Clearly Valcke did not get that stitch in time

FIFA Recommends Nine-Year Ban for Valcke

The investigator for FIFA’s independent ethics committee on Tuesday recommended a nine-year ban for the organization’s former secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, who served as Sepp Blatter’s top deputy for nearly a decade before he was placed on leave in September amid a corruption inquiry.

The investigator, Cornel Borbély, also recommended that Mr. Valcke’s provisional suspension, which was to expire Tuesday, be extended by 45 days, as well as a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (about $99,000). The judge of the ethics committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, will issue a final ruling on the recommended punishment.

Mr. Valcke, 55, has been on disciplinary leave from FIFA since September, when he was accused of being involved in a scheme to sell 2014 World Cup tickets for personal profit. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the NYT.

Kicking Back Comments: While I expect Valcke to both deny any wrongdoing and appeal the ban, FIFA continues to step up to clean up its act. Or at least remove the bad actors that inhabited these offices previously.

One area I do not understand is, here is a person who is suspected and has been suspended for pilfering at least $10M, yet his fine is only about $100K, an order of magnitude less. Why not make Valcke pay back the full amount?

Also, while FIFA is starting, just starting, to grow a spine on some of these issues, I am far more interested in both the Qatar debacle and also what permanent reforms will be put in place to prevent something like this from occurring again.

That will be the true acid test for me.

Double Trouble or a Great Idea?

Presidential candidate Salman wants to divide FIFA in two

MIAMI (Reuters) - The frontrunner in the FIFA presidential election, Asian football chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, says he wants to divide the organization into two separate entities as part of a 'turnaround' plan for the crisis-hit organization.

Salman, who is president of the Asian Football Confederation, said in a statement on Wednesday that FIFA's governance and business functions would be separated if he took over the helm following the Feb. 26 elections. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Kicking Back Comments: First off, hat tip to Elie for brings this one forward.

I am of two minds regarding this proposition of splitting FIFA into a "football" side and a "business" side, likely with a "Chinese Wall" between them.

Part of me thinks this is a great idea where you separate out the money generating portions of the business from the football operational side. On the surface this would seem to allow better auditing abilities of the finances while maintaining operational integrity. In fact this is done regularly in business or for projects with particularly sensitive information that must be kept compartmentalized. These methods could be actuarial as well as physical in nature. 

I am not so sure however that such an arrangement would meet the needs to prevent corruption. A slightly closer look at how the operational side can substantially influence the money side is not far away however. A first and stunning example is the choice of Qatar as a venue in 2022. Here is a nearly purely "operational" decision. Take a look at the FIFA report on the US bid for 2022 here. With the exception of a couple of sections, it is all about the "how" things will be done. Yet, as we know, as the events unfolded a substantial amount of corruption (and money exchange) occurred as part of a venue decision.

Let's say for sake of argument World Cup decision are relegated to the money side of the house due to the very large financial gain FIFA realizes from each. How about the surface for play?

Well, here too we seem to have created some conflicts of interest as I detailed in a 2014 article, "The case of Dr. Turf and the Cowardly Judge." Here, we had the dispute about use of a synthetic surface or not, and shockingly (not) FIFA rolled out "Dr. Turf" to advocate that turf was equivalent to grass in all respects. Only issue was Dr. Turf was affiliated with a company that produced such surfaces. So even here with something purely operational the opportunity for abuse exists.

Where Asian football chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa gets it completely right is where he believes FIFA has to be torn down completely and rebuilt before it can be effective. I share that opinion. Great danger and opportunity exist in such a case however as nature abhors a vacuum and such a void may be filled with exactly the wrong people.

Don't get me wrong, the idea brought forward while not novel and I believe has issues, is one of the most original for FIFA in years. All credit is due for that to be sure.

For Once Sepp is Right

Sepp Blatter dares FIFA's American sponsors to leave

Sepp Blatter, the banned president of FIFA, called out the organization's American sponsors on Tuesday, saying they will not end their sponsorships even if reform demands are not met.

