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FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he ‘cannot be held responsible’ for corruption

By Stanford Crissey

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Sepp Blatter denies responsibility for FIFA corruption

FIFA is currently mired in a huge scandal. The world’s governing body of the sport of soccer (or football, or futbol) is in crisis mode after 14 of its top officials were indicted on corruption charges Tuesday. Investigation has been launched into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and more than 20 years of corruption and bribery are set to be uncovered.

And yet, incredibly, FIFA president Sepp Blatter says that he “cannot be held responsible” for what’s happened.

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Speaking at FIFA’s congress, Blatter condemned the “action of individuals” for bringing “shame and humiliation” on football in a corruption scandal. “We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud and it has to stop here and now.”

However, he added that “Many people hold me ultimately responsible for the… global football community… I cannot monitor everyone all of the time. If people want to do wrong they will also try to hide it.”

And he’s absolutely right. I mean, who would dare hold a president accountable for what happens under his watch?

Oh wait, the answer is everyone, always.

As the scandal has broken out, Blatter has been called upon to resign by everyone from UEFA president Michael Platini to UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

The scandal provides an interesting backdrop to the upcoming FIFA presidential elections, which are set to be held Friday. Blatter is running against Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan. Before the scandal broke, Blatter, who has presided over FIFA for 17 years, was seen as a near-lock to win re-election. But the timing of this scandal could throw a wrench into things.

Now let’s be clear: it’s nearly impossible that Blatter didn’t know about any of this. And this is far from the first scandal that Blatter or FIFA have been caught up in during his tenure. Blatter has determinedly looked the other way on the conditions for the World Cup in Qatar, and his presidency has never exactly been seen as clean. The idea that all this could be going on under the FIFA president’s nose without him knowing about it is… unlikely seems to nice a word. Nearly impossible? Laughable? Either of those will do.

There’s very little chance that Blatter will come out of this scandal looking great, which has led some to call for the presidential election to be postponed until more facts come out. UEFA’s statement on the elections reads as follows:

"“In the meantime, the members of the UEFA Executive Committee are convinced that there is a strong need for a change to the leadership of this FIFA and strongly believe that the FIFA Congress should be postponed, with new FIFA presidential elections to be organised within the next six months.”"

However, the elections seem set to go on as scheduled, and Blatter is humming along like nothing’s wrong. Chances are that won’t be the case for long.

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