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Author Topic: International football needs to be organised on more professional lines  (Read 2951 times)

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Offline Tallman

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Time for a clean-up
The Economist


May 30th 2002

THE timing could not be more unfortunate. The FIFA World Cup—to give the competition its full title—is meant to be the jewel in the crown of football's world governing body. But only weeks before the start of the World Cup, Sepp Blatter, FIFA's president, was accused of corruption and mismanagement by none other than his most senior administrator.

In a 21-page dossier, Michel Zen-Ruffinen, FIFA's general secretary, alleged among other things that:

• Mr Blatter had repeatedly made unauthorised payments from FIFA accounts. He had also, in the presence of witnesses, handed over a cheque for $25,000 to a former referee. Mr Blatter later admitted making the payment, but said the money had come from his own funds. He said he was helping a man down on his luck, adding: “I'm too good a person.”

• FIFA had written off a $9m loan to the Caribbean and North American football confederation, which is run by Jack Warner, an ally of Mr Blatter's. Mr Warner's own television company had also been given the exclusive television rights in the Caribbean to the last three World Cups for the princely sum of $1.

• FIFA has lost over $115m from the collapse of ISL, its marketing partner. Mr Blatter had previously put the losses at $31.9m.

These charges provoked 11 members of FIFA's executive committee of 24 to file a formal complaint against their president in the Swiss courts. They have complicated life for Mr Blatter, who is seeking re-election. The vote was due only two days before the World Cup opens on May 29th, and after this survey had gone to press. Normally the election would have been expected to produce a triumphant reconfirmation of Mr Blatter, a Swiss administrator who has been running FIFA since 1998. But, even before Mr Zen-Ruffinen came out with his explosive dossier, Mr Blatter was already facing a challenge for the presidency from Issa Hayatou, the head of the African football confederation. FIFA is now guaranteed a fight.

The politics of world football have always been byzantine. After briefly getting involved with FIFA in the 1980s, Henry Kissinger said the experience made him nostalgic for the Middle East. The modern FIFA system was set up by Joao Havelange, a Brazilian businessman and football administrator who took over the organisation in 1974 and ran it until 1998. Mr Havelange was Mr Blatter's boss at FIFA for many years, and according to the Zen-Ruffinen report he has continued to benefit from unauthorised payments from FIFA's coffers. Mr Havelange's daughter used to be married to Ricardo Teixeira, the much-criticised head of the Confederation of Brazilian Football.

Under Mr Havelange, a variant of Brazil's administrative and patronage system, which has done a great deal of damage to football in that country, was cemented into place at FIFA. Every member has one vote, so when the FIFA congress elects its new president, the Solomon Islands will carry the same weight as Germany.

Mr Blatter's critics say he has secured his position by spreading money and lucrative contracts throughout the developing world through FIFA's Goal project, which funds the construction of training centres and playing fields worldwide. Brian Glanville, the historian of the World Cup, thinks this “has been exposed as little more than a way to suborn third-world nations.” His view is echoed by many others.

Such generalised allegations on their own might not have been enough to start a challenge to Mr Blatter, but there was more. First ISL, FIFA's marketing partner, went bankrupt; then, earlier this year, a member of the Somali football federation claimed he had been offered thousands of dollars to vote for Mr Blatter in the 1998 FIFA election. Suggestions of bribery had been swirling around, but this was the first time anyone had gone on the record.

Mr Blatter was obliged to set up an inquiry into FIFA's finances and the ISL mess. But in April Mr Blatter suspended the inquiry. This ensured that the inquiry would be unable to issue its report before the FIFA election at the end of May. However, it also sparked warfare within the organisation, prompting Mr Zen-Ruffinen to go public.

The average football fan probably has no interest at all in any of this. FIFA is about to put on the greatest sporting show on earth. As long as the television pictures keep coming, why should anyone care about the machinations of the sport's governing body? But those inclined to shrug off the problems at FIFA should look at Brazil. The goings-on at the Confederation of Brazilian Football, run on the Havelange model, have contributed directly to the decline in crowds and standards in the domestic leagues, and have damaged the image even of the beloved national team.

Whether or not the allegations about Mr Blatter are true, the way to avoid such problems in future is clear: make the organisation more transparent. At present the internal finances of FIFA, and even the precise salary of its president, remain shrouded in mystery. This is unacceptable. And what applies to the game's governing body also holds for the clubs and associations that run football around the world. Too many football administrators are secretive, amateurish and incompetent. The players who will delight the world in South Korea and Japan over the next month are professionals, playing in the full glare of publicity. They will be praised for every success and held to account for every slip. It is time for the people running football to submit to the same exacting standards.
Blatter accused of corruption by FIFA secretary general
Associated Press


Sunday, May 05, 2002

SWITZERLAND: Beleaguered FIFA president Sepp Blatter risks facing criminal charges for corruption, according to a bombshell report delivered here on Friday by FIFA’s secretary general Michel Zen-Ruffinen.

