Bruised and Blattered: How Fifa's great survivor has stayed on top

May 30, 2013 5:43 AM

"On Sunday, Joseph S Blatter attended a ceremony on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to celebrate the renaming of the country's FA headquarters in his honour. The Fifa president would perhaps say it was a fitting tribute, given his promotion of African football and the amount of "development" money poured into the continent over recent decades. His critics would say it was typical of his egomania and note the importance of African votes in keeping him atop world football for 15 years."

More Blatter:

Female FIFA candidate is "good and good looking"

Anti-bribery expert resigns in frustration at lack of Fifa progress

How good was Sepp Blatter as a footballer?

Had enough Fifa/Blatter? You Be the Ref.

posted by marienbad (9 comments total)

Blatter was Havelange's protege and is not exactly adroit.
I would personally call them a pair of sleezy scumbags.
posted by adamvasco at 6:30 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

Blatter and his ilk are the corrupt scourge of football.

He doesn't deserve an FPP.
posted by xqwzts at 6:40 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

He doesn't deserve an FPP

Sunshine is still the best disinfectant. Which is why I predict no one will get sick at the 2022 World Cup.
posted by yerfatma at 6:48 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]

We'll see about that. The 2022 World Cup is a sign that at after Blatter is done destroying the ethics of world football, he wants to destroy its players by causing them to spontaneously combust.

Failing that, he'll just destroy the leagues by moving 2022 to a winter cup.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:59 AM on May 30, 2013

I'll give it to him: he's shrewd. Developing football in Africa (and Asia) is good for business, and only really bad for the game because it keeps him in power. I have fantasies of Platini ousting Sepp, but I don't think it'd be that different. Blatter must have dirt on somebody.
posted by kendrak at 7:10 AM on May 30, 2013

I'd say he must have dirt on everybody. A rotten apple in a rotten barrel.
posted by walrus at 8:05 AM on May 30, 2013

There's a lot more on corruption involving Blatter and others in FIFA as well as other sporting organisations at Transparency in Sport, run by Andrew Jennings
posted by Jakey at 10:00 AM on May 30, 2013

The wonderful Brian Phillips on Blatter
posted by haveanicesummer at 12:49 PM on May 30, 2013

Thanks for that Jakey.
Andrew Jennings writes a good story about one of the other powerful criminals in the game.
posted by adamvasco at 8:05 AM on May 31, 2013