Last week, two top FIFA executives were suspended for their alleged involvement in the latest bribery scandal to rock the organisation.
The allegations against Jack Warner and Mohamed bin Hammam have once more raised serious questions about the management of the world’s soccer body. And if it’s true that Fifa president Sepp Blatter knew about alleged bribery plans and took absolutely no action to investigate, it suggests that corruption is now endemic.
Only last November the Fifa ethics committee banned six of its football officials from getting involved in “any football-related activity” for periods ranging from one and four years for breaching various parts of the ethics code. All those affected were highly placed Fifa officials, including Fifa vice-president Reynald Temarii, who was banned for a year and also fined over €4,000.
Based on the above allegations and several other suspected incidents, one may conclude there is something seriously wrong at the heart of world soccer. While we accept that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, we honestly do not believe that Fifa is in the best position to properly investigate itself over these allegations.
Also, we do not accept a recent statement by Blatter that Fifa is not in crisis. If he has any dignity, he should immediately step aside while a proper independent inquiry investigation is conducted into the affairs of the organisation. Until that is done, irreparable damage will be done to Fifa’s image.
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