Czar Blatter: The man behind the curtain?

Why am I the only one willing to question the divine origin of all words spoken by Czar Blatter I? When the Czar speaks we all tremble, but no longer shall I be fooled by him who speaks from his ivory tower deep in the European countryside.

What is he talking about?

The man behind the curtain refuses to address the real issues plaguing the game of soccer because he can afford to. FIFA is the chair of "The Beautiful Business": They are in charge of the world's most popular sport, its rules, and directs sovereign countries on how they should play the game. Meanwhile, FIFA buries its head in the sand when faced with the everyday issues surrounding the game, such as corruption on the field such as biased referees, and corruption off the field involving refusal to get tough on crimes based on race, religion, or creed directly impacting the game. The "Old Firm" rivalry of Scotland, the treatment of black players in Spanish or Italian league matches, or the collapse of the South African infrastructure as a result of the 2010 World Cup are issues FIFA ignores, for example. "What to do about gameplay" is a minor issue in light of these blights on the game of soccer.

If he must tweak gameplay, however, keep the rules the same and introduce goal-line technology. The technology is there, but for reasons unknown or outdated the Czar maintains the status quo on bringing soccer into the twenty-first century.

"Soccer in the lower levels does not have video review; why should we?"

This is a paraphrased rebuttal Czar Blatter uses whenever goal-line technology or "video review" comes up. Other sports use this technology because it makes the game better, helps the referees get it right, and brings legitimacy to the game. However, like the microphones wired to the heads of some World Cup referees, FIFA does not use them. This is the benefit of being the monopoly or lone shareholder of soccer. No timetable, no business rivals, and every person on this planet, even soccer haters, must ultimately go to FIFA for the final word.

Well, I'm not going to play the fool anymore. I don't need Toto to pull back the curtain to reveal who is really at fault for soccer's current malade (is that a word?). Czar Blatter: Abdicate.

This blog post is dedicated to the memory of my cousin Carl Headley in England, who passed away from a sudden illness. We miss you, Carl.