The recent arrest of top managers of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) at U.S. request has not only exposed Uncle Sam's arrogance as "world police," but also set a bad precedent for international relations.
The U.S. Department of Justice has recently indicted nine top FIFA officials and five corporate executives for alleged fraud, bribery and money laundering.
Seven of those officials were arrested by Swiss police on May 27 at the request of U.S. authorities. According to the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, six out of the seven have contested their extradition to the United States.
Although the anti-corruption storm may help the world football governing body accelerate reforms in some way, it is more like a well-designed plan to achieve some geopolitical objectives.
It is noteworthy that the U.S.-led campaign was launched at a time when Sepp Blatter, who blasted the tactics used by U.S. anti-corruption investigators, secured a fifth term as FIFA president and Russia is gearing up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Blatter, who backs Russia World Cup 2018 and cares more about football in the developing countries and regions, surprised the world by announcing resignation four days after his election.
In an article posted on its website on June 3, the Financial Times said the United States will be the biggest beneficiary in the campaign.
An official of the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) also said Washington's meddling in FIFA's internal affairs has turned the world football governing body into an arena for world powers' political fights, where a new Cold War will be staged.
In the international political field, the United States has long been known as "world police." Washington's actions in the anti-corruption storm that swept FIFA has once again revealed its features of hegemonism and power politics.
Igor Trunov, vice president of the Federal Lawyer Union in Russia, said the United States placed its national legal system on top of the international one in trying to seize the officials from international organizations.
"If one country can do so, what if others follow suit?" said Trunov, pointing out that system neglect of international law would result in conflicts and wars in the worst cases.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also said the move was a manifestation of U.S. attempts to extend its jurisdiction to foreign countries.
"It is possible that someone has violated something, but the U.S. has nothing to do with that," he said, adding that prosecution of the FIFA top managers could be one way of the United States to "achieve its own selfish purposes."
The Financial Times noted Putin's response showed that the political battle focusing on FIFA had raised a question on world politics: Is the United States still so powerful that it can call the shots in international organizations?
The United States has always been good at meddling in internal affairs of international organizations and other countries, so as to force them to act on its will in the service of its political objectives.
Just as Russia's Rossiskaya Gazeta newspaper put it, the United States has never given up its attempt to knock down those whom it hates.
With the lack of financial transparency, balancing of power, and supervision in FIFA, it is no wonder that some kinds of corruption exist within the organization, professional leagues, and international events. Thus it is a must to prevent football from corrupting with some effective methods.
Sportsmanship should not be tarnished. And sport should not become a tool for political games.
