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Tentacles of law enforcement are huge

Jun 03, 2015 Sports

By Rawle Welch
As football fans and administrators all across the world watch with much curiosity the chaos unfolding within the corridors of FIFA, many are discussing what the short and long term effects will be following the sudden resignation of long serving President Sepp Blatter yesterday.
The beleagured President’s 17-year reign was constantly mired in controversy with accusations of bribery and suspicious transactions the centre of allegations, but he somehow managed to survive until Monday evening when he announced his intention to resign, during a hastily organised press conference at FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
The announcement to resign was the result of mounting pressure applied by Governments, high ranking football officials and associations, urging the world governing body of the sport to reform the institution which was rocked by allegations of bribery and corruption that forced the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to issue indictments for a number of top FIFA officials in Zurich and the US.
The charges according to reports stem from the bidding and awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar, among other suspicious transactions.
The 79 year-old Swiss native resisted calls for his resignation as he sought a fifth term to remain the head of the most powerful Sport Organisation in the world and won the right to govern the sport after his rival Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein withdrew following the first round of voting at last week’s Electoral Congress.
Law enforcement officials and other agencies more familiar with the investigations have stated that it is early days and more persons could be requested as the probe into the scandal continues, but because the biggest contingent of those detained are from CONCACAF, many are asking what are the implications for the region’s governing body, especially in terms of its governance and qualifying competitions.
With the women’s World Cup scheduled to commence in a few days time, the big question is who will be the CONCACAF officials travelling to Canada to represent the Region, especially with the fear of further indictments.
The Region’s football is clearly at the crossroads, once again a major scandal involves officials from CONCACAF and this should be seen as an unhelpful state of affairs, one which could affect future support from the other big confederations since integrity seems to be absent.
Closer to home this could serve as a wakeup call for many who believe it is their right to preside over their respective institutions forever.
The manner in which they do this mirrors that of which FIFA is being accused of, cronyism, bribery and dangerously iron-fisted, but beware the world has become a global village where suspicious transactions and other forms of illegalities are being scrutinized and perpetrators brought to justice.
The powerful FIFA officials have been brought down, its hegemonic rule dismantled and those who’re guilty of such transgressions better beware. It is FIFA now, but the tentacles of law enforcement are huge and capable of spreading to all parts of the Planet.

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