The Special Relationship? America and corruption

As news was coming in on Tuesday regarding the extraordinary development at FIFA, there was discussion as to why the FBI and US prosecutors were taking such an interest in FIFA affairs. Here, after all, is a country that doesn't have much football tradition. Yes, it has a reasonable team, it has staged a World Cup and would hope to hold further tournaments, but in terms of the global game, the US is not in its premier league. So why all the interest?

The most revealing explanation was that to do with Obama's agenda to root out corruption - wherever it might be. The world's policeman is the world's anti-corruption prosecutor as well. And to get a flavour of this, one only has to take a look at what was posted onto the White House's website on 24 September last year.

"President Obama and the US Government continue to drive a robust agenda to stem corruption around the world and hold to account those who exploit the public’s trust for private gain. Preventing corruption preserves funds for public revenue and thereby helps drive development and economic growth. By contrast, pervasive corruption siphons revenue away from the public budget and undermines the rule of law and the confidence of citizens in their governments, facilitates human rights abuses and organized crime, empowers authoritarian rulers, and can threaten the stability of entire regions. The United States views corruption as a growing threat to the national security of our country and allies around the world."

This briefing goes on at considerable length in explaining how the US has become a "global leader on anti-corruption efforts". Among its various "actions" include "working with other countries to promote anti-corruption, transparency and open government". Maybe the US had been talking to the Swiss Government and Swiss prosecutors. But while the reports were of FIFA and possibly Blatter being fingered, thoughts turned elsewhere. Spain.

Ángel María Villar Llona is the president of the Spanish Football Federation. He has been since 1988. He is also a vice-president of FIFA. In the recent vote for the FIFA presidency, Spain sided with Blatter. This was hardly surprising. When the spoils for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were announced, Villar Llona rounded on those who were accusing FIFA of corruption (principally the British media) by saying that "FIFA is clean and does things with honesty". He has echoed Blatter's sentiment that FIFA represents a football "family". When he was re-elected as president in 2008, he spoke of the "union between all the families of football". He taunted the English FA with its talk of "allegations", ones which should not be made about families. He was one of those who, when David Bernstein of the FA spoke out against Blatter, turned on Bernstein and the FA.

In 2010, a Spanish judge concluded that Villar Llona and other directors of the Spanish federation should be absolved of accusations that had been made against them, though the judge did say that there had been "abominable management in accounting for trips, expenses and purchase of foreign currency".

Villar Llona was due to have been restored as FIFA's head of referees, reward for backing Blatter in his re-election campaign; this, despite his facing possible sanctions related to the bidding for the 2018 World Cup. Where does Blatter's resignation leave Villar Llona?

But while the Spanish Football Federation may now look a little isolated within UEFA (not totally of course because the French, among others, had also supported Blatter), what about Spain, as in its government?

The US and Spain have generally had a strong relationship. It was the Americans who primarily brought Franco into the twentieth century by having - with the help of the likes of American Express - promoted the tourism which was to explode in the 1960s. The Americans also gave Franco military support. More recently, there were strains in the relationship because of Zapatero's opposition to the Iraq War, though Spain did then support US policy in Afghanistan. Under Rajoy, relations have been more cordial. But what about corruption?

As if the Partido Popular and the Spanish Government needed any more reminder of the issue, at the same time as the PP was getting a kicking in regional elections, there were more arrests in Valencia while a judge, in addition to opening proceedings against former PP officials in respect of the so-called "B accounts" affair, was fixing a civil bond of 1.2 million on the PP.

One looks at the wording from the White House statement of September last year. While some of it would not apply to Spain, some of it does. FIFA's affairs are one thing, but what of those of the Spanish Government? What does Obama make of corruption charges here? And what would the US make of Spain were it to be governed by parties of the left with anti-corruption agendas? 

Football: A Family Game

Some football's happening tomorrow. I had quite forgotten that the season was still with us, and had all but forgotten that Capello and England any longer existed. But they do, and they're playing Switzerland. Has the FA's favourite gnome of Zurich, Sepp Blatter, been invited along for the prawn sandwiches, do you suppose?

Actual games of football no longer seem to matter. It's all the other stuff that is so entertaining, and some of it is in Spain. Take Real Mallorca. A team that can contrive to almost be relegated on the last day of the season, having spent the entire season in mid-table obscurity, takes some beating.

Dottiness is never far away from Real Mallorca, and now the club is seeking to become the Brentford of La Liga; major shareholder and vice-president Llorenç Serra Ferrer possibly taking over the coaching reins. Serra, the Ron Noades, chairman/team manager, of Spanish football. To be fair to Serra, he is actually a coach; Ron just lived his own odd dream.

Real Brentford, once described by Sid Lowe of "The Guardian" as "rubbish" and having no fans, charges which revealed that there were indeed some fans, as they leapt to the club's defence, has, despite nearly clutching relegation defeat from the victory of staying in La Liga, been honoured in Sid's annual Sids. Just. Two players, Nunes and De Guzmán, are on the subs bench for Lowe's team of the season. And De Guzmán's an interesting character. Is he Dutch, is he Jamaican, is he Canadian? What is he exactly? Owen Hargreaves with his knees still intact.

Far, far more interesting, however, are the shenanigans at the Banana Republic of FIFA, and its own Spanish connection. Blatter has proved, like Iran's Ahmadinejad and Belarus's Lukashenko, that a touch of pretend democracy can go a long way in keeping a dictator in power. The delegates walked up, two by two, entering the ark above the flood that never really threatened to wash Sepp away, and dropped their voting slips into the box, watched on by Sepp muttering, "there, now, you know you're doing the right thing".

Among the members of the FIFA "family" who turned on the bleating black sheep Bernstein of the English FA was another interesting character. Spain's very own Sepp: Ángel María Villar Llona, the president of the Spanish football federation. Villar Llona's been in power even longer than Blatter has. He's carved out his own fiefdom. And like Blatter, a certain amount of mud has attached itself to his hands and knees.

Back in November, a judge formally archived charges that had been open against Villar Llona for several years. Despite, I quote, "abominable management in accounting for trips, expenses and purchase of foreign currency" as well as various other criticisms, the judge found that the president and other directors of the federation should be absolved of charges of impropriety.

On being re-elected, yet again, as president in 2008, the head of La Liga said of Villar Llona's re-election that this would mean "the union between all the families of football". Football certainly is a family game, and "allegations", that "beautiful English word", as Villar Llona taunted the FA with, should not be made about families.

In the 2008 election, when he was unopposed, Villar Llona polled 87% of the votes, a bit short of the 92% Blatter secured in Zurich, but pretty good going after 20 years. There was clearly no problem for him in that, two years before, he had managed to stun delegates at a UEFA conference by arguing that too much attention was being paid to racism in football.

It should have come as no great surprise that Villar Llona joined the queue to give the FA a good kick in the shins in Zurich. During the gathering to divvy up the spoils of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Villar Llona, rounding on those accusing FIFA of corruption (i.e. the British media), said: "FIFA is clean and does things with honesty. All of you (members of FIFA) are honest and hard-working and are concerned only for football".

Ah, the beautiful game, the beautiful family game, adorned by Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Guardiola's wonderful Barcelona. But even Barça can't avoid being dragged in. Villar Llona has spawned a word. "Villaroto". José Mourinho has used it, the Madrid football papers have used it. It refers to the alleged bias of the Barça-supporting president against Real Madrid.

Barça, more than a club. Football, more than a game. I nearly forgot, there's one on tomorrow.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.