The football world is an odd place, and from time to time, things happen that force us to ponder the legitimately of the sport and which direction it’s going in. That sounds a little bit bleak, and to be perfectly honest, that’s because it kind of is. Still, even with that being the case, it’s not like this is all in all a ‘bad’ thing. You need to be able to recognise what is going on in order to take the necessary steps to improve it, and that much is just a fact.

FIFA have long since been called out for not being the most legitimate of organisations in the world, and that’s been the case for longer than we care to remember. They just don’t seem to have the kind of consistent record that a lot of other organisations do, or at least, ones in their position of power and stature.

The panic continues

As you can tell by the title this isn’t exactly going to be a joyous topic to discuss, as former famed France international and UEFA president Michel Platini has been taken in for questioning by anti-corruption investigators in his homeland. This is concerning the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar, who were able to beat out a series of bids back in 2010 in order to claim the competition.

The investigations into these allegations have been ongoing for well over two years now, with general concerns being in place almost since the decision was first made nearly a decade ago. Now, as we find ourselves just a few years away from the competition, this latest development has left many folks wondering whether or not Qatar will even be permitted to still host the World Cup.

According to his lawyers, the disgraced Platini has “expressed himself serenely and precisely, answering all the questions, including those on the conditions for the awarding of Euro 2016, and has provided useful explanations”.

What happens next?

Michel was banned over a £1.3 million disloyal payment back in 2015, alongside Sepp Blatter, who is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt presidents in the history of the game. Truthfully, this whole thing is more upsetting than anything else, as it’s a sad indication of the position that the game is in during the present day.

Nobody really knows for sure what is going to happen next, but we can all say pretty universally that the best foot forward would be to strip Qatar of their hosting duties. We’ve all heard the reports about the working conditions over there, and when you piece that together with all of this talk about corruption, we fail to see how FIFA can alow this circus to continue.

Many, many high profile nations are in a strong enough position to host the competition, even though they’d only have three years in which to prepare.

It’s time for FIFA to step up and make the kind of decision that benefits everyone, because if they don’t, things are only going to get worse.