EDITORIAL - Cleaning up the CFU

The banning of Mohamed bin Hammam for life shouldn't mean that FIFA is allowed to just close the books on the corruption scandal that has lately enveloped world football. There are still many unresolved matters to be dealt with.

That is why this newspaper supports the call by Transparency International (TI) for a further, and deeper, probe into that meeting in Port-of-Spain at which the disgraced, and departed, FIFA vice-president, Jack Warner, distributed brown envelopes, each stuffed with US$40,000, allegedly as bribes for Caribbean delegates to vote for bin Hammam in his crashed bid for the FIFA presidency. Bin Hammam, now the ex-boss of Asian football, provided the money, although he says it was a gift, not a bribe.

Up to the time of the scandal, Mr Warner was not only a bigwig in FIFA. He was also president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) as well as CONCACAF, the confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean football federations.

He is alleged to have run those organisations like private fiefdoms, operating with seeming impunity and surviving many scandals. This time he preferred to walk the plank rather than, it appeared, risk his chances to a tribunal.

Lingering stench

But neither bin Hammam's nor Walker's departure can, of itself, remove the stench that still clings to Caribbean football from this crisis.

The fact that FIFA's ethics committee found bin Hammam guilty of violation of its codes is axiomatic of its acceptance that not only did he offer Caribbean delegates the cash, with Warner as a critical conduit, but that some of the regional officials accepted the money.

Or, as TI's Sylvia Schenk put it: "If bin Hammam is punished for giving money, someone has to be punished for taking it. It can't be otherwise."

So an ugly, smelly stain remains on the CFU. The stench will not go away merely because it is ignored.

Indeed, every self-respecting citizen of this region, wishing to redeem the reputation of the Caribbean in world football, must insist that FIFA take this investigation to its logical end, letting the chips fall where they may.

Restoration of trust

The prosecution of these individuals can't be an end in itself. The larger issue is the restoration of ethical values and democratic governance to the management of important regional institutions, starting with the CFU, which had, essentially, evolved into an autocracy, with a leader surrounded by uncritical sychophants. Such systems are usually preserved by the leader, allowing the protectors of the throne to share in the pillage and enforcing the banishment, or excommunication, of those who tack to morality.

Cultures are not always easy to change, especially if reform is led by those who have contributed to the emergence and growth of the status quo, and perceive any critique of what exists as attacks on their personal stewardship. In that regard, the selection of new leadership of the CFU should not be a closed-shop operation.

Anyone seeking the presidency of the CFU should make public a platform of reform, including systems for accountability to the wider public. Regional people may not get to vote, but those who will seek to lead will do so in their names. They should, therefore, know what those who offer themselves stand for.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.