The FIFA World Cup, a spectacle watched by 1.5 billion people in 2022, has been marred by scandal and strife from its inception. The 1934 tournament in Italy was tainted by allegations of referee bias, with the young Swedish referee meeting with dictator Benito Mussolini before the final. This was not an isolated incident, as the host country has often been accused of skulduggery throughout the tournament's history.
From the stadium not being ready on time for the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 to the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, where European teams felt victimized, the World Cup has been plagued by refereeing controversies and allegations of cheating. Mussolini's pioneering tactic of naturalizing foreign footballers to bolster national teams has also been a point of contention.
Despite FIFA's efforts to reform, the organization's reputation remains tarnished by corruption and mismanagement. The 2015 investigation into bribe-taking on a breathtaking scale led to the resignation of President Sepp Blatter and the guilty plea of his successor, Jeffrey Webb. The current president, Gianni Infantino, has done little to dispel the perception that FIFA is a moneymaking racket run for the benefit of its officers and their cronies.
The World Cup's ability to sail through geopolitical turbulence is a testament to its leaders' ability to hobnob with the powerful. However, this has also led to criticism of FIFA's sycophancy and its uncanny ability to ignore controversy. As the tournament expands to 48 teams, the scope for conflict, grievance, and scandal is only increasing.
