Sepp Blatter and his world of corruption detailed in new Bloomberg exposé
Another day, another FIFA exposé.
This time around, Bloomberg Business did the damage, with an excellent dissection of all the murkiness, racketeering and profiteering that have seemingly become business as usual under Sepp Blatter's long and lamentable reign.
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In damning detail, the story's authors Tariq Panja, Andrew Martin and Vernon Silver laid out the extent of the corruption, reporting figures and tidbits that hadn't yet seen the light.
As all other exposés before it, their piece painted a picture of a world that's drenched in corruption and yet totally immune from consequences. Whatever outside agencies may attempt, the only real consequences and punishments are meted out internally, in whatever fashion happens to suit Blatter politically at that particular time.
The subject not explored is FIFA's impunity. Somehow, the organization has maneuvered itself into a position where none of its members can really be prosecuted for much of anything they do under FIFA auspices, much as some institutions might try. Headquartered in Zurich, the organization has immunity under Swiss law and creates a state-within-a-state when it puts on World Cups, ensuring an equivalent to the protection from local law that diplomats enjoy.
Articles like Bloomberg's are worthwhile and urgent feats of journalism – and this one was particularly sharp and well-crafted – but the net impact of it will ultimately be zero. Nothing has been able to stop Blatter's Big Graft Machine yet. Not investigations, not opponents in FIFA presidential elections and not internal reports. At most, he'll order another one of the latter, which will then be spun, redacted, half-published and swept under the rug.
His system benefits too many to ever be properly challenged. And if that continues to lower FIFA's cratering credibility, there aren't enough sufficiently principled men in positions of influence to do anything about it.
Blatter, ultimately, has stayed in power by spreading the wealth to an army of helpful and well-placed cronies – like any dictator with designs on a long reign would. His adversaries in the upcoming presidential election, while making noises about reform and transparency, have promised to raise the height of the financial contributions to the 209 member federations, which elect a president, from FIFA's bulging coffers. At the end of the day, all they're really promising in terms of tangible change is more money.
As the Bloomberg article points out in its conclusion – and as has been noted in this space before – they're really just trying to "out-Sepp Sepp."
Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.
