Platini vents over stalled Fifa change
UEFA President Michel Platini expressed frustration at the delay to reforms over age and term limits of senior officials at Fifa yesterday, in the week when it was supposed to complete a two-year transformation.
Platini suggested politics was at play and said he was not happy that his confederation had been painted as an opponent to change. After a Uefa meeting in Mauritius and hours ahead of the ceremonial opening of Fifa’s annual congress later yesterday, Platini spoke of those politics still being a part of the mechanism of Fifa, even after fierce recent criticism of its way of doing business and its apparent acceptance that it needed to change.
A debate and possible vote over limiting the age and number of mandates of senior Fifa officials was put back to next year at least by the Fifa executive committee this week, removing from this year’s agenda the reforms that could affect 77-year-old Fifa president Sepp Blatter standing for another term beyond 2015.
“Perhaps there’s some politics inside Fifa … but if they don’t want (the reforms), they’re not to say that it’s Europe (stopping them),” Platini said. “That’s my point to you because we followed (the reforms) from the beginning.”
Blatter, who attended yesterday’s Uefa meeting briefly, said this would be his last term when he was re-elected to the presidency in 2011 — a year when criticism of Fifa reached a crescendo over graft allegations. These related to the presidential vote and the choice of Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively.
But the Swiss football leader has hinted that he may seek reelection in 2015 for another fouryear term through to 2019, when he will be 83.
Perhaps there’s some politics inside Fifa, but if they don’t want the reforms, they shouldn’t blame Europe
Platini repeated Europe’s stance that it was in favour of the age and term limits and was exasperated with how long it was taking Fifa to make decisions on the issue, which is one of three reform areas not being addressed at this congress.
That has led to more criticism that the world body’s senior figu- res are putting off some changes meant to make Fifa more modern, transparent and accountable.
“It is two years that we speak about (age and term limit reforms),” Platini said. “And the postponement.
“In two years, do you think there will be an agreement?”
When asked if he thought there would be an agreement on the age and term limits at next year’s congress in Brazil, Platini — who is expected to be a future challenger for the Fifa presidency — replied: “No. No.
“Because it concerns Blatter, it concerns me, it concerns the age, it concerns people 83 years (old). It concerns the people who are judge and jury.”
On leaving the Uefa meeting, Blatter referred to the European confederation as “a good organisation” and underlined Fifa’s democratic processes through the voting at congress of its 209 member countries. But that democracy also could make it easy to delay taking decisions.
“Everyone is allowed to vote for what he wants,” Blatter said.
But when the Fifa congress gets down to business today, member countries would not vote on three areas of reform which the body is not yet ready to enact: Limiting senior officials’ age and terms, revealing their salaries and bonuses, and allowing independent observers onto Fifa’s powerful top table, its decision-making executive committee.
Fifa insisted this week it was implementing “the majority” of the reforms recommended by a panel headed by Swiss law professor Mark Pieth, claiming changes to its ethics committee, financial structures and how future World Cups are decided as evidence of reform. Sapa-AP