FIFA President Sepp Blatter speaks to the media. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
“(Mohamed Bin Hammam) thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the World Cup.” Those are the damning words of FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, which have cast serious doubts on Qatar’s legitimacy to host the 2022 World Cup and proved football’s governing body is starting to lose all credibility.
Valcke made the statement in an email to CONCACAF president Jack Warner, who along with Bin Hamamm has been suspended following an investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee.
Warner has threatened to unleash a “football tsunami” in the wake of his suspension, and releasing details of Valcke’s explosive email appears to be the first act in a campaign designed to bring down current FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
With allegations of corruption swirling around the corridors of power in Zürich, Valcke’s inference that bribery played a role in the naming of Qatar as 2022 World Cup hosts brings into question just how much FIFA knew about the tactic of paying for World Cup votes.
It appears they knew something, although Bin Hammam suggested the allegations against him are part of a Blatter-lead conspiracy and has pledged to appeal the decision of the ethics committee, of which Australian broadcaster Les Murray is a member.
Murray slammed the decision to take the World Cup to Qatar last December, and he was quoted in The Australian at the time saying he thought the vote was “ludicrous.”
“As a private individual I’m convinced there was collusion,” said Murray, stressing the fact he was not speaking on behalf of the ethics committee.
“Nobody will believe that Qatar won this process legitimately. People will continue to probe away asking questions and looking for answers.”
Prescient words indeed, and with the credibility of the voting process in tatters, there’s growing clamour for a re-vote – even if none of the allegations have so far been proved.
That’s a fact our federal sports minister Mark Arbib was quick to point out, and he told the SBS World News program that Australia would not push for a re-vote or for a refund of the more than $45 million of taxpayers’ money spent on a doomed campaign.
“The allegations haven’t been proven yet in relation to corruption and they need to be tested by the FIFA ethics committee, and we have confidence that that committee will have a thorough investigation,” Arbib said.
Even if a re-vote took place it’s unlikely Australia would benefit, with the United States almost certain to host the tournament at Qatar’s expense.
Whatever happens from here on in, the entire process is an indictment on Sepp Blatter, who somehow comes out of the affair politically unscathed despite a parallel investigation into his conduct.
The suspension of Bin Hammam means Blatter stands uncontested for re-election as FIFA president tomorrow, a sad fact which only serves to further damage football’s crumbling reputation.
Under Blatter’s leadership football governance has descended into farce, yet no scandal appears too damaging for the Swiss-born supremo to relent his vice-like grip on power.
What a sorry state of affairs it is to have FIFA’s own president investigated by its ethics committee, and no doubt the insatiable Warner will drop more bombshells in his bid to discredit Blatter.
In the end it’s football fans who lose, with the World Cup voting process now a running joke as the presidential seat is handed back to the man who manufactured it.
If the decision to name Qatar as 2022 hosts some twelve years out from the tournament seemed suspicious last December, it now seems positively scandalous if FIFA’s own general secretary Valcke is to be believed.
It’s just a shame FIFA lacks a strong leader to guide it through such a potentially devastating corruption scandal, which threatens to completely undermine football’s fast fading credibility.
From the Force
Guest
The Qatar met no bid criteria and never should have been allowed to proceed. Why even bother arguing which bid was superior when only one had the requisite stadiums and cities and the other had no stadiums and 1 city?
The Hobbit
Guest
FIFA is a French invention, Blatter is Swiss French. FIFA was based in Paris for years, but moved to Switzerland(the French speaking bit) in order to a/ dodge taxes b/ avoid international law. FIFA was always French controlled. The English only got involved post WW2 as they had controlled the sport until then, like the NBA controls basketball.
nordster
Guest
the sponsors are wise enough to let due process run its course... the media on the other hand has a 24 hour news cycle to fill and can't wait that long!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
From that same link above, one of the latest posts: 3.37pm: In what has to be the most hilarious development so far (in an admittedly highly competitive and crowded field) Jack Warner has insisted to the Caribbean Football Union that their Fifa delegates must vote for Sepp Blatter in tomorrow's presidential decider (coronation). If you need reminding this is the same Sepp who must be stopped, according to Warner, and who announced JW's suspension following Chuck Blazer's allegations of bribery. If I was Chuck I'd watch out. This is now metaphorical horse's-head-in-the-bed territory...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
This makes for fascinating reading, the Guardian is running a live blog on the FIFA crisis: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/31/fifa-in-crisis-live-blog?CMP=twt_gu The latest news is that Warner has now told the Caribbean football union that they must vote for Blatter. Let me guess - Warner has worked out a deal with blatter?
