three days of controversy have spread on social
media
Fifa elections are boring, right?
A bunch of men in suits, picking another man we
will see in a suit at football matches for years to
come.
But introduce the potential for lawsuits, raids on a
hotel, a blame game and a bomb threat and what
have you got? The wild west of democracy, or in
this case, the Fifa presidential election of 2015.
Yes, Sepp Blatter achieved a fifth term as the head
of world football but rarely has an election result
arrived following such scandal.
In a social media age, the sublime and ridiculous
found its way onto the internet from the moment
authorities arrested seven Fifa officials in Zurich on
corruption charges on Wednesday morning.
World reacts to evolving drama
In less than 48 hours, over 79,000 tweets used the
'Fifa arrests' hashtag, while #Fifagate was the
subject of over 92,000 interactions on Twitter.
Across the globe, world football's governing body
was under a spotlight, lighting up social media as
the saga evolved and more of the parties involved
delivered speeches.
"Fifa is imploding," tweeted Match of the Day
presenter Gary Lineker as news of the two
corruption inquiries - one from US authorities, one
from Swiss - broke on Wednesday morning.
American success - How do you vote
Homer?
But why was the United States doing this now?
Were the FBI and attorney general Loretta Lynch a
tad slow?
The country's own leading family - The Simpsons
- forecast Fifa arrests in an episode in March
2014, a fact many on social media were keen to
point out.
Springfield's finest were visited by a representative
from world football's governing body, who, before
being handcuffed by authorities, calls for Homer -
"a symbol of integrity" - to referee at the World
Cup.
The US embraced the role its law enforcement
played in shaking the game to its core and news of
raids on Fifa buildings in Zurich and Miami only
firmed up views that these dramatic days would be
a gamechanger.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - a satirical TV
news show running since 1996 with a huge US
audience - compared Fifa's decision-makers to
corrupt bankers, while online newspaper The
Onion stated America's reward should be to host a
World Cup this summer.
"The beautiful irony is that Fifa has been trying for
decades to get the Yanks interested in 'soccer'.
They got the FBI interested at least," read one
tweet.
Waking to handcuffs
Wednesday's dawn raid of a five-star hotel lent a
little Hollywood blockbuster drama to what looked
like being a routine election victory for Blatter.
Candidates Luis Figo and Michael van Praag each
pulled out a week before the vote, leaving a
straight two-horse race for a term as head of
football's world power house.
Figo added on Facebook: "People who love
football such as I do, will remember 27 May as
one of the worst days of the history of Fifa."
But Fifa argued that what many regarded as the
blackest of marks against its name was good
news. Communications director Walter De Gregorio
pointed out that the organisation had provided
evidence to Swiss authorities in November.
A valid point or a bid to avoid punishment from
the media at a hastily arranged news conference?
Blatter speaks in face of anger
Blatter was the public villain, though the 79-year-
old was not one of the people charged.
"If Blatter had even a crumb of dignity remaining,
he'd walk away now, creep back to his lair, sit in
his armchair and stroke his cat," added Lineker.
That was never going to happen.
Blatter's name did not appear anywhere in the
161-page US indictment, though it did show up in
over 390,000 tweets between his speech in Zurich
on Thursday afternoon and Friday lunchtime.
His comments were those of defiance and why not
when he still formed part of a two-man field in
seeking re-election, holding the ongoing support of
many confederations.
And yet Thursday should have been a good day
for Fifa as a computer game that bares the
organisation's name - Fifa 16 - announced that, for
the first time, it will feature female players. A good
news day then with the growth of the game
showcased?
As gamers flooded social media with news of the
development to their prized virtual reality domain,
some creative types came up with their own take
on what the September release may look like.
Election day - more twists
And so came decision day. A day many saw as
straightforward for Blatter months earlier was
suddenly transformed into a swim through shark-
infested waters while blind folded and carrying a
suitcase.
Over 90% of the BBC Sport website's audience said
they would vote against Blatter, but there was also
support aplenty for Fifa's leader of 17 years,
notably from Russia - who will host the 2018
World Cup - and the vast majority of Africa.
One Russian pundit wrote that the threat of
America facing Fifa would give the US more power,
but the prospect of change at the top of football
had grown vastly after a frenetic 72 hours, placing
Blatter in defensive mode.
A bomb threat came and went before his pre-vote
speech - which drew online ridicule as he called
for "evolution" rather than "revolution" - but
nothing it seems could prevent Blatter winning a
fifth term.
A haul of 133 votes to Prince Ali of Jordan's 73
was not enough to win a majority, meaning victory
was taken by concession before a second round of
voting could take place.
"I don't think this is the end of it," said Football
Association chairman Greg Dyke, looking to
football's future.
After all the controversies, the speeches, the calls
for change, votes and ultimately a result, will we
see an "evolution" in the beautiful game? Or will
three days of scandal prove only a precursor to
ugly times ahead?
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