FT社評 樂見美國對國際足聯舉起大棒

Fifa has long operated with a sense of impunity, airily dismissing the persistent allegations of bribes and kickbacks that have dogged its leading executives. But in the early hours of Wednesday, its sense of entitlement was finally punctured as US prosecutors unveiled charges of “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted corruption” at world football’s governing body.

國際足聯(Fifa)長期以來都在擁有“免責權”的優越感中運行，能夠輕而易舉地擺脫對其主要高管反覆出現的、涉嫌收受賄賂和回扣的指控。但週三清晨，隨着美國檢方公開指控該世界足球管理機構存在“猖獗、系統性和根深蒂固腐敗問題”後，這種特權感終於被打破。

After years in which governments looked on passively at Fifa’s untransparent dealmaking, the US Justice department has acted. At its urging, the Zurich police have arrested seven Fifa officials, including two vice-presidents, in a dawn raid. Even the hitherto docile Swiss authorities have opened criminal proceedings into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 world cup tournaments — a process that has long begged for closer scrutiny.

在各國政府冷眼旁觀國際足聯的不透明交易多年後，美國司法部(DoJ)終於行動起來。在其敦促下，瑞士蘇黎世警方在一次拂曉時分展開的突襲中，逮捕了7名國際足聯官員，包括兩名副主席。甚至此前一直態度溫和的瑞士當局，都對2018年和2022年世界盃足球賽的申辦過程啓動了刑事訴訟程序。一直以來都有呼聲，要求對世界盃申辦過程展開更細緻的審查。

True to form, Fifa’s long-standing president Sepp Blatter seems determined to sail on, submitting himself for re-election on Friday. But it cannot be business as usual at Fifa. This week’s events should be the catalyst for a revolution in the way global football is run.

果不出所料，長期擔任國際足聯主席的塞普•布拉特(Sepp Blatter)似乎決心繼續幹下去，期望能在週五獲得連任。但國際足聯不可能繼續維持老樣子。本週的事件應當推動世界足壇掀起一場管理方式的革命。

That Fifa should be humiliated in this way on the eve of its annual congress is a fate richly deserved. For decades, it has been unaccountable and impervious to change. At every World Cup tournament, including last year’s in Brazil, it has generated billions of dollars in revenue which are shared out by Fifa’s top executives among more than 200 national football associations worldwide. These associations collectively appoint the top Fifa executives who are unsupervised by any external board. It is a system perfectly designed for abuse.

國際足聯在自己年會前夕受到此般羞辱完全是活該。幾十年來，它一直缺乏問責，也拒絕改變。每屆世界盃足球賽（包括去年巴西世界盃），它都能獲得數十億美元的收入，這些收入被國際足聯的高管在全球200多個地區足協之間瓜分。這些足協集體任命國際足聯頂級高管，這些高管不受任何外部委員會的監督。這種制度設計太容易導致濫用職權了。

Faced with mounting evidence of bribery, Mr Blatter and Fifa could have chosen the path of reform. But they resisted at every turn, refusing to investigate bribery scandals against top executives and last year suppressing a report by an American lawyer, Michael Garcia, into the World Cup bidding process. Self-regulation having comprehensively failed, it is to be celebrated that the US justice department has now taken up the cudgels.

在越來越多有關賄賂的證據面前，布拉特與國際足聯本可以選擇走改革這條路。但他們在每個路口都抵制走這條路，拒絕調查頂級高管的受賄醜聞，而且在去年壓下了美國律師邁克爾•加西亞(Michael Garcia)就世界盃申辦過程撰寫的調查報告。由於自我監管已全面失效，美國司法部現在舉起了大棒，值得慶祝。

Mr Blatter should have resigned from the presidency long ago. Even before the arrests, the notion that he should be awarded a fifth term at Fifa’s helm was objectionable. But after the police’s swoop the central question is not whether he survives but whether Fifa’s stakeholders will now press for a thorough overhaul of its governance.

布拉特早就該辭去主席一職。甚至在此次逮捕行動前，那種認爲他應該連續第五屆掌舵國際足聯的觀點已招致了異議。但是，警方突襲之後的核心問題不在於布拉特能否安然脫身，而在於國際足聯的利益相關方能否力促一場徹底的治理改革。

One group that ought to demand change is Fifa’s corporate sponsors — names like Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa- who bankroll the organisation to the tune of billions of dollars. Some sponsors have expressed concerns in the past about the vortex of allegations surrounding Fifa but they rarely act decisively at times of crisis.

理應要求國際足聯改變的一個羣體是它的企業贊助商——如阿迪達斯(Adidas)、可口可樂(Coca-Cola)以及Visa，它們爲該組織提供了數十億美元的收入。部分贊助商過去曾對國際足聯受到的指控表示過擔憂，但在危機時刻很少能果斷採取行動。

This puts all the more pressure on the national football federations to respond, notably the European body — Uefa — led by Michel Platini who has talked about the need for reform. They should not expect the DoJ investigation itself to deliver change. Instead they should demand an overhaul of Fifa, aligning its governance more closely to the economics of the game and converting it perhaps to a public company where it can be subject to national corporate and criminal laws. If there is resistance to such a move, Uefa should consider walking out of Fifa altogether.

這加大了地區足聯做出迴應的壓力，尤其是米歇爾•普拉蒂尼(Michel Platini)領導的歐足聯(Uefa)。普拉蒂尼曾談到過改革的必要性。他們不應指望美國司法部調查本身能帶來變革。相反，他們應該要求國際足聯徹底改革，使其治理更加貼近這項運動的經濟特性，或許將其轉變成一家上市公司，以便能受到各國企業法和刑法的制約。如果這樣的改革遭到抵制，歐足聯應該考慮徹底退出國際足聯。

The governance of world football matters. Soccer is a global phenomenon, a multibillion-dollar game that affects politics and business. The scandal at Fifa has gone on for too long. If it cannot be overhauled into something that is transparent and works for the good of the game, it should be kicked out of play.

治理世界足球事業是一件大事。全世界都在踢足球，這是一項可以影響政治和商業、價值數十億美元的運動。國際足聯的醜聞已經發酵太久。如果它不能徹底變革，成爲一個透明的、能行之有效地促進足球事業發展的組織，它就應當被踢出這項運動。