An embarrassment to the beautiful game
Swiss parliamentarians and commercial sponsors should push to reform a rotten organisation
WHETHER he possesses a bottomless capacity for self-delusion or simply breathtaking cynicism, Sepp Blatter's performance at a press conference earlier this week was beyond parody. Asked whether recent corruption allegations meant that the governing body of the world's most popular game was in crisis, the Swiss 75-year-old president of FIFA, replied: “What is a crisis? Football is not in a crisis. We have just seen a beautiful Champions League final with Barcelona, with fair play. We are only in some difficulties. And they will be solved inside our family.” Mr Blatter's attempt to link the sublime skills of the European champions with the moral squalor of the outfit he has run for the past 13 years was true to form. His uncontested re-election (after the removal of his only rival, Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam, amid bribery charges) a couple of days later for a fourth four-year term was depressing for anyone who cares about the “beautiful game”.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "An embarrassment to the beautiful game"
From the June 4th 2011 edition
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