle than a tsunami to the majority of delegates voting in the FIFA Presidency election which went ahead on Wednesday 1st June.
Following on from his desperate attempts to keep his position Mr Turncoat was at it again, in a letter to members of the Caribbean Football Union he urged them to vote for Blatter "At our last meeting we agreed as a union to support the incumbent Joseph Sepp Blatter in his quest to regain the Presidency," wrote the squirming Warner in the letter distributed by his staff. "I wish to assure you nothing has changed – our mandate was set then and despite it all we must fulfil it."
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| Warner & his best mate Bin Hammam |
Despite protests from the English and Scottish FA's, which was backed up by 15 other confederations with a further 17 abstentions on a vote prior to the presidential elections, Blatter quite clearly has the vast majority of smaller associations in his pocket and was given the mandate for the charade to continue in the one-horse race later that day.
I could write all day on this circus, what of Chuck Blazer, General Secretary of Concacaf who was told he had been sacked by Lisle Austin, the acting president of Concacaf? Austin clearly had taken exception to Blazer's accusations of bribery against Warner and Bin Hammam, but laughably had to back-track when Concacafs' executive commitee advised that Austin did not have the authority to make this decision and that Blazer would continue in his current role.
What of the Northern Ireland FA's refusal to throw their hat in with England and Scotland? According to Jim Boyce, Sepp Blatter is "a friend of football in Northern Ireland", and "anything he has ever been asked to do, he has done it very willingly". Is it a coincidence that Mr Boyce has now been elected as a Vice President of FIFA? Blatter likes to reward his friends.
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| This is the captain of your ship, calling! |
Many people would be understandably concerned about an election with only one candidate but not Sepp Blatter, who took the result as an endorsement of his leadership, "I thank you for your trust and confidence from the bottom of my heart" he said without a hint of irony.
"We will put Fifa's ship back on the right course in clear, transparent waters. We need some time to do it, but we shall do it." he added.
"Today something marvellous happened and I'd simply like to tell you I'm deeply moved and honoured. It's a challenge, a new one for me, and I accept it." he gushed, clearly reveling in having 4 more years to waltz around as footballs' emperor.
The whole of FIFA is run as an empire and that's the problem. Despite prominent protestations from England, Scotland and Germany (regarding the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar), the FIFA bandwagon lumbers on, backed up by the footballing powerhouses of Benin, Cyprus, Congo and Fiji. The smaller associations are on too much of a good thing to cause problems and isolate themselves. Pressure from giant sponsors Coca Cola and Adidas has no substance in it, they are on far too much of a good thing to pull out and risk one of their rivals taking over their spots. A complete overhall of FIFA is required. Blatter's concession to alter the voting system to one vote per FA for the allocation of World Cups has given him a little time and breathing space to plan his next move. As usual he will surround himself with people he can trust to support him when the going gets tough. Michel Platini stands in line as a potential candidate for 2015, until then he will be Blatter's ultimate yes man, (Oui man?) and will not rock the boat.
Confusing? Nor 'arf, this is politics in football. A voting system as democratic as the European Song Contest and just as unfathomable. The only way forward could be for Europes' main associations to threaten a breakaway which would destroy FIFAs income through television and sponsorship rights and force their hand. The question is, who has got the balls?
