What did you want for Chrismas? A new Ipod? A new laptop? Well, the mid and lower table sides in the Premiership, nay, the world, really wanted something much simpler – a coherent enforcement mechanism to punish guilty parties. If Justice without Power is impotence, then power without justice is tyranny. And this Christmas, the Chelsea “appeal” that overturned their transfer ban shows once again that justice for some is not the same justice for all.
Yes, the Blues got a delightful Christmas gift. Bosingwa is out for three months, but no worries – they can just purchase a fill-in with the stadium naming right profits. Feliz navidad for the top of the table, but winter may be a time of desperation for the cash-strapped middle class. Make that may a will.
Many commentators made hullabaloo of the fact Bolton pushed for reforms a few months ago. More specifically, they wanted a financial cushion for team’s facing relegation. But did anyone expect an impetus for change to come from the top of the table? The top four will no doubt push a salary cap so as to control their biggest problem, rampant wages, but none of them would offer a luxury tax as per the US baseball system. Why would they tie their own hands? The aristocracy will not willingly sell the family heirlooms.
One alternative to any radical change, such as a relegation “golden parachute,” could be to simply grease the wheels of justice already in place. A look at recent punishments and appeals shows a gaping chasm between the haves and the have-nots. Let’s take a brief glimpse at some recent cases.
West Ham had a third party contract, all too common in the real world (The Beatles do not own their music!), with Carlos Tevez, got sued, settled, and the EPL banned third party deals. United tried a similar third party clause in their Howard loan to Everton, the clause got torn up, but Everton ultimately acquiesced to not playing the Yank goalkeeper vs. United.
So, the mid-table club gets punished and pays for third party meanderings, the law is rewritten to prevent similar future deals, but my beloved United circumvents the law with a gentleman’s agreement. Peachy. Does this show the limits of a white paper law in a world of green financial muscle… or an unwillingness to add teeth to enforcement?
A more recent case was the FIFA playoffs, which put the “seedy” in “seedyings.” The system was implemented ex post facto to ensure several marketable nations with a strong traveling contingent can book their flights to South Africa in advance. But the shenanigans did not stop there.
For the World Cup draw, FIFA decided at the last minute to rank teams based on October, not November, so as to buck France from the top pot. In lieu of actually punishing them by suspending their star striker with the quick hand, that is.
And now the case at hand. Sepp Blatter said the Chelsea ban was final. Chelsea appealed, even though (snicker) their chances were deemed “slim.” And they won. I can see the cognitive dissonance in your eyes – it looks like a combination of fog, mist, and soda foam. Me, the Madrid fan, the champion of the limited champions league, complaining about CEO-Judge backscratchery? Yes.
The double standard on appeals boggles the mind. On the one hand, a modest Chilean team (relegated) filed a lawsuit against its national association and FIFA twisted arms to get the case dismissed. However, when Chelsea appeals to the Court of Arbitration, the case gets fast tracked to overturned and nobody cries foul. A yellow card? No. That’s a straight red!
A meritocracy requires success based on merit. I have no trouble with a club buying a player, but bending and twisting the rules to the breaking point is a different matter. As the Premiership records record profits yet the major clubs get mired in debt and the rich-poor gap exponentially explodes, perhaps the time has come for investment in an old fashioned concept: the rule of law. But the rule of law entails stepping on big toes at inopportune times….
…and what grinch would want to ruin the Christmas celebrations at Stamford Bridge?
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