Sepp Blatter, 75, who was unchallenged for the fourth FIFA mandate after suspending the challenger Mohammed Bin Hammam, of Qatar, is reported as saying “my salary is $1 million per year, perhaps a bit more”.
When one considers that FIFA is an industry with a turnover of more than $1 billion, the experts who deal with finances and accounts, will find it hard to believe that. Never mind the numerous perks which include travelling around the world on an executive jet, staying in luxury seven-star hotels, driven in limousines and spending unknown sums in any currency, as expenses.
“A bit more” could mean a lot more!
Mr Blatter’s salary is not the main topic of the present FIFA turmoil; the main comments focus mainly on its lack of transparency and credibility amid strong evidence of corruption at top level and match-fixing everywhere. What was once known as “the beautiful game” is replete with worldwide scandals.
Football’s image has been dented badly. The main FIFA financiers and sponsors, like Visa, Emirates, Coca Cola and Adidas, who contribute $1 billion annually or 26 per cent of FIFA’s revenue, are really concerned about the bad imaging the international federation is portraying and may opt out unless there is a massive clean-up.
It is poor consolation to read of corruption in other popular money-spinning sport; or to think that corruption in football is a modern invention.
Fixed results have come to light everywhere. People recall the episode at the Charlton Athletic ground in 1997, when the lights went off as the match was not progressing favourably to a Malaysian syndicate, or the corruption stories in Bundesliga (2005), Calciopoli One (2006) and Calciopoli Two (2011); the 300-odd matches in different competitions during 2009 and which stretched to Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary, Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina and others which UEFA is investigating are just clear examples.
More shocking scandals were revealed by the prosecutors at a recent trial in Bochum. It was proved that a gang was being operated by a 200-strong link who corrupted players, coaches, referees and officials to the tune of $1.7m.
It’s only a tip of a massive iceberg according to the prosecutors.
Two of the gang, Marijo Cvrtak and Ante Sapina, each received five years and six months prison sentences while Sapina confessed to having made €2.4m profit on his illegal dealings.
The Bochum trial also mentioned the Euro 2008 qualifier between Norway and Malta (2007) which is being thoroughly investigated.
The FIFA chaos was brought about after allegations and interrogations on corruption in the selection of Russia and Qatar as the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, and the alleged distribution of brown envelopes with $40,000 inside to a number of CONCACAF delegates by Qatar’s delegate prior to the FIFA presidential elections.
In all this mess, Mr Blatter denies any crisis but then appoints a three-man commission formed of Placido Domingo, Johan Cruyff and Henry Kissinger. FIFA made it known that it will donate $20m to Interpol’s anti-corruption unit in Singapore.
The problem of illegal betting, which according to IOC president Jacques Rogge is more than $140 billion annually, could be the main reason behind corruption. The situation could be worse as Interpol estimate the illegal gambling market is worth $500 billion in Asia alone!
Despite collective efforts like “early warning” signals by betting operators, the malady to sport cannot be eliminated.
There is big money in football. Tycoons buy clubs but they only increase debts apart from firing coaches at will, that is. Despite the efforts of UEFA’s supremo Michel Platini for clubs not to spend more than what they earn, most clubs are in dire straits.
Nevertheless, players’ salaries are becoming astronomical and it is not only the Ronaldos and Messis of this world that are multi-millionaires.
For example the Football League clubs’ revenue for season 2009-2010 was £28 billion from which 68 per cent went to wages. However, the real problem is not the players’ salaries.
Lack of transparency, serious allegations of corruption at all levels, illegal betting and match-fixing are more likely to be the real reasons. There are stories going around that the biggest of all scandals is to be revealed.
Apparently, according to investigators, it centres on an eight-year criminal investigation into who got $100m in bribes from a marketing company .
The faithful football fan deserves better. Much better.