Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini charged in Switzerland: Does FIFA need to do more to combat corruption in world football?

Article updated to include recent revelations of investigative journalist Romain Molina.

On November 2nd, Swiss prosecutors charged Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini with a plethora of offences, including fraud, criminal mismanagement, and forgery of a document. Blatter, the former president of FIFA, and Platini, former president of UEFA, have long been accused of corruption while occupying their former offices, yet were not charged in the 2015 corruption scandal that saw FBI and IRS probes uncover a plethora of bribery and money laundering activity within the governing bodies of world football. 

The new case, one of the first to criminally indict the former executives, claims that in 2011 Blatter made Platini a payment of two million Swiss francs (US $2.19 million) for advisory services. While this does not appear at face value to indicate malpractice, the payment occurred nearly a decade after Platini left his role as FIFA advisor, and while he was the UEFA boss. Both men claim that they did nothing wrong, while Swiss prosecutors claim that the payment “damaged FIFA’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini.”

The disclosure of Blatter and Platini’s relationship and its associated charges have followed several years of revelations regarding corruption in top-level football administration. Corruption exposure has expanded beyond the ideas of “fixers” and “paid off refs” to encapsulate the executives of world-renowned club teams and regional governing bodies. In February 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chairman of French giants Paris Saint-Germain and media group BeIn, was charged with bribery for offering then Secretary General of FIFA, Jerome Valcke, the exclusive use of a Sardinian villa in exchange for BeIn Sports acquiring the television rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in the Middle East and North Africa. While Al-Khelaifi was eventually acquitted, Valcke received a 120-day suspended sentence and was ordered to repay FIFA US $2 million in a series of forgery convictions. 

2015, the landmark year that saw the indictment of tens of FIFA officials, confirmed the long-held beliefs of football supporters around the world that FIFA was involved in corrupt practices. The US-led probes uncovered several major incidences, including the discovery that US $110 million were paid in relation to the United States receiving the right to host the 2016 Copa America Centenario. Another breakthrough came as reports surfaced that Valcke transferred US $10 million from accounts controlled by the president of the South African Football Association to the head of CONCACAF, Jack Warner, in exchange for votes for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup. Add to this a series of corruption charges related to the granting of television charges, it is no surprise that the FIFA Ethics Committee has banned several executives who had been in office for decades. 

Now that the public is aware of the corrupt practices behind the organizations that run their favourite sports, and new developments are being brought to light annually, many have wondered what FIFA can do to clean up the game. Gianni Infantino, the current president of FIFA, has stated that FIFA is ready to invest in an anti-corruption agency to address financial corruption, match-fixing, and organized crime’s influence in the game.  At the 2021 G20 Summit in April, Infantino also issued an 11-reform plan to secure FIFA’s integrity. These reforms included a transparent bidding process for potential World Cup hosts, term limits and eligibility checks for elected officials, and the separation of FIFA’s political and executive powers. 

To regain trust, FIFA will need to do more to work on its transparency, a historical problem for the organization. Public accountability will be key. A first step will be to educate the public on the inner workings of FIFA processes, including tournament bidding protocol and election procedures. FIFA must also work to foster a culture of openness within the organization. It is evident that many knew of the corrupt practices embroiling the organization prior to the 2015 crisis, but adequate incentives to come forward were inexistent. Creating an anonymous channel to report malpractice within the organization and forming an independent investigative body may be effective options moving forward. Adding a regular review of executives’ financial engagements would allow for corrupt practices to be caught and addressed in a way that does not necessitate a scandal and lead to institutional instability. 

Another possible way forward is via an “anti-corruption investment fund” where each member team of FIFA, whether a domestic club or international team, pays a small “tax” or “fee” toward each year’s fund. The fund could finance the independent investigative body, and also act to incentivize teams to behave in a transparent and honest manner. Pending a review of each teams’ operational practices throughout the year, teams with no or low corruption could be paid out an award for their commitment to accountability and fair play. Those with higher levels of corruption would not benefit from the fund’s payouts. Bonuses from the fund may also be paid to FIFA or regional body executives who promote anti-corruption practices and pass regular conduct reviews. Of course, this method would need to account for underlying reasons for different “corruption scores”: variations in law, cultural practices, and the implications of the corrupt action. 

Now that football fans’ fears have been confirmed about malpractice within the sport, and scandals are becoming more common, it is time for change. A commitment to halting corruption and holding perpetrators accountable is needed from FIFA to protect the integrity of the game for future generations. 

Update as of November 19, 2021:

Amid the Blatter and Platini scandal, investigative football journalist Romain Molina has unveiled a plethora of criminal and deviant behaviour in the sport during a Twitter Space event. Molina, who has been published in The Guardian and The New York Times) and whose work has influenced conduct in major footballing associations, has come forward with several claims that could shake the foundations of teams, leagues, regional bodies, and FIFA. Molina detailed sexual misconduct in several footballing institutions, including sexual abuse in international women’s youth teams, the rape of minors by an international coach during a tournament, and a team cover up of a pedophilia scandal at a Ligue 1 youth academy. 

Molina further claims that more than 400 plus current players in the two top tiers of both English and French football are rape victims, having suffered the abuse in their youths. Other allegations involve the payment of African FA officials with prostitutes, the fixing of transfer market deals and football matches, and the disappearance of footballers related to human trafficking. The list of claims noted here is not exhaustive and involves several other horrible acts, which Molina said he would shed further light on in the coming months. 

If Molina is right about his allegations, as he has been in the past, FIFA will need to answer with swift and immediate action. Targeting corruption in FIFA related to “damaged assets” is one thing, but the immediate priority of prosecutors and FIFA executives must be these revelations. Lives are at stake.