Will football ever be free of sleaze? FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, launched an inquiry this month into how it operates, but those in the know don’t rate its chances of success. One of the highest priorities in the Netherlands is to stamp out corruption, but the Dutch FA is accused of not being tough enough.

Transparency International was supposed to play a part in the FIFA inquiry. The anti-corruption watchdog withdrew, however, after it became known that the commission leading the probe was to be paid by FIFA itself. TI said this could be seen as compromising the inquiry’s independence.

TI is also critical of the decision not to look into recent cases of suspected graft which are already under investigation. The inquiry’s Swiss chairman, Mark Pieth, defended the decision:

“I don't care to rake up all that muck. I think I can be of much more use looking into the future. I need to convince people, rather than take them to court.”

Russia and Qatar
Mr Pieth acknowledges there has to be a certain amount of investigation into the past. But he continues to resist calls for the inquiry to look into why the Russian and Qatari bids to stage the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 respectively were successful.

The decision to award the 2022 competition to Qatar is especially controversial, following the suspension of the country’s FIFA board member, Mohamed Bin Hammam, for bribery.

The reason for limiting the remit of the FIFA inquiry is the subject of continuing speculation. Some believe national football associations have vested interests in following the FIFA line.

Football journalist Johan Derksen doesn’t pull his punches. He’s gone on record to accuse members of the Dutch FA (KNVB) of angling for FIFA jobs and other favours. “It’s a close-knit clique. As long as Blatter’s there, FIFA will never be transparent,” was what he had to say about Sepp Blatter, the international soccer federation’s controversial president.

Openness
The KNVB has accepted the position taken by the inquiry commission. This is despite the fact - if it’s true that Mr bin Hammam did offer bribes in support of Qatar – that the Dutch-Belgian bid for the 2022 World Cup failed unfairly. All the KNVB will say is that it has urged openness within FIFA, that it’s keeping abreast of developments and has nothing to add to Mr Pieth’s comments.

Paul Arlman of the Dutch branch of Transparency International describes this as a missed opportunity:

“I’d advise the KNVB to get tough, not only with FIFA, but also with Dutch public opinion. I think it’s very important, in the light of all the problems in the soccer world, that the KNVB makes its presence felt.”

(mw)