"Companies, commercial partners are queuing up to get in," Blatter told The Wall Street Journal. "If the Americans want to leave, others will come. But they don't want to get out ... They won't leave." ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of CNN Money.

Kicking Back Comments: As sad a comment as it is, Sepp seems to be 100% correct. 

I personally take great stock in how people (or companies) act, not in what their press release says. I and scores of other folks have written about the saber rattling the mighty sponsors of FIFA have done saying how unacceptable FIFA's behavior has become. Yet, for all that rattling, there has been no action from many.

In this same way, there are several companies that should be applauded for taking action. Castrol, Johnson & Johnson, Continental, Sony, and Emirates had the courage to stand up and drop their sponsorship of FIFA. While some have stated in a few of those cases the sponsorship was up for renewal, the salient point is, they did not renew due in part to the deplorable mess that is FIFA.

Even in the face of the ethical challenges outright corruption (this is a brilliant video) and employment contract issues human right violations, several companies continue to fund these activities. Several others are also cued up ready to hand over the monies they have earned from customers as well.

At this point I can't classify their desire as less than knowingly supporting corruption and human rights violations. While each of these companies has ethical issues of their own (see ADIDAS,  Coca-Cola, Gazprom, Hyudani, McDonalds, note that Visa to give then their due was recently voted one of the most ethical) their efforts to give monies to FIFA who propagates this corruption makes them no better.

Yet they line up and yes ... Sepp is right, they will not leave. So for all the noise they make about ethical behavior, they do nothing.

Eight years is not enough ... but it is a good start

Fifa: Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini get eight-year bans

Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa boss Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years from all football-related activities following an ethics investigation.

They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) "disloyal payment" made to Platini in 2011.

The Fifa ethics committee found Blatter and Platini had demonstrated an "abusive execution" of their positions.

"I will fight for me and for Fifa," Blatter, 79, said at a news conference.

The bans come into force immediately. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: While this is a step in the right direction, it is far from over. Eight years is not nearly enough for what Sepp has been convicted of doing. While in essence this is a life sentence from him given his age of 79 (making him eligible to participate again at 87) not so for Platini who is only 50 and would become eligible at 58.

No of course Sepp blamed everyone but himself and was defiant in the hearing. His next step would seem to be the Court of Arbitration and Sport (CAS) which has ethical issues of its own in my view. Even there however, I think Sepp is in some trouble. Not because he is corrupt, but even worse, the world needs a head on a pike to make people start to feel better about FIFA.

That head it would seem, will be Sepp Blatter's.

Francly my dear ... I don't give a damn

Fifa scandal: Large cash sums frozen by Switzerland

Fifty Swiss bank accounts allegedly linked to world football governing body Fifa have been frozen.

US officials believe "corruption money" may have been moved through the now frozen accounts, the Swiss justice ministry said.

Between 50m and 100m Swiss francs ($50.1m-100.2m; £34m-£67m) was in them, media reports say. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: I continue to find it the height of irony that the country who many in the rest of the world feel is a 3rd rate soccer power, is single handedly cleaning it up.

Will this be our legacy to The Game?

And for any who wondered where the title came from ... 

Will the DOJ's investigation into FIFA hurt our efforts with ISIS?

US attorney general hopes Qatar cooperates in World Cup probe

The United States hopes Qatar will cooperate with the World Cup bidding investigation, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday, insisting that the Gulf nation being a key ally in the fight against Islamic State militants was irrelevant in any considerations about pursuing a corruption case.

The U.S. is working closely on the FIFA investigation with Swiss authorities, whose case started by probing the dual votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups five years ago. ...

See the whole story here, from Fox.

Kicking Back Comments: I have great hopes that AG Lynch is not so naive that she believes that an investigation which may strip the tiny desert nation of Qatar of its World Cup in 2022, does not have implications regarding the current operations and investigation we have regarding ISIS in the same country.

