So Sepp Blatter has substituted himself hardly 30 seconds into the second half, or rather the fifth half. But his rhinoceros skin still doesn’t seem to have been breached. His parting shot contained a bewildering statement: ‘We need a limitation on mandates and terms of office. I have fought for these changes but my efforts have been counteracted.’ If so, then why didn’t he take a lead by the simple expedient of not standing for a fifth term as Fifa president last week? It is a bit rich insisting on standing for an office and then claiming that you had spent your previous term fighting to abolish your right to stand.
But don’t expect Fifa to elect in Blatter’s place a candidate who is going to revisit the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, or to please the English footballing establishment in any other way. Fifa’s decisions baffle us not just because they may have been arrived at via corruption but because we are not used to the concept of a global democracy where Eritrea or the Cook Islands have as much a say as does England. Fifa is like the United Nations without the Security Council to ensure the hegemony of the richest countries.
It also has more members than the UN: 209 as opposed to 193. The centre of gravity of football’s international governing body lies a long way to the south of Europe. England and Uefa can break away if they want to, but they shouldn’t expect others to follow to some alternative world cup where England can effect a repeat of past glories on Wembley turf. England’s football establishment can’t accept that it doesn’t have a right to win. Just look how it bleated when England had to play its opening match in last year’s world cup in humid conditions in the rain forest.
Other European footballing powers are the same. Remember how Italy screamed blue murder when it was beaten by South Korea in the 2002 quarter final? It didn’t seem to occur to Italy that countries outside Europe and South America have the right to win matches, too. If they do, it must be down to cheating – unlike, of course, the divers and choppers who help the established teams win.
Blatter has gone. But don’t expect his replacement on the bench to be any friendlier to England. He is almost certain to hail further from Wembley than does Blatter, and will see no reason to do us favours.
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