Monday, 1 June 2015

What is appropriate.


The saga of FIFA and the Teflon coated chairman Sepp Blatter is hotting up after an American led raid on the hotel in Switzerland where the FIFA officials had gathered to elect a new chairman where it was assumed Blatter would be a 'shoe in' for an unprecedented 5th term.
The issue is as always money and it highlights a number of things.
Soccer is a world wide game which through the advent and the the ability of the Internet to transmit perfect world wide TV viewing of tournaments anywhere in the world, the advertising industry is able to reach a huge audience and the money involved in soccer is enormous. A perfect breeding ground for corruption and graft as the nefarious characters involved in the deal making skim off their take.
After the raid in Switzerland the whole of the European football establishment has heaved a huge sigh of relief, at last something was being done to reign in the corrupt wheeler,dealers who have blighted the game. There has been a decade of criticism of the Sepp Blatter era where shady dealing was allowed to flourish and money controlled all aspects of the game.
TV rights to broadcast the sport has made the salaries paid to players seem obscene, particularly in a game which is supposed to be "the people's game".  
It's interesting that it took the Americans (hardly fans of soccer) and their campaign to go after the corrupt money men in a number of industries, including, at last the Banking Industry. It took the no nonsense Americans to swoop on the ringleaders in Switzerland. There should be a lot of questions and finger pointing at our own 'regulatory authorities' who let money laundering and Mafia style dealings  go on, in the "soft touch", poorly regulated London Monetary market. We should be ashamed of the FSA and the continued shirking of their responsibilities, kowtowing to the influence of the Banks, Hedge Funds and the Oligarchs who might move their cash away.
The GP driver Lewis Hamilton has just signed a three year contract for £100 million which is considerably more than the salaries of the top footballers Ronaldo,Messi, Bale and Rooney who earn, plus minus, £15 million per annum, but Hamilton's is a sport of the elite where bucket loads of dosh swill around as manufactures compete for the top spot.
Whilst the knives have been out in the various European Football Associations for the people running FIFA and particularly for Blatter, the ever more influential Asian market and their Administrators have been very non committal about the affair. We learn this morning they are still solidly behind Sepp Blatter in his bid to continue running FIFA.
One is drawn to the conclusion and it's one I have continually asked, how do we square the circle  regarding our own perceptions of cultural and business norms.
Obviously they are not set by some idealistic world wide consensus but vary tremendously from one part of the world to another.
Bribery is endemic in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries. You don't conclude deals without the 'under the table' sweetener and many European companies have found they go into negotiations with one hand tied behind their back by the authorities at home in Europe coming down heavily when and if a bribe has been paid.
How do we begin to conceive of a unity of purpose when the modus operandi is so at odds.
How do we, on a national basis hope to meld a common consensus about a whole host of things when the cultural imperative is so far apart.
The common agenda in the days of "Dixon of Dock Green" was respect for authority and a sense amongst the common people that right was right and wrong was wrong. This simple argument was the cement that bound everyone together.
Today we try to cope with so many interpretations of what is right and what is wrong in our cultural melting pot that we have begun to doubt our surety and would rather 'go with the flow' as new norms rise to the top.

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