I learned this lesson long ago from a FIFA referee at a international tournament hosted in the US. While it was in regard to a US v. Mexico U17 match we did, the lesson was impactful that where countries are involved, sport, politics, economics, religion, and a very way of life are part of each match.

Ties between the peoples in Qatar involved in sport and politics are clearly the same ... as I would imagine are several government officials who are aware of various investigations. To think that one will not effect or at the very least, cross paths with the other is preposterous.

Qatar getting an opportunity to host a World Cup is a big deal for them. Countries pay big money for the chance to host ... and while I am speaking about bribes ... I am also speaking about the monies countries lay out to make that happen.

Do I think there are a few good people able to separate out ferreting out corruption from ferreting out bad guys? Yes.

Do I think the majority of people will be able to separate out those two things as distinct from the other and not look for favors in the process? No. Sadly.

To tell you the truth, that may be okay for me. I would rather give up the World Cup and get the bad guys than the other way around. In a perfect world it should be both, but we sadly do not live in such a Utopia.

Yes, it actually can get worse for FIFA

US steps up pressure against banks in Fifa probe

US prosecutors are threatening to punish banks for failing to report suspicious activity on Fifa-related accounts as part of the sprawling corruption probe into world football’s governing body, people familiar with the case told the Financial Times.

The criminal charges could have serious implications if prosecutors proceed. In 2014, JPMorgan Chase paid a $2bn penalty for failing to file such reports in relation to the so-called Ponzi scheme led by Bernard Madoff. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of FT.com.

Kicking Back Comments: The US DOJ is leaving no stone unturned with FIFA. I will be curious to see how many bank "spill the beans" on them in an effort to save their own skin and face very harsh fines if implicated in the matter. Either way, Ms. Lynch is earning her new title as "FIFA Slayer."

There is however a price that may have to be paid with regard to ISIS if the investigation keeps going the way it does. US, FIFA, and ISIS I think are about to intersect in an interesting way. It makes me wonder if Qatar will get its World Cup, so the US can pursue ISIS.

Stay tuned for that though later this week.

Dear FIFA Sponsors: Are You Listening Now???!!!

Five years of human rights failure shames FIFA and Qatar

Labor exploitation remains rampant in Qatar as the authorities fail to deliver significant reforms, Amnesty International said today before the fifth anniversary of Qatar winning the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Despite massive public exposure of the appalling conditions faced by most migrant construction workers, the Qatari authorities have done almost nothing effective to end chronic labor exploitation.

“Too little has been done to address rampant migrant labor abuse. Qatar’s persistent labor reform delays are a recipe for human rights disaster,” said Mustafa Qadri, Gulf Migrant Rights Researcher at Amnesty International. ...

See the whole press release here, courtesy of Amnesty International.

Kicking Back Comments: Straight on the heels of the nonsense from the sponsors being "outraged" and wanting "assurances" we start to see not much has changed in Qatar. Companies like ADIDAS are (or feign) outrage if child labor stitches their balls ... yet are fine as migrant workers die to build the stadiums they will profit from in 2022. I fail to see the difference.

Yawn

Fifa sponsors including Coca-Cola demand reform overview

Five sponsors of football's world governing body Fifa have written to its executive committee to demand "independent oversight" of reforms.

Fifa has been engulfed by allegations of corruption since US authorities indicted 14 officials this summer.

The letter was sent from Adidas, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Visa and the Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the BBC.

Kicking Back Comments: I am again reminded of one of my personal mantras, facta non verba, or deeds not words.

So far all we have seen from FIFA, which I expect at this point, is words. By now I would have expected more from the sponsors, even one. Clearly I was misguided in my thinking as sponsors like Coca-Cola are clearly apathetic to what FIFA is doing in places like Qatar, to name one.

It is truly all about the money folks and even the one entity (aside from UEFA) that can make a big impact on the World's Game, clearly wants none of it.

I Know Nuzzing ...

U.S. Soccer boss Sunil Gulati addresses range of issues

A few hours before the U.S. World Cup qualifying opener in St. Louis on Friday, U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati met with a group of reporters to discuss Jurgen Klinsmann, the national team, the broader program, FIFA and other matters, including everyone’s favorite, promotion and relegation.

