FIFA president Sepp Blatter has seven months left at the top of world soccer’s governing body, but his hope of putting the organization’s troubles behind him before he goes looks forlorn.
Blatter, elected to the top position in 1998, is to stand down on Feb. 26, the date FIFA selected for an “elective congress” to choose his replacement.
FIFA’s answer on Monday to the corruption scandal that has engulfed it since the arrests of senior officials in May on US fraud and money laundering charges, was to announce the creation of another “task force” made up of people from within the body.
Photo: Reuters
The 79-year-old Blatter clearly hopes they will come up with a package of reforms that will placate his critics and those of the organization.
“My responsibility and mission is to make sure … we have started again the reform and have rebuilt the reputation of FIFA,” Blatter told a news conference.
However, even if his task force, made up of representatives of the regional confederations, but with a “neutral chairman” makes progress, it is hard to see how Blatter’s final months in charge are to be anything other than fraught.
The US Department of Justice investigation into corruption, kickbacks and racketeering in soccer could lead to more charges, especially if some of those indicted agree to cooperate with authorities.
Blatter has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, widely praised by Blatter and seen as his protege, pleaded not guilty in a US federal court in New York on Saturday to charges of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. He was released on a US$10 million bail.
In addition to the criminal case, the US Securities and Exchange Commission regulator was examining the behavior of several companies with links to FIFA and other soccer organizations to see if there were possible violations of bribery laws.
Closer to FIFA’s Zurich headquarters, Swiss prosecutors were looking into possible corruption related to the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
Earlier this month, the Swiss attorney general’s office said that they have 81 reports of suspicious financial activity linked to those decisions by FIFA.
With sponsors such as Coca Cola demanding change from FIFA, and politicians such as those in the US Senate paying attention, the pressure shows no sign of easing. A Senate commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday last week questioned what US soccer chiefs knew about purported corruption in FIFA.
Former US soccer official Chuck Blazer, who was a FIFA executive committee member for 17 years, has pleaded guilty to a series of offenses related to bribery and is cooperating with authorities.
Blatter surely wants to go out on a high in February, with a FIFA congress hailing his reforms.
Instead, he might find himself rather wearily handing over a lot of problems to his successor.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS