A Red Card for Football

(this appears in my column in today's ish of Business Mirror)
by rick olivares

“I’m all for unification and transparency,” said Mari Martinez in the PSA Forum last week where he was formally introduced as the heir to Johnny Romualdez as President of the Philippine Football Federation.

Unification? Transparency? So how transparent were the recent PFF elections?

There were 30 heads of the PFF present (out of the 32) and during the voting, one abstained. The results as everyone knows by now turned out 15-14 in favor of Martinez, a former national player back in the 1970’s. His rival for the association’s top post was the PFF’s (and now former) Publicist Ed Formoso. There were other candidates as well, but they all dropped out of the race before the elections.

The PFF’s election is like any other voting process -- it’s a numbers game. Except that the federation’s by-laws state that for a candidate to be declared the winner, he or she must have a winning margin of at least two votes.

Romualdez said that faced with an impasse, he made a judgment call (and that was to pronounce Martinez as the winner) for two reasons. One: there is a phrase in the by-laws that says that refers to the members present in that particular congress. Since there were 29 members who voted, it’s not mathematically possibly to have the two vote margin.

Sorry, but that’s a lot like what passes for officiating nowadays… it sucks. Why was there haste to declare a winner? Was it done to prepare for the arrival of FIFA President Joseph Blatter? If that was the case then the elections should have been conducted earlier. After all we don’t have a football team going to Thailand for the SEA Games because the POC or whoever calls the shots deemed that the team had no chance of competing for a medal. So just how busy is everyone? Clearly our football scene leaves so much to be desired, but every one knows that already.

So why wasn’t a re-vote called for? Why weren’t the three other absent association heads asked to cast their vote more so since it was such an important matter? If others had left, then a re-vote could have been done with those present. The second reason according to Romualdez is by the time the results came out, some of the delegates had left and to call for re-elections would cost the federation another Php 300,000.

Ah these may not be the most proper of ways, but has anyone heard of email? How about tele-conferencing. Yahoo Messenger? Think of what monies will be saved even if Cebu Pacific has made air travel ridiculously affordable. If one still finds that expensive then maybe since this is football it should have gone down to penalty kicks. Now there’s no way that will end in controversy unless someone complains that the keeper straddled far from his line and did the spaghetti legs dance of Bruce Grobbelaar. And keep in mind that in the case of the voting for a new Pope, if it takes the world’s cardinals several days, weeks, or God-knows-how-long to arrive at a decision because the choice they make must be the proper one.

Prior to my conversation with Mr. Romualdez over the cellphone, I tried getting in touch with other persons connected to the PFF. One changed the topic, another said, “I don’t think that would be prudent. It’s gotten complicated as it is.” Another former member of the Romualdez administration said, “It’s all messed up.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Were Formoso’s ideas too radical? And that Ed looks like a member of the Grateful Dead? Last time we all checked the guys in the suits and the Salvatore Ferragamo shoes didn’t do jack. And no wonder, they’re wearing the wrong boots.

“I hope to discuss with Mr. Blatter ways that FIFA can help us regain the glory we used to enjoy in football a long time ago,” also said Martinez to the assembled media.

Why do we always have to ask for help? If it weren’t for FIFA’s funding there wouldn’t be a PFF or even a House of Football that is being put up along motel alley in Pasig. As I wrote back then, it sure is a delight for those with a foot fetish. Footsy on one side. Football on the other. Whoopee!

It has to start from within. Look into ourselves. Start with ourselves. We can’t even have a united football association. There is much mistrust among each other where everyone tries to protect his turf. During the opening of the UAAP’s football season in last January, I had to sit between Romualdez and the head of one association because the tension was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife.

Politics. We should keep it our of sport yet it’s become our national sport.

There was a magnificent opportunity for a fresh start or even to extend some goodwill by doing the right thing. Instead, they – like many of our national officials – dropped the ball on this one.

Hey, has any one heard about the guy Mari Martinez (in one of his first acts as President) fired from the PFF?

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Over at Anfield, there’s a case brewing over the public insubordination of head gaffer Rafael Benitez regarding his row with one of Liverpool FC’s American owners in Tom Hicks.

Benitez grumbled in the media that the owners are not releasing funds to sign a player (Javier Mascherano) their side will need for the long haul. He also opined rather loudly that management didn’t understand the importance of January 2008’s transfer window where they can pick up more players for their domestic and European campaigns.

Hicks in turn told him to clam up and make use of the players that he acquired and play football. Furthermore, he should wait for their meeting on December 16. Hicks’ statement also fueled speculation that Benitez could be axed anytime more so since the Liverpool was in a perilous situation regarding advancing farther into the next round of the Champions League and are two big wins behind the Premiership leaders Arsenal.

Everyone’s curious how the Americans will maneuver their way around this as most people whether rightly or wrongly are siding with the Spaniard. Despite the Americans’ initial help, they still aren’t wholly welcomed in England. I guess they’re taking it bad that their top clubs are owned and managed by foreigners. Even lots of their stars aren’t English. So England, what’s wrong with the picture here?

Benitez put his team together and if he thinks he doesn’t have the players then he should blame himself. And with regards to the Premiership and England, now you know why the Americans are under assault in the world basketball stage.