Blazer Hits Out At FIFA Bidding Process – 3 Months Too Late

Chuck all use: Blazer shows his balls way too late

The FIFA Executive Committee’s hairiest and most huggable member, Chuck ‘All’ Blazer, has slammed the World Cup bidding process in an interview with the worthy but dull monthly football magazine, World Soccer. A mere several months too late, Blazer declared in the magazine’s March issue that “the whole process would probably be better if a concerted inspection was done prior to anyone being accepted as an eligible candidate”. What a brilliant idea! Why did no one think of this before?

Recommendations from the FIFA five-man inspection team were “ignored completely”, says Blazer. Well, we knew that as soon as the winners were announced. Blazer also says that fellow members of the ExCo were unwilling to properly discuss the inspections team’s concerns, and that many were swayed by vague promises of a “legacy” from potential host countries. Chuck says ‘legacy’. A cynic might say ‘bribe’.

Why didn’t Blazer go public with these concerns last year while the bidding process was still under way? And while we’re at it, would Blazer consider a “concerted inspection” to factor in a country’s human rights record? Probably not, judging by the happy half hour he spent with his “friend” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, so breathlessly documented on Chuck’s jetsetting blog shortly after he returned from Moscow.

Quote of the Week - Guardian on Khodorkovsky

Chuck and Vlad - men of influence

"It [the legal proceedings against Mikhail Khodorkovsky] has become a persecution and Khodorkovsky has entered the ranks of politically repressed. As such, whenever he is released, he will be a magnet for all the other injustices suffered under this regime. No one will believe President Medvedev when he talks about the rule of law in Russia. With Khodorkovsky sitting in jail, the president's words remain empty rhetoric. But outside it, Khodorkovsky will be even more difficult for the Kremlin to deal with." The Guardian evaluates why the Russian government only began to have a problem with Khodorkovsky's alleged thievery after he began disagreeing with the Kremlin and funding opposition parties, and why releasing him would now be a political problem for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 

We are convinced, however, that FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer will back up his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's assertion that "this and similar cases have a negative impact on Russia's reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations and improving its investment climate" by calling his very close new friend Mr. Putin to chat about the matter and persuade him to order a fair and transparent re-trial without state interference. Pick up the phone, Chuck! After all, Vlad owes you one for that 2018 vote.

Connecting Football With Politics

Former UK ambassador to Moscow, Anthony Brenton, writes pragmatically here about the human rights situation in Russia, in a week where the judicial verdict on multi-billionaire oil tycoon Mikhail Khodordovsky has provoked a far greater outcry from the European Union than, say, the severe beating of journalist Oleg Sulkin last month.

“On human rights issues we should not expect to make an early difference,” says Brenton, “or even to be listened to very politely, but we should nevertheless be very clear when we see our values being violated – particularly when those violations breach Russia’s international commitments (such as the European Convention on Human Rights to which, remarkably and encouragingly, Russia remains a party). For the West to remain silent on these issues (as depressingly many Western countries do) simply strengthens those inside Russia who believe they can continue to steal and torture with impunity, and weakens those brave Russians who are trying to stop them.”

Brenton argues that the transition from a corrupt and thuggish authoritarian state to liberal democracy is necessarily a gradual one, and will be the result of both continued economic development, and further international integration. So in the latter respect, awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia can be viewed as a catalyst for social change.