Sepp Blatter's latest move in FIFA's 'Game of Thrones'-style soap opera
Maybe that's the trick. Heck, maybe it's the secret to eternal happiness. Figure out which way the wind is blowing and make sure you jump on the right bandwagon at the right time. It's the secret to survival, political or otherwise.
On Friday, Sepp Blatter released a statement saying he had asked the FIFA Executive Committee to publish Michael Garcia's report into alleged impropriety in bidding and voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Lo and behold, that's what the ExCo did. And -- guess what? -- they did so unanimously!
Gaudete!
Never mind that, for not-better-specified "legal reasons," the report won't actually be released before "the ongoing procedures against individuals are concluded."
Right now we know of three ExCo members in that boat, with ongoing disciplinary action against them: Spain's Angel Maria Villar Llona, Thailand's Worawi Makudi and Belgium's Michel d'Hooghe. Given that it's unlikely we'll get a judgment on them before the spring and that they'll presumably be entitled to an appeal if found guilty with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, you may want to set your alarm clocks for 2016.
And consider that when the report is released, it will be redacted and nobody knows how heavily.
Most of all, if Blatter really wanted the Garcia report to be published, he would have made arrangements to do so when he first hired him to do the job. And he would have prevailed upon Russia, which denied Garcia a visa to enter the country so he could interview bid officials, to let him in. And he would have at least compelled anyone within the "FIFA family," a very loose term, to actually reply to Garcia's emails and phone calls. (Many didn't, as evidenced by those who simply refused to cooperate.)
Instead, we get this hodgepodge solution: a report into possible improprieties in the 2018 and 2022 bids that all but a few people will read just over two years before the start of the 2018 World Cup.
But in Blatterworld, it all makes sense. Because, you see, the ExCo voted unanimously, thereby showing unity. And because Blatter promised transparency and transparency means publishing that investigation. Blatter wins. Again.
In his head, that is. And maybe in the minds of the tight circle of yes-men who surround him.
The most frustrating thing about this is that it's difficult to figure out just why he doesn't want the Garcia report to be made public now. None of the counterarguments stand up.
Start with the bit about the ongoing inquiries. So Villar, Makudi and d'Hooghe are being investigated as a result of the Garcia report, but we don't know why and what for. Sure, there are situations where police and prosecutors may not release certain information to the public during an investigation. But this one? How does the world not knowing what these three men are alleged to have done to possibly violate the ethics code impact the investigation?
Villar, Makudi and d'Hooghe know what they're accused of. (Well, presumably ... this is FIFAWorld after all, which at times reads like an Albert Camus novel.) The rest of the world can make more than educated guesses. Wouldn't you think that, in any basic legal framework, if the state investigates someone in a public position there'd be a public interest to know why they're being investigated?
The FIFA way is straight out of National Lampoon's "Animal House": Double Secret Probation.
What about protecting the whistleblowers? Well, for a start, they already did a rotten job of that in Hans-Joachim Eckert's report, particularly in the naming and treatment of two people. Beyond that, if the real world has an established protocol to deal with whistleblowers and confidential informants, you'd think FIFA ethics folk -- who disproportionately seem to be lawyers -- could figure out a way of dealing with this. One that would encourage people with solid information to come forward without their identities being revealed. It's not that hard.
They supply evidence, you check to see if it stands up (yes, some whistleblowers might be fantasists or agents out to smear good football administrator-types) and then you proceed with the evidence.
The other theory, that the Garcia report is so full of damning revelations that Blatter and the ExCo have gone out of their way to suppress it effectively until 2016, doesn't really hold water. Why? Because the majority of the Executive Committee weren't around in 2010 when the vote was held. They had no opportunity to do anything wrong. And, as you know, Blatter didn't back the Qatari bid. So it's extremely unlikely that he's in any way implicated, other than the fact FIFA protocols and procedures on his watch are so crappy that they encourage the kind of shenanigans.
And in all of these "Game of Thrones" meanderings, let's not forget one possible motivation for Blatter: forging allies in a bid to stay in power. After all, an election is coming up in May.
It might explain Blatter's behavior; it doesn't explain the behavior of the 13 of the 25 ExCo members who are new. Or the behavior of those holdover members who are in no way corrupt and have never been touched by the slightest whiff of corruption (yes, there are some).
My guess is that they figure something is better than nothing. In other words, it's better to publish the report at some point rather than not at all. And it's better to slowly introduce the types of changes and reforms that will give the body transparency in the long run than engage in a fight they can't win. Or, rather, a fight they might be able to win in the court of public opinion, but that they won't win next May when Blatter stands for re-election.
Those who know Blatter know that he shifts with the wind. It's all about keeping your balance at the top of the heap. Nobody was more opposed to goal-line technology than he was, remember? Instant replays? Heck, he used to treat the mere mention as heresy and now he's talking about NFL-style challenges. Issa Hayatou, the man who heads African football, wanted to introduce term limits and nearly came close to a brawl with him 12 years ago? Now they're best buds.
It's the same deal with reopening the vote on 2018 and 2022. Blatter reiterated Friday that it definitely won't happen. Until, of course, there's enough political will to change his mind. Or -- again with that cynicism thing -- he gets re-elected in May and can do what he wants.
several high ranking corrupt fuckos arrested by US on the eve of Fifa elections. could this be the start of Blatter's downfall? The man is human Teflon but surely he's gonna struggle to escape this one
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