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Happy Tuesday!
Yesterday’s blog was dedicated to a big picture review of the box office record-shattering behemoth Jurassic World. So, today’s post will be a special Tuesday-edition of “Happy Monday!” I’m actually seeing Jurassic World again tonight, but this time in 3D. Reaction will follow tomorrow. However, the focus from that Central American theme park yesterday will respectfully shift south for a genuine thrill on the soccer pitch.
Neymar, that’s just money.
Have a Record-Breaking Week!
The Beautiful Resignation
(Daily Mail)
FIFA’s mountain of corruption, bribery and destruction towards the beautiful game for decades has been hit at the place many demanded, yet presumed was impossible to reach: the summit.
“Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s long-time president, announced on Tuesday that he will be resigning as soon as an extraordinary FIFA congress has elected a successor,” Leander Schaerlaeckens wrote (FC Yahoo).
The four-term president (who was elected to a fifth-term just days ago) signifies that the 14 arrests made late last week of FIFA officials and executives is truly the seismic shift the soccer world has been wanting amid relentless controversies and favoritism for more than 20 years that violated clear ethical grounds and the very integrity of the game itself. This is not a minor moment. It has shaken soccer’s foundation, for the better. While this news currently looks like a cloaked admission of guilt or impropriety in the very least by Blatter, it’s a massive declaration, nonetheless, that will prove to be a powerful pivot for soccer.
What was discovered about Blatter? Was this a strategy/agreement to prevent the disclosure of damaging evidence? How much pressure did soccer’s biggest advertisers apply to Blatter and FIFA? Will votes be recast for the 2018 World Cup? The 2022 World Cup?
These are important questions that need to be asked and answered. As of right now, the future is unclear. However, this rainy, overcast feeling is far superior to the smoke that was created by the multiple fires of corruption and bribery the soccer world has been living under for far too long with Blatter in charge. The chance for a bright sunrise on soccer fields around the world is finally here. As soccer is the world’s most popular game, the subsequent decisions made by FIFA will define this broken institution and be analyzed by fans of this sport for generations to come. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for genuine change for good.
The penalty kick has been given in the championship game and it’s tied in extra time. It’s golden goal.
Whose going to take it?
FIFA’s Red Card
(Pascal Mora, New York Times)
FIFA’s uninterrupted, pampered 5-star treatment may finally be downgraded.
The breaking news regarding the arrests of several high-ranking FIFA officials (sans Sepp Blatter) at the 5-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, Switzerland is a bombshell everyone saw coming a mile away. Its severity is enormous, yet it surprises virtually nobody, especially those who followed the bidding process of the upcoming two World Cups ( 2018 – Russia and 2022 – Qatar) that was riddled with accusations of painfully obvious corruption. The only surprise may be that the indictments were actually given.
FIFA is a multi-billion dollar organization with a surreal reach that hugs the entire globe in literally every country that has a soccer ball that has even the slightest ambition in getting a second ball…and soccer fields, media deals, inclusion with the world’s top nations and tournaments, etc. As Joshua Robinson revealed in a great article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “Why FIFA Can’t Get Out of Its Own Way,” every nation is counted as equals in the voting for its president. This unfair fairness, equalizing the voting impact of soccer leaders like Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Holland with Mauritius is mind-bogglingly incompetent. The most vital reason is the devastatingly easy route to corruption and abuse to bribe the smallest, least influential nations with “goodies” (use your imagination) that propel them in ways that might be nearly impossible on the pitch alone.
Now, Mauritius is not guilty of any wrong-doing, but they were listed only to serve as an example of a tiny nation that’s granted the same voting weight as soccer powerhouses.
The charges, accusations and evidence of bribery brought by the U.S. Department of Justice constitutes a long list of illegal activities that began in 1991, including hundreds of millions of dollars exchanged for precious influence and privilege in a variety of high-profile circumstances. And the soccer region that was a major player in these actions was CONCACAF. Yes, this is the same qualifying group as the United States of America.
According to the indictment, several international soccer events were tainted by bribes and kickbacks involving media and marketing rights: World Cup qualifiers in the Concacaf region; the Gold Cup, a regional championship tournament; the Concacaf Champions League; the Copa América; and the South American club championship, the Copa Libertadores. The indictment also claims that bribes and kickbacks were found in connection with the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup.
Absorbing all this information results in one immediate conclusion: FIFA is not of sound mind or sound ethics to be the governing body of the world’s game. Soccer is too amazing of a sport to be dragged down by greedy executives and immoral officials. Perhaps the most vindicated collection of people today are referees, who are now able to declare they are (in accordance with the law) not the most corrupting force in the soccer.
However, this fact can be heavily debated and proven otherwise without much difficulty, but FIFA’s governing body is first in line for scrutiny and punishment right now. Well, we’ll have to see about that whole “punishment” thing, specifically when referring to re-voting on future World Cup sites.
The issue was, in fact, raised again Wednesday. When pressed by reporters at the news conference, Walter de Gregorio, a FIFA spokesman, repeatedly said that FIFA would not consider reopening the bid process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
There are almost no words. This shockingly oblivious admission of reality promises these bribery and corruption charges will sustain for at least the next 7 years, as de Gregorio wants.
The 14 FIFA officials arrested took the beautiful game whose roots grow with strength, purpose and opportunity in the poorest and richest nations and flooded it with dirty money, thereby damaging the sport’s foundation of hard work, creativity and upward mobility in countries and neighborhoods all around the world.
Do you remember when Zinedine Zidane headbutt Marco Materazzi of Italy in the 2006 World Cup Final?
This is like that, except magnified hundreds of millions of dollars times.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 