In the most explosive document ever delivered to a FIFA ruling executive committee, Zen-Ruffinen outlined allegations of a trail of deception, mismanagement, illegal payments and cronyism against the 66-year-old Blatter. And he warned that the FIFA president had one week to reply to the charges or he would hand the dossier to the Swiss authorities.

The 21-page dossier comes only four weeks before a FIFA congress in Seoul which will decide whether to reelect Blatter for another four years or give football’s most powerful post to his sole challenger, Issa Hayatou, a FIFA vice-president and president of the African Football Confederation (CAF). In the report stamped ‘strictly confidential’ but obtained by AFP, Zen-Ruffinen revealed a secret presidential group within football’s governing world body that is answerable only to Blatter, in contravention to the FIFA statutes. The most damning indictment against Blatter came at the end of the file where Zen-Ruffinen delivered two accusations, one which he said constituted a criminal act under the Swiss Penal Code and the second which ‘may’ constitute a criminal offence.

The first allegation claimed Blatter paid a European executive committee member, who was elected in 2000, two years backdated remuneration to 1998 of 100,000 US dollars. The second charge was over a payment to former Niger referee Lucien Bouchardeau for giving evidence against CAF vice-president Farah Addo, who in March accused Blatter supporters of bribing FIFA members to vote for him in the 1998 presidential election in Paris.
“The president handed out to him in front of two FIFA employees a cheque of USD 25,000 mentioning that Bouchardeau would receive additional USD 25,000 if the information he provided would suit the purpose of the president,” said Zen-Ruffinen in his report.

The secretary general also produced a damning indictment of FIFA vice-president Jack Warner of Trinidad, a staunch Blatter supporter. “The president has constantly taken decisions which are favourable to the economical interests of Jack Warner and some of his family members, and thus are contrary to the financial interests of FIFA,” said Zen-Ruffinen
Zen-Ruffinen claimed FIFA overpaid one of Warner’s sons over one million US dollars for an internet project. But more damagingly, he said Warner paid only a symbolic one dollar for the World Cup television rights in the Caribbean for 1990/94 and 1998. The charges left executive committee members stunned, Hayatou said. “You could hear a pin drop when he finished his report,” said the CAF president.


During the meeting five of the seven FIFA vice-presidents took Blatter aside to a room once used by former FIFA president Joao Havelange and asked him to resign. A stunned Blatter refused.

Later Blatter declined to go into details about the charges. “It is a total misunderstanding,” said Blatter, who has worked for FIFA for 27 years. But Zen-Ruffinen warned that his report was only the start. “More evidence will come,” he said after the record breaking eight hour long executive committee meeting.

“This is a strong shot into the whole body (FIFA).” And he hinted that since he began his investigation FIFA members have been offering him more information. A senior FIFA official said that Zen-Ruffinen would not let go. “He has the bit between his teeth. He will go to the bitter end,” said the official. “It is time for FIFA to clean it’s house. I feel very strongly about it,” said Zen Ruffinen.

“This is a serious report, with serious allegations. I think I was more than clear,” he added. “FIFA is in bad shape today. FIFA is disorganised, staff is dissatisfied, frustrated and the FIFA administration is governed by the president and a handful of people of his choice. The finance only seems to be in order. In fact FIFA today lives from income of the future.” And he warned that if the executive committee did not take action he would quit.

Blatter said he would answer the charges with the seven day deadline laid down by Zen Ruffinen. Following the executive committee meeting Blatter and Zen-Ruffinen gave a surreal joint press conference, at which the bitterness between the two men was clear. “I have made serious allegation-serious facts,” said Zen-Ruffinen. A stung Blatter quickly hit back. “This is not the gospel,” he snapped. “A sermon perhaps.”

The bitter split between the two was underscored when Blatter joked that he and his general secretary were back on speaking terms. “Singing terms, laughing terms,” he added.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

Offline JDB

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Re: International football needs to be organised on more professional lines
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2005, 04:10:27 PM »
I know that Blatter and Mr. Warner brushed off these allegations like they were nothing but does anyone know what happened to Zen-Ruffinen after this?

Is he still involved with FIFA or with Football?

Just found part of my answer.

Like Michael Corleone say "never go against the family".
« Last Edit: December 27, 2005, 04:15:43 PM by JDB »
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Offline monty

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Re: International football needs to be organised on more professional lines
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2005, 04:22:30 PM »
This thing bigger than I thought. Is like watching Devil's Advocate, but it have no good looking women in this!

 

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