Opinion: Victory for the self-righteous
July 21, 2015
February 26, 2016. At least now we have a fixed date for Joseph Blatter's departure as FIFA President. It's about time too.
Frustratingly, Blatter won't be stepping down on December 21, as UEFA and the North and South American associations had hoped. Even January 15, a seemingly fixed date, will not be his last day in office.
Until then, the president retains his power enough that the Baltter devoted members of the FIFA committee have stuck by him. A small success for the man from Switzerland and a bitter setback for his internal critics, such as UEFA President Michel Platini and Germany FA President Wolfgang Niersbach: Both of them are keen to remove Blatter as quickly as possible.
Reform yes, but not under Blatter
Rather than step off the stage in December, Blatter wants to spend the time focusing on reform. "Just step down after 40 years in charge of FIFA? No!" said the president. "40 years in FIFA and stepping down in the moment when something good has been put into place," is Blatter's desire. To do so, he has created a new Task Force. This is a favored reflex of Blatter's, as well as other FIFA officials keen on showing external critics that work is being done to solve the problems.
Nevertheless, the Task Force is supposed to be independent and out of the circle of Blatter's influence. So far, any of the ethics or expert committees involved all came to the same bizarre conclusion that everything was fine. That, or the critical insights and suggested reforms were simply ignored by FIFA. And all of this despite the fact FIFA themselves asked for the investigation but then weren't happy with the result.
You wouldn't begrudge FIFA reforms. They could turn football's governing body, one that is caught up in endless corruption scandals, into a respectable association again. The fact that at the end of his tenure, Blatter could claim those reforms for his own success is not music to football's ears.
Self-righteous and far from reality
The question remains: How believable is it for the man who has cultivated an atmosphere inside FIFA for years where corruption, money laundering and bribery have run the show to suddenly be its savior?
Joseph Blatter has, unsurprisingly, not asked himself this question. Instead, he used the 30 minute press conference to explain, in a self-righteous manner, that he had made no mistake and could do nothing about individual's misbehaving. He was quick to say he wasn't involved in the rebuilding of FIFA though.
More and more his future looks like to be heading towards radio, not the witness box. Perhaps there is a show in need of a host. In truth though, Blatter, who was never a great public speaker, will never work on a radio show. Just like the 2018 and 2022 World Cups won't be reallocated. Perhaps the theatre is Blatter's future. He's already stared in a comedy.