The Real Deal With FIFA, Club Football and ‘Slaves’
He’s not worth it. As a public-attention whore and someone whose main concern is to make FIFA look good in the eyes of press and the national associations as well as to help make FIFA more money, Blatter doesn’t represent the true opinions of a ‘guardian of football’ (as FIFA claims itself to be by virtue of being the supreme authority). He’s not worth the column inches printed about his comments today, so we’re not going to discuss that.
What I will point out is that club football and footballers in general are under attack by the likes of UEFA and FIFA – organisations created to protect international football, not promote club football or the rights of footballers. When Blatter – as FIFA spokesman – talks about slavery in football, in reality he’s attacking the power clubs have over the game and how that makes it harder for FIFA to arrange more international competitions and thus promote the game globally. When UEFA (pandering to the clubs by blaming player power instead) talks about spiraling wages, they’re afraid that players will refuse to bend to FIFA / UEFA regulations if their future is secure.
This has nothing to do with football or whether Ronaldo is being ‘held like a slave’ (interestingly, since Madrid haven’t made an offer or even an enquiry for Ronaldo and since the player himself hasn’t asked for a transfer, when has United ‘forced’ Ronaldo to stay?).
This is a turf war between international and club football, it’s been going on for ages and it will keep happening as long as the people in charge put their own belief systems and interests over that of the game.
Yes, wages are high. Yes, players leaving their clubs to play for bigger clubs (Barry to Liverpool) is a problem. Yes, fixture congestion in league football is a problem. There are solutions to all of this, but we’re not going to get there by pointing fingers and protecting our territorial advantage.
A perfect example of how FIFA could have made a marked difference in how football is governed and refused to is the goal line technology issue. FIFA vetoed the proposal despite the fact that the technology is sound, will instantly resolve at least half to 75% of all contentious goal-line decisions AND is inexpensive to install at the Premier League level. Why not give it a trial? There is no logical or justifiable rationale behind the veto, and every reason to go ahead with the technology.
The Premier League has the financial strength to defy FIFA and UEFA, and as clubs and leagues get increasingly richer it poses a problem for the authorities on how to ‘control’ them. The sooner they learn to work together as opposed to fighting them, the sooner we can get back to enjoying and improving the game instead of being tortured by this bitchfest engaged in by players, clubs and officials.
Sepp Blatter photo at Camp Nou courtesy of Oliver Fowler, Next Soccer Star.
Topics: English Premier League, Help Football
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Maybe I don’t understand the politics involved in it too well, but isn’t our Fifa Head going too far, ably assisted by equally absurd and irrational Platini?
July 10th, 2008 @ 19:52It not often that a agree with anything blatter says, in fact this may be a first, but he is right. Ofcourse he is being extreme with the talks of slavery but generally speaking he is right.
July 10th, 2008 @ 19:55Blatter is right only to the extent that an unhappy player is bad both for the player and for the team. So, it often is in the interest of the team to deal the player away. But the ball is in the team’s court, not the player’s. The team owns the contract and therefore has the right to decide if they want to bench a cranky player or try to get as much as they can for him. But that is their call, not the player’s. The player gets the benefit of being paid to play football.
Blatter need to shut his trap. How ridiculous to call players “slaves”. There are still thousands if not millions of people around the world that are REAL slaves. It is pathetic to suggest that these multi-millionaires are in any way comparable.
July 10th, 2008 @ 20:44A player is signs a contract that keeps him at the club for the length of the contract. He signs it willingly and knowingly, so if he has agreed to spend five years at a club, he is not ‘held’ or ‘forced’ to stay. If he did not want to spend half of his career at that club, than maybe he should have asked for a three year deal, or a two year deal. Thus, Blatter’s comments – as they have been reported by the media – are completley false and irrelevant.
The Webster clause is also suspicious. Where else, other than football, can you just buy out your contract without the belssing of your employers? My grandfather was refused retirement with 3 months of his contract left…
What I am getting at is that FIFA and UEFA and all the others want to do two things: a) keep players happy and b) keep the players in power. This way, they coerce clubs into staying put because players are happy with FIFA and UEFA and all the other bullshit organizations. That way, they ensure that their downfall is delayed by a few years.
The G14 was probably the greatest thing that happened in football, but they disbanded too soon. Apart from the fact that I disagreed with virtually every move they made, it was created for all the right reasons. It was created so that the power in football stays in the hands of those who benefit financially from football in legal ways (Moratti, Aulas, Glazer, etc.), not those who suck money out illegaly (Blatter and his mafiot gang).
Back to Baltter’s comments. He said something along the lines that players are traded (not treated) like slaves.