Excerpts …

See the full article here, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: This was a very interesting article and it spoke on quite a few topics. One thing that did catch my attention was that President Gulati was kept from Congress and was very careful about his answers regarding FIFA and others caught in corruption issues. Almost too careful.

I hope truly he does not find himself in those crosshairs.

Say it isn't so

Beckenbauer Is Under Investigation by FIFA Ethics Committee

Former German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer is one of 11 current or former high-ranking FIFA officials under investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee, the organization said in a statement on Wednesday.

His case has been passed on to the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee, which has the power to ban him from all soccer-related activities. The committee didn’t give a reason for the investigation, but Beckenbauer has been involved in the awarding of at least three World Cups, processes that have drawn intense scrutiny for years. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the WSJ.

Kicking Back Comments: I suppose I should not be surprised, sadly. All these once great institutions and men to me once ... FIFA, IOC, and their boards. All once great seemingly serving the thing we love ...  all now proving to be shams.

So sad.

Dear @CocaCola @McDonalds @Visa @Budweiser please grow a spine and defund @FIFA

Coca-Cola and McDonald’s lead calls for Fifa’s Sepp Blatter to stand down

Four of Fifa’s leading sponsors – Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Visa and Budweiser – have demanded that its embattled president, Sepp Blatter, step down immediately in the face of a continuing corruption crisis.

The dramatic intervention on Friday night from four of Fifa’s biggest backers hugely increases the pressure on the 79-year-old after Swiss prosecutors last week opened criminal proceedings against him. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Dear big money sponsors ... if you want to get Sepp to step down, suspend all funding until he does. Full stop.

Enough screwing around. If you are going to threaten, follow through, don't just hang it out there as if you do you will take the risk of being seen as inept as Blatter's leadership.

More arrests for FIFA

U.S. Attorney General Expects More FIFA Arrests, Maybe Even Sepp Blatter's

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday that she anticipated “pursuing additional charges against individuals and entities” in the government’s ongoing probe into corruption within FIFA and soccer more generally.

Lynch made the statement at a joint news conference with Swiss authorities in Zurich, where she touted the breadth of the investigation as well as the cooperation with other authorities ...

See the whole article, linked above, courtesy of Deadspin.

Kicking Back Comments: I gotta say, seeing Sepp paraded out in his jammies in the early morning Swiss hours would be kind of great.

He is already afraid to come to the US and Canada ... and with the Swiss probe on (take note of the location of the news conference) we may see this sooner than later.

Heck ... what am I going to write about when he is jailed?

Is there a 3rd option?

As the FIFA scandal is heating up as we all know, their sponsors, like Coke and McDonalds among others have called them on the carpet to explain what FIFA will look like "under new management" so to speak.

In fact they may have seen this neat video from "Dark5":



Many of these who have been following this mess will likely not be shocked.

These guys did produce a few other videos however, regarding a couple of other FIFA sponsors:

Coke:



and McDonalds:



and honestly after seeing these, I'm not sure who is worse, FIFA or their sponsors.

Boo Hoo

Sepp Blatter claims Fifa portrayed as a mafia organisation by US investigation

Sepp Blatter has accused the US justice department of portraying Fifa like a mafia organisation while adding that he will reveal details of his abrupt decision to step down as president of world football’s governing body when he officially departs.

Blatter will leave Fifa after 40 years at the organisation following the presidential election at a special congress in February, having announced his departure just days after his re-election in June which coincided with the corruption scandal that engulfed the organisation and led to the arrest of 14 officials at a Zurich hotel.

Insisting that he would one day “tell exactly what happened” to prompt his resignation, Blatter labelled the investigation into Fifa as a “tsunami” and criticized the light in which the organisation was portrayed by the US attorney general, Loretta Lynch. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Guardian.

