Sepp Blatter to quit as president amid corruption scandal

The "FIFA is corrupt to the core" argument misunderstands the nature of FIFA's corruption.

It's only the few decision makers that are relevant, it isn't like a government where there is something to be gained by bribery on each level, even the lowest civil servant. Unlike corruption in a nation, we are not talking about a culture of corruption that involves millions. There's no point in bribing just a lowly FIFA official or bureaucrat, most you can buy that way is easier access to the big boys.

That small group of corrupt decision makers is now rapidly diminishing, and there is not a long line of eager replacements, especially now that the feds are looking over their shoulders.

His show is awesome and really hit the ground running! Really makes the Colbert Report replacement (The Nightly Show) look terrible by comparison (started around the same time but to be fair LWT is once a week while TNS is 4 days/week). Looking forward to other things that John will bring into the light, I've learned quite a bit from his show (or rather his show has wetted my appetite to do more research on topics he covers).

Did Budweiser have anything to do with this?

And telling us how delicious it tastes.

what else did they try?

> Whenever a story appears to be such clear cut black and white with one evil villain

Whoever said there was one evil villain? Note that while Blatter may be implicated in the corruption investigation, one of the specific schemes already charged was an attempt to use bribes to motivate people to vote for Blatter's opponent in a previous FIFA election.

This doesn't look as much like a hierarchical conspiracy with one bad actor at the top, as a whole nest of -- sometimes cooperating, sometimes competing -- bad actors.

Blatter's strategy was usually too go against the UEFA, the European soccer confederation and the most powerful continental confederation. For example, he championed the South African World Cup bid for 2010. ( After the UEFA managed to get the 2006 cup for Germany.) And he presides over a remarkable increase in the importance of soccer.

So he gets reelected, because he is actually quite successful and has a clearly defined voter base. This base may or may not like the corruption, but that is simply not their main concern.

I suspect he was at least complicit. One other side of the story is this: Why does the US care? The answer is that if getting the World Cup essentially requires bribes then that makes it impossible for the US to compete, because bribery is prosecuted in the US. So this is less about justice than economic benefit.

It's FIFA regime change.

Sometimes evil villains simply are evil villains. Septics? ;)

The problem with corruption is that, in the absence of careful enforcement, you don't have to choose. Blatter has had both power and, I'd wager, a great deal of money for quite some time now.

> And i would be surprised if they can connect him with bribery etc. He strikes me as that kind of person who likes power over a bag of money.

Money and power are generally fungible, and you don't have to handle a bag of money at either end to be part of a conspiracy that involves financial crimes.

The leaders of criminal conspiracies probably generally prefer power to money, with money being interesting, to the extent it is, as a means to power.

I don't think FIFA's bylaws can somehow supersede those of every country on earth. This is a criminal investigation into FIFA by the US, not a FIFA investigation into a FIFA official by another FIFA official.

I know that the TPP is happening and it's being done without much oversight. But I suspect that if FIFA had somehow attained worldwide diplomatic immunity for its officials we'd know about it. And once an official stepped down, well, they'd then lose that immunity (not that it's ever existed) and would again be open to prosecution.

> I thought by FIFA's bylaws once a person leaves their position, all investigations into any ethics issues cease? Or is that just internal investigations?

Its just internal FIFA investigations. If a private organizations by-laws could cut-off criminal investigations, every criminal would be creating their own organizations with by-laws structured in a convenient way to do that.

Why would FIFA's bylaws have anything to do with a criminal investigation?

Obviously that's just internal investigations. The DOJ doesn't care about your employment status.

> Will Putin come to his aid?

Putin already tried to do so [0] by painting the corruption investigation as unjust US persecution.

[0] Well, more likely tried to pre-empt any effect the investigation of FIFA corruption would have on Russia's 2018 World Cup, but it amounts to the same thing in effect.

It's funny, the parallels between Putin and Blatter. They both have tried hard to hold onto power, knowing that when they lose it the skeletons will start flying out of the closet.

As long as the 2018 World Cup stays in Russia and attendance isn't hurt, why should he care?