World Cup prize money disparity is an obstacle to Equal Pay Day
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“We’ve still got a long way to go,” FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has been on the receiving end of the criticism, told the Telegraph in a recent interview. “The situation with the (World) Cup prize money in the last few years has been scandalous, very much more scandalous than the corruption in terms of the way that things were done to FIFA.” The comments have caused a stir in FIFA’s own world.
The disparity has become a major concern as football continues to grow in popularity in developing countries.
Blatter’s comments, however, have been criticized by human rights activists and the head of the United Nations, who have argued that this may be another example of the FIFA chief trying to avoid the responsibility he should have.
“Soccer is the perfect game. It is one of the few sports where you can’t beat a man in a fair fight,” said one member of the Brazilian National Team, following the defeat to Germany.
“There was no such incident here, there is no case to make,” said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, adding the fact that FIFA, who is now a U.S. law LLC, has yet to take action.
In the wake of the scandal, FIFA created the “Report on Anti-Corruption,” which was based on the recommendations made by the Committee on Combating Corruption set up by FIFA in June 2014, and then passed to Blatter to decide whether any action should be taken.
Blatter chose to ignore the report and continue to accept FIFA’s decision to continue its sponsorship of the Confederations Cup in Brazil, which the report had recommended was “no longer sustainable.”
“The FIFA President didn’t read the report, he didn’t consider all its implications and the consequences of his decision-making,” said Brazilian presidential hopeful Bolsonaro, calling the situation a “scandal” that threatens the “footballing authority.”
Bolsonaro has also defended his position