Warner’s resignation has yet again forced to FIFA to wash its dirty laundry in public. How can FIFA risk tolerating further corruption when the world’s media is waiting to pounce on any slip-up? But, of course, FIFA have stated that "As a consequence of Mr Warner’s self-determined resignation, all Ethics Committee procedures against him have been closed and the presumption of innocence is maintained." As such, Warner hasn’t been found guilty of wrong-doing. Is this a whitewash or maybe I’m just being too cynical and should give FIFA the benefit of the doubt?
Warner’s exit has been met with much celebration in some quarters but who is to say that his replacement will any better. The corridors of power in world soccer are still murky, its reputation tarnished by the indiscretions of some of its members. FIFA needs to prove to soccer fans around the world that the so-called ‘beautiful game’ is governed correctly and transparently.
As fans, how did we allow things to get like this?
The reaction of former English FA Chairman, Lord Triesman, to Warner’s departure was telling of the English attitude towards FIFA. It was reported in the English-based Daily Mirror that Triesman claimed “I’ve never in my life known an organisation like FIFA, where too many people live in a make-believe world, a parallel universe”. I think he’s also living in such a place.
As far as we (I’m English as well) were concerned, England had the strongest bid for the 2018 World Cup, supported by numerous headlines claiming that England were favourites. After being knocked out with only two votes, the blame was immediately targeted at the corruption in FIFA. But did anyone stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the English are not much loved in the footballing world?
The FA’s last-minute attempt to postpone the FIFA presidential election at the beginning of June highlighted the lack of global support that the oldest national football association has; 172 members voted against it. A common reaction of English fans to this was disgust or despair. After all, wasn’t the FA doing this for the good of football (despite the FA’s own incompetence)?
Obviously this was not what other parts of the world saw. Browsing through South Africa’s many soccer websites, fans here often saw the actions of the FA as yet more evidence of a former colonial power desperate to maintain what influence it could, throwing its toys out of the cot in a temper tantrum because it didn’t get the rights to host the World Cup, which they (wrongly) believed was rightfully theirs.
Whatever you think, soccer needs to be governed competently, fairly and transparently, from the international to the local level. Soccer needs the fans to survive so why do we allow our game to be run like this?
By Marc Fletcher
