Auguste Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’, also displayed in this week’s cartoon (or, at least a variation of it), best qualifies the goings-on in FIFA, where the top floor stays lit up, even late at night these days.
It is the president’s windows to the front that shine some light on to FIFA’s front gates, while those of the Secretary General remain shrouded in darkness: there is no one left to occupy that space right now.
Ever since the Hollywood-style theatrical events of May 27, 2015 descended on the Home of FIFA, less and less light has been shed on what is really going inside a building that used to house the world headquarters of a governing body that ran the world’s favourite game.
While the present is rather oblique and oft inexplicable, the immediate future, FIFA’s own future, remains pretty much in darkness: President’s office lit or not.
The latest twists are hard to follow, ever harder to comprehend.
There is official talk of 2 million Swiss Francs having been paid nine years after a contract was fulfilled. There is further talk of an agreement having been signed between FIFA and the CFU, which appears to give cause for some concern, even if the lawyers – who never take responsibility for failure and only make themselves heard when fees and successes are to write home about – quickly stated that all was good with the CFU deal and so on.
On the face of it, and when one knows how such contracts are made, it seems fair to assume that the Marketing Department would have negotiated the deal (possibly by FIFA’s tv rights man Erikson), then passed it on to Legal, who normally would have passed it on to the Secretary General (then, the ‘Million-Dollar-Man’ Urs Linsi), who would have signed it, normally together with the Finance Director (that would have been, then, today’s Acting Secretary General, Markus Kattner). But that was not so. Of all contracts, it appears to have been the FIFA President who signed this particular deal. And any insider worth his salt will ask the very same question: Why? Why would Blatter have signed a deal that he certainly didn’t develop nor create, and a deal which was counter-signed by no other than CFU President Austin ‘Jack’ Warner. Why would he have, indeed?
It looks odd, it doesn’t look right, and we would certainly not be surprised by some equally certain further developments in this particular matter.
As for the 2 million Swiss Francs in fees, that seems pretty inexplicable even to a writer who may well be Platini’s friend. While all of his foes are having a field day, aren’t they?
The silence is deafening right now and nothing material seems to come forward on any front: Warner speaks about “Sepp Mother and Sepp Sister” when interviewed on local tv to offer some wisdom or comment, thus expressing his disinterest in speaking about virtually anything to do with FIFA, while the President is unavailable for comment as well, and the OAG, having made its own Hollywood style splash on Friday, this time without any US help, has been silent ever since, and goodly Michel and his advisers appear to be thinking. Just like Rodin’s man of bronze, and just like he, they say nothing. They all must be thinking. And one day they all speak. If not today or tomorrow, then maybe in a few days, weeks, months or years.
But who will run the show in the meantime?
Yet another question without an immediate answer. But yet another question worth asking.
February 26 is still some time to go. October 26 is ante portas and if not sanctioned, Michel Platini seems to be a shoe-in (although the betting men don’t think so anymore). But if he is not, who will be the man? Prince Ali? Hardly. Zico? Sure. Mr Chung? Now that would be a surprise. So who then, will run FIFA’s rapidly disintegrating affairs in the future?
What we believe is that a new man or woman, for that matter, is being prepared for the task as we write this. One, who is qualified by statute, and one nobody has considered… yet.
But only if Michel were to fall into his own sword.
And if not, we believe that he will be the man who inherits a rough job that, honestly, you would not wish on an enemy.
Except of course if he cannot run, in which case – if he is not sanctioned by then as well – Joseph S Blatter would continue to be the president…
And that is, if none of the other four or five candidates get 50% plus one vote.
Would any of them?
Let’s see.