22/10/2015
11160 times read
22/10/2015
11160 times read
![Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli Former Minister of Oil](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Al-Baghli-215x300.jpg)
THE decision by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to suspend all Kuwait’s football activities under the pretext local laws do not correspond with international laws following government ‘interference’ in football affairs in the country is just a flimsy valueless decision.
FIFA is currently soaked to the skin in disciplinary complications and scandals of bribery involving high-ranking officials including Sepp Blatter a Swiss football administrator who has served as the eighth president of FIFA since June 1998 and Michel François Platini, a current football administrator, serving as the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007, who have been suspended for 90 days pending investigation for wrong doing that has muddied their integrity.
The most shocking revelation which has left many, including me, astonished is the fact that, FIFA and its officials, have ‘devoured the pizza’ from everywhere, and not only the wealthy countries such as Qatar and the US among others.
In fact, FIFA would not accept anything without it being seconded with ‘smoothies’, regardless of the country’s financial wellbeing.
The Federal Republic of Germany, with its might and strong sports infrastructure, is currently being accused of paying about 6.7 million Euros in bribe to host the 2006 World Cup.
This issue was raised last Saturday by the popular German sports magazine ‘Der Spiegel’, which said Germany got the right to host the 2006 Mundial after it bribed four Asian representatives to vote in its favor.
Another widely read German newspaper ‘Bild’ in its front-page headline asked ‘Was the (right to host) 2006 World Cup bought? Did we use corrupt means?’ The ‘Spiegel’ wrote ‘The 2006 summer story ... did we really buy everything?’ alongside a picture of the 2006 Mundial Cup and German supporters with their faces painted in national flag colors.
The ‘Der Spiegel’ accused the legendary German footballer Franz Beckenbauer, the former manager and coach of the German football national team, together with the current president of the Germany Football Federation Wolfgang Niersbach, for their role in the bribe scandal just to earn the right to host the World Cup that year.
The magazine added, the funding was done through a private account in which the money (6.7 million Euros) was deposited through the funding by German company ‘Adidas’, to buy the votes of four Asian FIFA executive committee members — the world soccer body that is drenched in scandals.
We tell our brothers and sisters who are angry and saddened by the decision of FIFA to suspend Kuwait from all soccer related activities that this decision was instigated by our sports officials and that it is a shame. We hope they will clear the mess before it is too late.
However, when it comes to FIFA, all we can say is, “if you receive slanders from a blemished person that would be a testimony of my perfection.”
e-mail: [email protected]
By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli
Former Minister of Oil