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| Just good friends: Danny Jordaan and Sepp Blatter |
ANDREW JENNINGS, the investigative reporter who has spent a
lifetime exposing FIFA corruption, hit the nail on the head hours after the
arrest of six officials in Switzerland. His view: “A great day for football.”
While President Sepp Blatter, stubbornly attempting a fifth
term in charge of the world footballing body, denies involvement as his
henchmen collapse in handcuffs around him, Jennings neatly brings South Africa in to the
debate, pointing out: “Perhaps it’s time to consider Danny Jordaan’s
involvement. He was always full of praise for Blatter.”
FIFA’s official response in their hastily convened press
conference hours after the arrests: “We go on with the election as planned. We
cannot confirm how many are arrested. The World Cups in Qatar and Russia go
ahead as planned.”
No doubt Blatter will attempt to describe the arrests as
further proof of FIFA clearing out their corrupt element, ignoring his position
as the spearhead of the Qatar bid, the chief corruptor amongst the corrupt.
And he’ll probably question the FBI’s involvement in a
bizarre action which saw foreign nationals in famously-neutral Switzerland led away in chains from their 5-star hotel rooms for extradition to the United
States.
But the FBI is entitled to act as the huge bribes
surrounding Qatar and other World Cup bids were carried out in US dollars.
It’s not just bribes that are being look in to. Charge
of wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering are also on the indictment from New York. As
Jennings says: “This goes back years, I’ve handed over all my documents to the
FBI. At last somebody has taken action. I’ve alerted authorities in Britain,
Germany and even South Africa to what has been going on, but nobody would act.”
For South Africans, this means the extraordinarily
profitable 2010 World Cup will come under scrutiny as the investigation
expands. We were required to sign documents during the tournament which allowed
FIFA the free flow of foreign currency through our borders; the closure of
businesses and roads within a mile of grounds… while South Africa is left with
half-a-dozen expensive stadia dotted around the country.
Any credit Blatter gained from finally bringing the World
Cup to Africa has to be weighed against what it cost the Rainbow Nation and
though Jordaan – who now looks eminently suitable for his role as Nelson
Mandela Bay’s fourth majory in ten years – has R350m hidden away in a FIFA
Legacy Fund account, what have we really got to show for it?
Jennings happily moved the discussion on from FIFA to Issa
Hayatou, who has been in charge of the Confederation of African Football even
longer than Blatter has controlled the world game. He says: “I put all Hayatou’s
bribes on television four years ago, hopefully this will bring him down too.”
According to FIFA: “Blatter is not dancing in his office,
but he is calm.”
But the unforgettable sight of Swiss police hand-cuffing two
FIFA vice-presidents in their luxury Zurich hotel where they are accustomed to
coffee not coppers will not quickly disappear.
As I write, the Swiss attorney general is questioning those
who voted on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup decisions. When Russia and Qatar were
announced as hosts in 2010, I was still British-based but had already arrived
in South Africa for the World Cup. At the time, I told listeners in
Johannesburg and Cape Town that those votes were clearly bogus, the result of
bribery and governments who put money before people.
For years, Blatter and his cronies, many of them living
lifestyles far removed from the footballers in the tiny nations they represent,
have shrugged off such allegations.
Not any more. The timing of this week’s action is classic.
Seven arrests for “rampant, deep-rooted, serious corruption” cannot be laughed
off. And even as the US authorities moved in, the Swiss – who have put up with
Blatter’s conniving for so long – launched their own investigation in to the
executive committee.
The US justice department says nine FIFA officials and FIVE
executives have been indicted. Yet FIFA say none of them will be suspended for
the big re-election vote. The dismiss suggestions of a re-vote over Qatar.
For 17 years, Sepp Blatter has handed out millions of
non-profit-making FIFA profits in return for votes. Like so many sporting
dictators – Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One springs instantly to mind – he
will hang on long after retirement age, long after common sense suggests it’s
time to go.
Today Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula insisted South Africa has nothing to hide, that a $10m bribe to encourage votes for South Africa 2010 was without substance. He compared the allegations to "a Hollywood movie". He may well be right.
But the investigation will touch on South Africa. Whether he likes it or not. And a quick look at football in South Africa suggests a few arrests - on match-fixing, corruption or racketeering - might come in handy.
While Danny Jordaan was duly crowned Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday, the nation was recovering from Bafana Bafana's successive COSAFA defeats against Botswana and Malawi on penalties. Attendances are down, our top clubs can't get past round one in the African Champions League and we can no longer boast a single player in the top leagues of Europe.
Our game is a mess. These allegations form a gloomy backdrop to declining standards and poor development. And we are not alone. It's high time football had a shake up, even if we have to rely on the FBI to do it.
The official statement, as expected: “FIFA welcomes actions
that can help contribute to rooting out and wrong-doing in football… we are
pleased to see the investigation is being energetically pursued for the good of
football and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that FIFA has
already taken.”
That’s Walter de Gregorio tap dancing before the world’s
media while Blatter hides himself away, claiming a sudden loss of weight and
improvement in health make him suitable for another term.
But anybody who knows football knows this: the emperor has
no hope. He has no clothes.