Kicking Back Comments: Every time I think Sepp is joking, he seems to be serious. News flash Sepp, FIFA is organized crime on a global scale and you are at the head of the snake. You think the US AG Loretta Lynch is the cause of this image? Really?

One telling sign should be art imitating life with the new exhibit at the "Maria Museum" in Las Vegas highlighting FIFA.  Are you going to blame the AG for this too?

Sepp, you got caught, finally, since the US took a stand and brought you down. Enjoy your fall from "grace" ... I know I will. Hey, just write a book on the way, it will be horribly one sided and you likely won't give a dime to The Game you have been robbing for years ... but it may be a fun read.

Buying a Nobel Peace Prize?

Let's go back together in the not so recent past where we experienced several very visceral incidents of blatant racism in The Game. One of the most memorable was regarding Dani Alves who had a brilliant response to having bananas thrown at him. You can see the article describing the whole matter here from CNN and here in Instagram.

FIFA frankly has a horrible record of doing something about this issue inside the field. Recall in 2011 where Sepp had stated that racism could be solved "with a handshake." While I agree with his critics that he is woefully out of touch on the issue and how serious and widespread it is, I also have to give him some credit for the idea.

It is a lesson Jr. and I were talking about just the other day when he came off the field angry at an opponent. I told him to let it go when you leave the pitch ... outside of that rectangle (please note Law 1 requires the field to be a rectangle, not square) it does not matter.

This is actually an ethos I live by in my soccer life. While it can be argued that I am narrow minded to think that by crossing the outside boundary of the field the world changes back to normal, it is a construct I have used for decades now to hold to the fact that The Game is a subset of life, not the other way around.

FIFA has done some excellent, good, bad, dumb, and really dumb things in an effort to try to stop these disgusting practices. While I will not go into them, examples are legion of the full spectrum of efforts. There are a couple that stand out though.

One such notable effort was the appointment of a FIFA EXCO member specifically tasked to combat racism. An excellent Executive level position to give the issue prominence. Jeffery Webb was appointed and gave a good speech in front of the 2013 FIFA congress. However he was recently indicted and dismissed from his positions.

Another effort is "racism monitors" throughout international matches and notably for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Even those however may not be up to the task as we have also seen recently. Now we have the "independent" group Kick It Out that seems to be gaining prominence in UEFA and is tenuously connected to FIFA, but my jury is still out on those guys while the goal is spot on some of the methods are a bit scary (e.g. calling for a referee to never work again who chose not to report an incident that he did not believe was racism or downloading an app from iTunes (here) to report such incidents).

As a final example, and a further note on Sepp's hubris, is the "handshake for peace" program that honestly really first caught my eye at the WWC. Again from above, a great concept albeit a bit too contrived from my taste, but with the backing of the Nobel Peace Center no less to give it gravitas. 

Only one catch, FIFA has been paying for the privilege (almost $1.3M per year since 2013) and it has been reported this is a crushing blow to Sepp personally as he saw himself as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. While it was well understood that Sepp's ego knew no bounds, I was unaware that one could "grease" the Nobel Committee with a paltry $1.2M/year. I would have thought that the Nobel Peace Center would choose a cause an organization like this, as fundamentally it would seem to be a worthy cause for such a group.

Ah when will I learn.

 

Add murder to the FIFA rapsheet?

The wife of an official murdered by masked gunman as he was about to expose fraud at the 2010 South Africa World Cup has told how the corruption-mired tournament killed her husband.

South African politician Jimmy Mohlala was gunned down as he got ready for church – the day before he was due in court to give evidence of a multimillion pound World Cup stadium construction fraud.

The dad of four – one of three politicians linked to exposing World Cup fraud who died in mysterious circumstances – uncovered forged building contracts at the £80million Mbombela stadium. ...

See the whole story here courtesy of Daily Mail.

Kicking Back Comments:

I was in fact pondering with a co-worker the other day when this shoe would drop (that someone was killed over a bribe). FIFA and its sponsors are turning a blind eye to the deaths in Qatar, so to think that there are other equally nefarious yet direct actors in my opinion, is unsurprising. 

