FIFA Drops “Corruption” From Code Of Ethics After Years Of Corruption

TheSportster

By Rodrigo Lobato

Published Aug 15, 2018

FIFA is not known for their straight and narrow practices, which is why it's hilarious they dropped the word "corruption" from their Code of Ethics.

After decades of corruption by the supreme organ of soccer – FIFA, the new administration found a way to eradicate it, simply avoiding putting the word in its new code of ethics.

The Associated Press published a report in which it exhibits a series of irregularities in the new code of ethics of the football association. The word "corruption" is entirely missing in the document, it will be easier for officials and players to commit acts of bribery due to the new rules of the prosecuting investigations, and on top these now they would be able to ban any officials found to have made any public statements of a defamatory nature towards FIFA. What better way to clean their tainted image than just avoiding talking about the controversial topics in which they have been involved.

Gianni Infantino became the new FIFA president on February 2016, after the former president, Sepp Blatter, was ejected from the organization due to multiple accusations of acts of corruption along with dozens of leaders and entities of the world. During Infantino's term of office, he has repeatedly stated that FIFA's corruption crisis is over, although he has been accused of violating governance rules, ousting the ethical leadership and forcing the departure of leaders who threatened his position in the organization, for example, getting rid of key members of the ethics committee. Probably those who opposed removing the word corruption.

The report says that "the word corruption was scrubbed as an official misdemeanor during secret meetings where executives thrashed out the first overhaul of the code."

Regarding bribery, it is still prohibited in the new code of ethics, however previously, the code of 2012 indicated that the investigation of bribes and corruption was not subject to a limitation period. It didn't matter how long it took the investigators; the author could be sanctioned. The new code establishes "Bribery, misappropriation of funds and the manipulation of football matches or competitions can no longer be sanctioned after a period of 10 years."

Finally, the new code of ethics allows FIFA to ban anyone who defames the organization. Although this section is very vague, the ethics code says that whoever defames the organization will be dismissed from any football-related activity for up to two years, and they could be dismissed for up to five years for repeated severe cases.

“Persons bound by this code are forbidden from making any public statements of a defamatory nature towards FIFA and/or towards any other person bound by this code in the context of FIFA events.”

FIFA already released a clarification concerning the revised FIFA Code of Ethics, where they explain that the title of the article “Bribery and corruption” was changed to “Bribery” for reasons of language clarity in the English, Spanish, and German versions.