If you are unaware, in the USA in the first half of the 19th century, it was common for a landlord to go to his neighbour and offer him a sum of money for a certain slave. Naturally, the richer the landlord, the better the slaves and the better the slaves, the richer the landlord. See where I am going with this?
Blatter is half right. There is modern slavery in football and most clubs do benefit from it. But to say that players are treated like slaves is a completley other thing – and as much as I hate him, he never said that.
July 10th, 2008 @ 21:38I agree with you nearly in everything. Although the goal line technology I would’t really like having. I feel it gives more excitement to the game not knowing if it was or wasn’t until a the choice is made but if they start by that one day their gonna start putting challenges like in tennis and american `football´and it would take a lot of fun away. What they should do something about are divers, because that is cheating, “goals” on the lines that really aren’t is just bad luck.
July 10th, 2008 @ 22:54A contract is a formal and LEGALLY binding AGREEMENT entered into by two parties without the use of force or threats. Security is the very reason why club and player undertake such an arrangement. One party gives the assurance that he will safeguard the interest of the other.
Slaves can only dream of such luxury. They work hard in bad conditions for little or no pay at all. Branding these egocentric millionaires as “slaves” is simply foolish.
Instead of making harebrained comments FIFA should focus on more important matters that plague the beautiful game like racism, bribery, and violence.
July 11th, 2008 @ 02:54If players demand that they leave a club as and when they want, then what is the point of a contract? why not just have players on the roster, pay them when they come and dont when they dont? The longer contract you sign the higher salary you are likely to get. United would have never given Ronaldo 120 a week if he signed a one year contract. So why should he enjoy the luxury of signing a 5 year contract for a higher wage and fuck off after a year just because he wants to ? Its a very one sided argument to say footballers are being treated like slaves. How about footballers holding clubs to ransom saying i will use a bosman, buy myself out etc. if you dont pay me 150,000 pounds a week ? What really pisses me off is that how Real Madrid are not being ridiculed and ostracized after the whole affair. For 6 times a week a new interview claiming they where interested in signing him for about 2 weeks. Then for the next 2 weeks how they never said anything to begin with and want to stay out of it, the next 2 saying the fact that Ronaldo wanted to leave is causing all this and the last 2 weeks saying then have never done anything but all said and done would still love to sign him. you then have the head of FIFA supporting it all. You want to stop all this money/power bullshit in the game the first thing that needs to get done is punish Real by not letting then enter the transfer market for a year or something. I dont know if thats legal or not but someone needs to do something. People cite cases of Hargreaves to united as United being hypocritical but United never went to the extent that Real have gone. The solution to this would be a simple one. A max 3 year contract, a cap on salaries and mandatory minimum release clause on all contracts.
July 11th, 2008 @ 08:02It is really stupid of SB to call modern footballers as slaves. The world is afflicted with slavery where workers work on minimum wages and find it difficult to make ends meet. The Ronaldo’s earn a cool 120,000 pounds a week. Surely, they cant be slaves.
July 11th, 2008 @ 08:15Does anybody else feel that Blatter has blown his cover upon reading this:
FIFA President named honorary member of Real Madrid
Tuesday 21 November 2006
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter today received the title of honorary member of Real Madrid and a gold and diamond club badge from Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón at a ceremony held at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.
Shortly afterwards, the two presidents signed a collaboration agreement between world football’s governing body and the Real Madrid Foundation to devise and implement strategies to improve the standard of living of children all over the world, particularly in developing countries, through playing football.
“I am proud to receive this important distinction and sign this collaboration agreement with Real Madrid, a club which was a founder member of FIFA in 1904, was declared the Twentieth Century’s Best Club in 2000 and was awarded the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. I am convinced that together we can make a significant contribution to making the world a better place and, above all, bring joy and hope to young ones through our sport,” said the FIFA President.
“The future of our children continues to be a major priority for Real Madrid. It is truly an honour for me to be able to sign an agreement with FIFA that enables us to continue helping underprivileged children. One of my objectives as president was to restore the positive relations that the club has enjoyed historically with sporting bodies. Having President Blatter among us, his accepting the title of honorary member and presenting him with a gold and diamond club badge is a joy for Real Madrid that will live long in the memory,” said the president of Real Madrid.
This agreement is part of FIFA’s strategy to work in conjunction with clubs to develop social responsibility programmes that help to build a better world through football.
-Fifa.com
July 11th, 2008 @ 11:53May I suggest http://www.transparencyinsport.com as required reading for those of us concerned with the state of the representatives of football.
Tell me if your blood doesn’t run cold.
July 11th, 2008 @ 11:59apologies, that should read http://www.transparencyinsport.org not .com
July 11th, 2008 @ 12:08