The Cattery
Roar Guru
A humourous look at Sepp's best work over the past decade: http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2931/go-global/2011/05/31/2511392/fifa-president-sepp-blatter-in-his-own-crazy-words-from
Bondy
Guest
Qatar. Hello my friend how is the whether there . Interesting how Qatar gets 11 automatic votes in the first ballot 1 more gets you the world cup outright in the first round, but now and miraculously they get even less in the second round 9 votes .We've read the book i don't think we need to read the last chapter.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Actually, world governments could scream all they want and FIFA wouldn't twitch an ear... ...but all the major sponsors of FIFA are starting to murmur. Screaming sponsors withholding money - now that would get the ears burning for FIFA to change!
peter care
Guest
It's too late for that. Nothing will change unless Governments around the world put pressure on Blatter to resign and the new incumbent to clean up it's act. It's another IOC all over again.
peter care
Guest
There was no chance of Australia ever winning the world cup. The nation that should have won in 2022 was the USA: it was the best bid. Hey let's look at the bright side: watching the world cup in Qatar in average temperatures of 46 degrees centigrade with high humidity. Should be great for Bud sales. Oh, I forgot it's an Islamic country, you can't get a drink unless you can get a doctor to certify you are an alcoholic. Iced tea sales should do a roaring trade.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
How did the French enter this conversation about FIFA's alleged maladministration? Blatter is Swiss and 22 of the remaining 23 FIFA ExCo members are NOT French (although, I'm sure quite a few are fluent in the language). Only Michel Platini, who is the President of the UEFA Confederation and has had no allegations of misbehaviour levelled at him, is French. So, s'il vous plait, pourquoi blâmez-vous Les Bleus? Non non non!
apaway
Guest
Hey Qatar, here's an idea. Since money is no object to the Gulf State and they have already bought a World Cup anyway, why don't THEY pay all the other bidding nations back the amount that was spent on a bid that was supposedly fair and equitable but was without doubt given to the country that could fill the plain paper envelopes the quickest. Let's also remember that the stadiums in Qatar don't "blow ours away" because none of them exist, except on an architect's plan.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ Ian Noble Countries don't get to pick and choose which competitions they enter. If England opts out of FIFA then England is no longer a member of the UEFA Confederation and you know what that means ... no EPL clubs will play in the UCL or Europa League. And, without the UCL, the big names in Football will abandon the EPL very quickly and English football clubs will languish in mediocrity as they did during the decade after they were banned from Europe following the Heysel Stadium disaster. The rest of Europe seem to have no major issue with FIFA and only 2 days ago, the German FIFA ExCo member, Franz Beckenbauer endorsed Blatter as President. It was reported that, at Blatter's press conference last night, only English media were present in large numbers ... seems the rest of the world doesn't give a stuff how FIFA does its business. Finally, FIFA's major sponsors have only voiced concern about their brands being associated with the recent negative publicity. But, I haven't heard/read any sponsor actually condemn the FIFA administration for any alleged misbehaviour.
Return the game to English hands!
Guest
FIFA should never been allowed to happen. This is akin to some nation other than Australia coming up with a world governing body for Aussie rules footy and then dictating back to Australia on how our own game is played. Utterly ridiculous. The English FA, with Prince William as honourary president, should retake over the game of association football. The FA has run a pretty decent competition in England called the English Premier League and the FA Cup. I am sure they could run the world football section quite as easily as they managed to operate the largest empire the world has ever known. End this French hijacking of the English game of football!
The Cattery
Roar Guru
If Europe and Sth America were in cahoots, there's a chance that it would have some traction. Most of the world only really cares about the top European leagues anyway. Otherwise, everyone's whistling dixie. Blatter has stitched everyone up again and more than likely, abslutely nothing will change.
Ian Noble
Guest
The FA have a made a call for the election to be postponed to allow time for an independent body to look at the running of FIFA. It doesn't stand a chance of success, they need 156 votes (75%) to stop the election. There are too many associations in hoch to Blatter, he will survive and hope that the present excitement will calm down and in the course of time he will carry out an investgation under his own terms and conditions. Is a breakaway possible? In my view very unlikely as there will not be sufficient support and the FA and others with a similar atitude will be ostracised? The only possibility is that the European clubs may decide to ignore FIFA and refuse to release their key players for International matches. If the EPL, Bundesliga, etc boycotted the Internationals then there would be an impact not only on the yearly games but more importantly the major tournaments including the World Cup. FIFA will be concerned as the clubs in the European Leagues are becoming more powerful than FIFA as they generate more income and continually promote the brand of football to a worldwide audience on a weekly basis.
Midfielder
Guest
I think, well hope anyway the awarding of the WC to Qatar will bring down FIFA ... like the FIFA quality audit pointed out the various issues and yet they still won... so a country with little previous football experience and a natyion that has never run anything ... in a country of 1.6 million in killer heat gets the WC ....
Midfielder
Guest
God I hope you are wrong ... but I suspect you are right...
Flash
Guest
can anyone explain why we had the 2018 & 2022 decisions at the same time? its starting to look like the Qatar bid was excepted before it began! the only thing Qatar needed was time (to build all the stadiums) and a commitment from FIFA.......so FIFA comes to the party with "lets announce the 2022 bid 4 years early" and who guessed it Qatar wins!!, its starting to look like this as been in planning for quite a few years
punter
Guest
He has no credibility!!!!!!!