[size=14pt]As govts rage, Fifa ready to fire back[/size]
It is threatening to suspend teams if it senses any government interference; is that overkill on its part?

By LEE U-WEN
ACTING DEPUTY FOREIGN EDITOR


FIRST it was France, followed shortly by Nigeria. And now, British lawmakers are demanding answers as to why England fared so poorly at the World Cup.
 
Last week, a British member of parliament slammed the English debacle at the World Cup as 'pathetic', even going so far as to file a parliamentary motion demanding action from his colleagues to voice their disappointment at the country's premature exit from the tournament in South Africa.

England - who entered as one of the favourites to lift the trophy - crashed out 1-4 to Germany in the second round. The Three Lions, led by Manchester United's top scorer Wayne Rooney, finished with just one narrow victory, two listless draws and that heavy defeat.

Conservative lawmaker David Amess was disgusted by England's showing, arguing that the team had 'let this country and their supporters down'. He wants to relook the state of the national game and points out that many players in the English Premier League are 'grossly overpaid and under-perform'.

But can sports and politics mix? And should it?

Fifa, football's world governing body, has long maintained that there should not be any political interference in the game.

The association's president Sepp Blatter has even threatened to ban France's national and club teams from international competition if French politicians - including President Nicolas Sarkozy - refuse to stop meddling in football affairs.

France, the 1998 world champions and 2006 runners-up, tumbled out of South Africa in the first round without a single win in what was supposed to be the easiest group. This followed their equally calamitous outing two years ago when Les Bleus failed to make it out of their group at the European Championships.

The French made headlines for all the wrong reasons as the team were consumed by one farce after another. The players refused to train at one stage to protest against coach Raymond Domenech's decision to send Nicolas Anelka home for disrespecting him, much to the horror of an expectant nation as they watched the drama unfold on live television.

Still, the French and English players should at least be thankful that they have not suffered the same fate as their Nigerian counterparts after the African hopefuls finished bottom of their group without a win.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was said to be so furious at the results that he suspended the side from international competition for two years to enable the country to 'reorganise its football'.

Whether this is a smart move or not remains to be seen. After all, how else can an underachieving team ranked a credible 21st in the world improve itself if it cannot play in competitive matches for two long years?

It's not as if the Super Eagles went out without a whimper as it restricted high-flying Argentina to a narrow 1-0 victory in the opening game, largely thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. Surely that must count for something, given that many pundits had expected Nigeria to lose by a much heavier margin.

The big debate is whether Fifa has the right to use such a heavy hand on governments that have, in fact, poured significant resources - money, bonuses, stadiums, etc - into their football teams.

Government leaders are reluctant to ignore outcries from the public whenever the team doesn't do well, and will try their best to improve things because this could earn them valuable votes when elections come around.

Fifa, however, is fearful that government interference could cause it to lose its control and power over the sport. Fifa has been harsh in the past with countries which have not followed the rules, suspending Greece (2006), Iraq (2008) and, most recently, Ethiopia (2010).

Nigeria has already banned itself from international competition. If France and England are not careful, they could well be next.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/specialfocus/story/0,4574,393095,00.html

Nigeria has already banned itself from international competition. If France and England are not careful, they could well be next.

Damn!