FIFA President Infantino (R) hopes to quell the corruption within FIFA. Photo by ISI.
Long have rumors of corruption and scandal plagued FIFA. However, ever since Sepp Blatter was investigated for corruption and resigned, FIFA has tried to quell those rumors. Gianni Infantino, who took Blatter’s place and became the new FIFA president, stated from the beginning that he was trying to improve transparency and the ethics of the organization as a whole.
However, that newfound transparency may now be in danger. FIFA has decided not to renew both ethics investigator Cornel Borbely and ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert to their positions. They are currently overseeing several hundred ongoing investigations, including investigations into top officials. Borbely and Eckert feel that their dismissal will set these investigations back several years.
While no exact reason for why their contracts are not being renewed has been given, both of them feel that it is political. Many are questioning their dismissal, as they have successfully uncovered a series of ethics violations. Just last year, Infantino himself was investigated for possible ethics violations. He later was cleared, but many still question how deep the corruption in FIFA goes.
Today Maria Claudia Rojas and Vassilios Skouris were voted in by a landslide by FIFA to take of Borbely and Eckert’s positions.
Video courtesy of FIFA 2017. Photos courtesy of ISI.