Hat Tip - Sunil Gulati

U.S., England support Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein for FIFA presidency

FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein says the United States was among the national associations to nominate him to stand against Sepp Blatter for the top job in world football.

The Jordanian also disclosed he was endorsed by his home federation, Belarus, Malta and Georgia. The English FA had already announced it was backing him.

The vote to decide the presidency will be held at the FIFA Congress in May. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of ESPN FC.

Kicking Back Comments: Kudos to Sunil for taking a stand against FIFA, or more precisely Sepp's re-election. To be sure there were shades of Gulati's character not long ago regarding such graft when he, along with (2) other FIFA EXCO members were "gifted" $25,000 watches ... and he (I'm sure politely) refused.

Anyone know the other (2) EXCO members? Al Hussein was one.

Now in the last go round, the US voted for Blatter and as I have stated publicly I did not understand why. It may however be something as simple as the desire to bring the World Cup back to the US in 2022, recognizing the Swiss Prince would oversee the whole sorted affair.

We know how that turned out for us.

Now with years and years to go before we decide on the next World Cup, and quite possibly outside Sepp's lifetime (I'm not foreshadowing anything, he's currently 78 years old) it would seem he would not have the ability to shut the US out again. 

Maybe with nothing to lose at this point in not supporting his reelection, we are making a positive statement that the US supports a non-corrupt FIFA.

It could also be for the very good reason of supporting an individual that is not corrupt and can begin to take The Game out of the sewer that it is in right now.

Maybe eventually with a leader at the helm who started such a movement.

Are we seeing the beginning of a future campaign for FIFA president from Gulati?

Would not be a bad choice in my opinion ... unfortunately for the same reasons why we will never see an American referee a men's World Cup final, we will also likely never see an American running FIFA. It's sad frankly, but that is the bias we have to shoulder.

I wonder if I can file a discrimination suit of some type??

Nah ... it would get tossed ... even the WNT knows that =/

That's Five ... But Who's Counting?

FIFA sheds sponsors as it heads into a dangerous decade

The news that three major sponsors have ceased their partnership with FIFA could potentially damage its reputation, and more importantly, its finances. Reports on Friday revealed that Castrol, Continental and Johnson & Johnson were no longer corporate sponsors of football’s international governing body. All three failed to renew their sponsorship contracts when they expired last year. This followed a similar situation with Sony and Emirates last year. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of theconversation.com.

Kicking Back Comments: While I have no hope for Adidas to sever their relationship, and Visa essentially sold their corporate soul to get this (I have a couple posts of the dishonesty they were called out on, along with FIFA in the dealings with Master Card), I would like to see Coke grow a set and drop them like a hot rock.

Maybe with the FBI hanging around Chuck's place there might be some material to ... persuade them?

We'll see.

さようなら

Photo Credit: Reuters

For any who know Japanese, the translation for the title is "Sayōnara", or as an English translation, "goodbye."

This is exactly what Sony said to FIFA recently as the Japanese electronics company is dropping its $280M contract with FIFA it has had over the last 8 years. (source)

Let's face it, FIFA would not even need Sony given its reserve funds of ~$1.5B (source) and willingness of other companies to take their place.

I will say though that the optics look lousy. Of the (6) "Partners" FIFA has, as listed here, 33% of them want nothing to do with FIFA due to their corruption.

Graphic Credit: FIFA

To make matters worse, Coca-Cola may be next recently lashing out at FIFA. Yet in the face of all of these issues, Adidas has extended their sponsorship until 2030.

I have to believe they got  a good deal on this as at the rate they are going, they may be the only one left for a time.

Don't get me wrong, these guys likely get their money's worth and then some with this sponsorship. They wouldn't do it otherwise. All you have to do is check out FIFA's marketing organization to get a flavor of just how good they are.

The calculus that these companies are likely doing now is, can our brand take a loyalty hit due to FIFA's corruption.

Check out this video from WSJ that gives some insight on the topic.