The FIFA
Scandal and Putin's (Near) Admission of Guilt (Folha, Brazil)
"Heads of
state and government are expected to revel in the lancing of a festering boil
such as corruption in football. … Unlike other leaders, Putin prefers to use the
FIFA as an event in his war on the United States and as part of resurgent
Russian nationalism. … He uses it, therefore, as a geopolitical target, perhaps
to divert attention from suspicions about Russia's selection to host the World
Cup in 2018 (and Qatar in 2022). … It is a kind of preventive habeas corpus for the possibility that
Russia's right to host will be reconsidered, which would be a genuine
declaration of war on Russian national pride."
The reaction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the FIFA
scandal is almost a guilty plea regarding the granting of the 2018 World Cup to
Russia.
“This is yet another blatant attempt [by the United States]
to extend its jurisdiction to other states,” Putin
said of investigations launched jointly by U.S. and Swiss authorities.
Heads of state and government are expected to revel in the lancing
of a festering boil such as corruption in football.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
Unlike other leaders, Putin prefers to use the FIFA as an
event in his war on the United States and as part of resurgent Russian
nationalism.
He uses it, therefore, as a geopolitical target, perhaps to
divert attention from suspicions about Russia's selection to host the World Cup
in 2018 (and Qatar in 2022).
It is a kind of preventive habeas corpus
for the possibility that Russia's right to host will be reconsidered, which
would be a genuine declaration of war on Russian national pride.
Putin first used the Winter Games held in Sochi in 2014 as
propaganda to promote the Russian resurgence. He spared no expense to lend
luster to the competition, which was indeed a success.
Hosting the 2018 World Cup would be the next phase in his
strategy.
In the interval between competitions, Russia has annexed
Crimea, a Ukrainian territory, and interposed people to occupy the region known
as Donbass, which also belongs to Ukraine.
These actions led to a conflict with the Western powers, led
by the United States.
That is why Putin cannot allow the granting of the 2018 World
Cup to Russia to be put under suspicion – and even less be cancelled.
Clovis Rossi is a special correspondent and member of the Folha editorial board, is a
winner of the Maria Moors Cabot award (USA) and is a member of the Foundation
for a New Ibero-American Journalism. His column
appears on Thursdays and Sundays on page 2 and on Saturdays in the World
Notebook section. He is the author, among other works, of Special Envoy:
25 Years Around the World and What is Journalism?
