Is anyone surprised by any name released in regards to the ongoing criminal and FIFA ethics investigation? Perhaps one name did actually shock most of the soccer public, and that is German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer.
For most of his career, and especially hist post-playing days, Beckenbauer was seen as one of the good guys in the world of FIFA. However, on Wednesday his name was released by the FIFA ethics committee, alongside Spanish federation head and FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar have been under investigation from the ethics committee for awhile.
According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, Beckenbauer and Villar have been part of an “ongoing” investigation for some time now.
It all coincides with reports surfacing last week about potential bribes from the German bid for the 2006 World Cup.
At this point, nothing should surprise anyone with these investigations because it has become clear that the whole of the snake that is FIFA has been rotten for some time now, and potentially has always been that way.
Just think of a who’s who list of FIFA and soccer higher ups for a second….now, check out this list:
FIFA Ethics Committee investigating Valcke, Beckenbauer, Blatter, Platini, Villar, Makudi, Webb, Teixeira, Adamu, Figueredo & Leoz #FIFAGate
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) October 21, 2015
That is a list of all those under investigation within FIFA itself and potentially criminally (or already are). It also reads as a list of the biggest power brokers in the world of international soccer. We’ve got the head of FIFA, his right hand man, the head of UEFA and countless heads of powerful national soccer organizations all on this list.
As the saying goes, power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. Given the power both Beckenbauer and Villar had, is it any wonder they would be touched by this giant scandal?
With more of this snake unraveling, perhaps it is time for this organization to be put to rest and a new organization that serves with transparency and competence be put in its place.
It may be a radical move, but given the fact that nearly everyone within the heart of the organization we currently have leading the international soccer community, can it really be fixed from within?
Only time will tell, and a lot of that will come down to just how serious the investigation and punishments handed down by the FIFA ethics committee are.
