By Andrew Warshaw
June 2 – Heather Rabbatts, a member of FIFA’s anti-discrimination Task Force that was hailed when it was established as a key bridging block in FIFA’s reform programme, has stepped down following the arrest of the body’s chairman, Jeffrey Webb, as part of the US-orchestrated investigation into FIFA corruption.
Rabbatts said it had “not been an easy decision” but that her desire to try to tackle racism and discrimination was “outweighed by the disastrous effect on FIFA’s reputation of recent events”.
The decision of Rabbatts comes in the wake of English FA vice-chairman David Gill rejecting a place on FIFA’s executive committee while Blatter is president.
In her resignation letter to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, Rabbatts said: “Like many in the game, I find it unacceptable that so little has been done to reform FIFA. It is clear from the re-election of president Blatter that the challenges facing FIFA and the ongoing damage to the reputation of football’s world governing body are bound to continue to overshadow and undermine the credibility of any work in the anti-racism arena and beyond.
“My commitment to challenging discrimination across the game remains undiminished and I will continue to work with the FA and other international partners on this fundamental issue in our game.”
“I am withdrawing with immediate effect from the FIFA task force against racism and discrimination. My willingness to play a part in the development of policies in this area is outweighed by the disastrous effect on FIFA’s reputation of recent events.”
With FIFA’s medical chief Michel d’Hooghe, its longest-serving executive committee member, revealing in the Belgian media that he was now considering his position, Blatter is facing a potential internal revolt.
Already there is a growing external one. Danish UEFA ExCo member Allan Hansen has suggested staging a new competition featuring sides from Europe and South America to replace the World Cup while Sweden’s football authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a World Cup boycott or the possibility of UEFA breaking away from FIFA.
“It’s a very special situation and one must be prepared to take special actions,” Swedish FA chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson told Reuters. “Generally, the Swedish way is not to boycott things. Rather, we believe in influencing things from the inside. (But) it is a very special and extreme situation and we don’t close the door for anything.”
Nilsson said UEFA’s future strategy regarding Blatter and FIFA would most likely be discussed at length when European associations gather in Malta in September.
But Europe is far from unified in its opposition to Blatter and might consider to wait for the outcome of the twin FBI and Swiss investigations, rather than take action at an emergency ExCo meeting scheduled for this Saturday that could prove counter-productive.
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