http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/28/politics/fifa-vladimir-putin-world-cup-corruption/ is the link. And the subject is the corruption in FIFA.

  This article from CNN published on the 28^th of May 2015, has for title “FIFA scandal: Putin accuses U.S. of ‘illegally persecuting people’”. We all heard about the scandal that FIFA is passing by; many high profile names in the organization have been arrested for turning some world cup bids into corrupted bids. Most notably, the World Cup who will be held in Qatar in 2022, and that seemed to be quite a shock. Many were waiting one of two names, Australia or the U.S., but Qatar got the nod instead. The same problem happened for the election of 2018, when England were more than sure of hosting this event, the most recognized worldwide, but Russia got it instead. So, we all know the rivalry between Russia and the US, it seems quite an old rivalry, starting before the cold war, and the hate between those two superpowers is still present till today. Therefore, after reading the speech of Putin posted on CNN, I will give my own opinion about this matter that is hitting our world hard nowadays.

   After allegations that the bid for the 2018 World Cup may also be corrupt, Putin refused such claims and launched a war of words with the US authorities responsible for the arrests of FIFA officials “Putin said -- suggesting that's one reason U.S. authorities went after FIFA. (Along with being at odds with Russia on numerous issues, the United States bid unsuccessfully for the 2022 World Cup that was awarded to Qatar, an Arab nation with little soccer history and a climate with scorching summer temperatures.)” (CNN, 28^th of May 2015, Greg Botleho). Putin proves with his arguments his hate towards the US, who in his opinion, think they can manipulate everyone as they wish. But I disagree with Putin, because since Blatter’s appointment in late 1990’s, FIFA has been more than a corrupt organization, following money. Many world cup bids proved to be bought, and many transactions worth millions were found on FIFA authorities’ bank accounts for no reason, and with the series of events it shows that the world cup bids were bought. The US were not able to prove yet more than the one of 2022 in Qatar, but claims that others were bought as well may be true, but we can’t be sure about that. Putin also said that "The USA definitely (has) nothing to do with this," (CNN, 28^th of May 2015, Greg Botleho), but in my opinion, anyone that can stop corruption and is ready to do so has to do with this. Because this is not Putin’s world or the US’s world, it is our world, the one of every living person on it, and the ones willing to fight for justice and to end corruption have the right to do so, and we must be thankful. And I will want to add one argument to prove what I said. We can see the wages of football players, some earning 20 million pounds a year, and still moaning, asking for better wages, and this proves that football is becoming a sport related to money, and nothing else. Pele, the greatest players of all time played once in Lebanon for a charity game, they didn’t need to pay him a lot, he enjoyed playing football, and it was his passion and his love towards football. But that has evolved nowadays, if you will try to bring a second division you will pay a lot more money than we used to pay to get Pele. Football has changed now, it is not more about passion, it is more about money, and that shows that the whole organization seeks money, and is actually corrupted.

  Furthermore, I can understand Putin’s disappointment in relation to the US digging into the bids, because maybe Russia didn’t cheat, and Putin is sure of that, and is fed up of this situation, where the US do whatever they want. In his opinion, it is for personal reasons that the US are digging in this matter. The 2018 world cup will be held in Russia, the number one rival and enemy of the US, the only country who may have to power to be a direct rival to the US. The hate between these two started more than 50 years ago, and this ongoing rivalry doesn’t seem to end. This quote "This does not concern us." (CNN, 28^th of May 2015, Greg Botleho) from Putin shows why he may be fed up. The US will always try to find a dirty work Russia made so that the world will see the dark side of their enemy, and Putin used this speech to distance himself from suggestions he is part of that corruption. He arrived to the point of taking FIFA’s side, and says that the US has no proof against the people arrested, but it is a kind of vengeance for losing the 2022 bid. Putin seems to be very clear with every idea he imposes, he shows his strong character, and proves that he is willing to make sure people don’t believe the US he labels in other words, liars. He then aboard the subject of the problems between Russia and Ukraine, and says that the US are trying to make a big deal of this story so that they take the world cup from Russia and host it in another country. So for every argument the US throws against him, Putin has a response, and it seems clear he is more than convinced about what he is saying, and is willing to prove to the world that the US are the bad people in all of this mess, and not FIFA. We may all understand that Putin may exaggerate a bit with the arguments he gives, but that is nothing more than a proof he wants the US to stop framing people in such situations, or create scenarios that people will believe. He wants people to link everything on order to find the truth by themselves.

  To conclude, I would like to say that I disagree with most of what Putin says, but I may be able to understand why he is saying all of that stuff. This shows that he is fed up with the US following every matter that happens on Earth, and would want them to stop, because they are ready to do everything to ruin Russia with every opportunity that arise. But in my opinion, and thanks to the examples I gave, I can say that FIFA has become an organization that chases money, and that football is not anymore a sport we practice and play because we love it, some players sees it as a job for 15 years, get all the money they need, and then live happy for the rest of their lives. They don’t need to work anymore after that, and most of their career end at 35, so they have between 40-50 years to live their life without working, with more than enough money to take care of their family.

Works cited:

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/28/politics/fifa-vladimir-putin-world-cup-corruption, CNN, 28^th of May 2015, Greg Botleho.