Football holds no appeal for me even though I used to be a Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder.
I stopped going years ago but completely lost interest when money properly took over the game.
The obscene amounts charged for tickets and season tickets, the equally obscene sums paid to its overrated players, huge sponsorship deals and eye-watering numbers involved in television rights all made me not want to ever contribute again.
But even with my entire lack of interest in the game, I’m aware of the corruption allegations that have plagued FIFA for years and now, finally, something is being done about it thanks to the Americans.
As much as I hate the US for dictating to the world how it should behave and trying to enforce its will on other countries, I love it for having the balls to stand up to this stinking, rotting organisation.
Good for the Swiss too for launching their own probe into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar. Competitions on which England spent millions bidding for.
So far 14 Fifa officials have been arrested, big banks are implicated (surprise!), sponsors are threatening to pull out and its revolting president, Sepp Blatter , says there is more bad news to come.
Well if he knows that, how can he claim to know nothing about the behaviour of those who have
been charged?
He’s like Manuel in Fawlty Towers, “I know nothing, I know nothing”.
But even if he didn’t know – and I’d wager that is highly unlikely – all the alleged crimes happened on his watch so it is dear Mr Blatter who bears the ultimate responsibility.
Yet he refused to resign and shamelessly stood again for re-election as President, winning his fifth term.
His pious victory speech literally made me bilious. All who voted for him should hang their heads.
How can FIFA possibly clean up its act with Blatter at the helm? If corruption flourished under him in the past, it will continue to do so.
As the saying goes, a fish rots from the head down.
If this man stays in his job, there’s no hope stamping it out and FIFA will never get back the respect it needs to do its job.
