Not surprisingly, an attempt by England to hold off on the coronation of Sepp Blatter, pictured above, for another term as FIFA president failed today. A disheartening 172 of 206 voters went with the status quo.
Blatter claims that he's heard the call for reform and is the man to do it. Never mind that he's 75-years-old and has been in charge while the shenanigans have been going on. He's the man to lead the sport to a pure, new beginning.
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He's right. It is undignified. As stated, it has been for a long time. If we are to be stuck with Blatter for another four years then it's imperative that the media and the public continue to make him uncomfortable moving forward. Let him have the presidency, but make him actually work.Reforms will be made, not just touch-ups but radical decisions and necessary reforms. We must do something because I do not want ever again the institution of FIFA to face this again, which I must say is undignified.
Is it naive to think he'll work towards necessary reforms? Likely, but it's better to be naive than cynical. We've been cynical for too long and it's gotten us nowhere.
That's the feeling of English FA chairman David Bernstein. He wasn't expecting to carry the day today, but he wasn't about to sit back and just let it be.
"To get 150-odd votes clearly would be extremely difficult when we’re starting from a standing start but there was actually a matter of principle involved. Myself and the FA feel that the situation FIFA has got itself into is in many ways unacceptable. Going forward in this situation if he does with a coronation rather than an election I don’t think that does anybody any good - including Mr Blatter."
When it comes to this whole mess, Bernstein does seem a little more sincere than most, but then again it's hard to tell.
More as it develops...