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The FIFA Scandalometer™: Ranking this week's FIFA controversies in order of turpitude

As criminal proceedings start against FIFA President Sepp Blatter, we take a look at what has bee...



The FIFA Scandalometer™: Ranki...
Soccer

The FIFA Scandalometer™: Ranking this week's FIFA controversies in order of turpitude

As criminal proceedings start against FIFA President Sepp Blatter, we take a look at what has been a terrible week for FIFA, and see which is the most scandalous of the scandals rocking the institution. 

Our patented invention, the FIFA Scandalometer™, will measure each wrongdoing on a scale of one to five, based on how much trouble they're likely to see for it. 

5) Confirming the Winter World Cup

A move that had been mooted for a while by the organisation, this is still a pretty big scandal. Other nations made their pitches on the basis that they were competing for a tournament that simply had to be held during the summer, as were the other nations involved.

FIFA have dismissed concerns that they could be on the hook for compensation as a result, saying that the small print referred to a possibility of a date change, but that might not stop the other bidders at least kicking up a fuss now that the whole organisation looks to be in disarray. 

That, and it will be strange to watch the World Cup final a few days before Christmas mean that the Scandalometer™ awards it a score of 2/5.

4) Extraditions during the week

It didn't make as big a splash as the news that Blatter was under investigation, but there have been several extraditions approved over the last few days that were a sign that the net is closing on the corruption in FIFA.

Former Venezuelan football official Rafael Esquivel's extradition to the United States to face charges of taking bribes was given the go ahead on Wednesday, former FIFA vice-president Eugenio Figueredo is set to appeal the ruling that approved his extradition from last week, and proceedings against Jack Warner were approved by Trinidad's attorney general on Monday. 

All together, there are some very influential figures involved, so the Scandalometer™ has ranked it 3/5

3) Cancelling an Executive Committee meeting in Japan

The next FIFA Executive Committee meeting was due to take place in Japan in December during the Club World Cup which will also be held there, however after a meeting in Zurich this week, they decided they would decide on the "place and date" this week. 

The risk of some of their committee members getting arrested would have been significantly higher in Japan, given that they have an extradition treaty with the US, so it seems as though Zurich is the preferred location for the meeting. 

Even with everything else going on, this is some seriously bad PR, with a Scandalometer™ ranking of 3/5.

2) Jérôme Valcke going "under the bus"

Valcke has had his own problems this week, but according to The Guardian, it seems that they might have come about as a result of his decision not to run for the FIFA presidency.

Sources told of how the Frenchman believes that as a result of that and the fact that he was trying to negotiate a payoff to leave early, Blatter decided it was time that Valcke made his exit, "and that the bigger the scalp, the better it looked for Blatter himself". 

If true, this is amazing, leaving the Scandalometer™ tipping the scales at 4/5.  

1) Sepp Blatter

Although he remained untouched up to this point, criminal proceedings have begun against the FIFA president, leading to him being interviewed by Swiss police today as well as his office being searched. 

Michel Platini has also been named in the investigations, after he apparently received a "disloyal payment" (a payment not in the interests of the employer) from FIFA, and while he has been giving evidence, his implication here could have huge consequences for his own shot at the presidency, with him widely believed to be shaping up to succeed Blatter when he finally leaves next year. 

The Scandalometer™ simply can't handle this type of carry on, it absolutely has to be endgame at this stage for Blatter, busting the ranking scale at 7/5. 

That's all for this week (that's right, one week) but when more scandal hits, the Scandalometer™ will return to pass its verdict on all opprobrium, as required.

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