Sepp Blatter and Sexism

By | April 8, 2015

During Tuesday’s class, Grant Wahl made one comment that stuck out to me–he said it was ironic when Sepp Blatter claimed to support women in football, when he’s made several blatantly sexist comments in the past. In the situation that Mr. Wahl referenced, Blatter suggested that female players wear tighter shorts. What he didn’t mention was the context of the comment, which, if possible, makes it even more sexist. BBC Sports reports that tighter shorts were Blatter’s attempt to increase popularity of the game. Upon further research, I found that Blatter’s blatant sexism extended beyond the pitch and into the boardroom.

In 2013, Blatter’s presidency, and the attitudes of those who worked below him, drove a woman to quit her job with FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee. Alexandra Wrage was a Canadian member of FIFA who considered her voice to be going unheard because of “blatant sexism” within Blatter’s administration. When I first read about this incident, it was on Bustle. I thought it might be an exaggeration. However, this article proves otherwise.

The irony of the story came one year later, when Blatter spoke openly about a need for women in FIFA’s governing body. He stated that current football administration had difficulty accepting women, and that they had to be more welcoming to women. These words came last August, just before the U20 Women’s World Cup. Could one year have been enough for Blatter to become earnestly prepared to treat women as equals? Or is he simply saving face so he can pick up a sixth term?

 

4 thoughts on “Sepp Blatter and Sexism

  1. Muthoka Muthoka

    Like Brian just mentioned above, Blatter has a very questionable way of doing things. Take a look at the controversies that have surrounded FIFA during his time at the helm. More than any other FIFA president, he has faced numerous questions about his personality and suitability for the office he holds. However, Blatter has somehow always managed to dodge all the bullets and win another term every time elections come around. This manipulation of words, knowing when exactly to say certain words and when to act in the exact opposite direction have served him well. This might as well be another survival tactic for Sepp Blatter and am not surprised at all.

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  2. Aissa Huysmans

    FIFA as a body has always been incredibly controversial. And from reading one of the articles that you linked above, I think one of the biggest issues is that there is NO VISIBILITY. FIFA’s proceedings, their salaries and their voting procedures are completely veiled with no one quite knowing what exactly is going on. This means that no one knows where exactly to place the blame, or where to change the completely skewed system that is currently in place. I think that Blatter is definitely hiding behind formalities and trying to support the popular opinion, but he does make a valid point that it is not only him who needs to change, but the entire governing body (not that it makes his own sexist views any better).
    Also, reading the article on why Wrage ended up resigning completely points to how power hungry FIFA is. The changes that she put forward were completely reasonable and a lot of them seem to be regarding increased visibility, which is so necessary, but of course that is the one thing that people in positions of power fight against the most. No one wants to give up their privilege.

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  3. Harrison Kalt

    Brigid,

    I think that this blog post really highlights an important question in FIFA that has been floating around for over a decade: Why does a man like Sepp Blatter, who has been dogged by so much controversy and allegations throughout his tenure, been elected to five terms as FIFA’s President? From the allegations of financial mismanagement and the eventual acceptance of bribes resulting in Qatar’s successful World Cup bid to his controversial statements on John Terry, his interruption of a “one minute silence” for former South-African president Nelson Mandela, to name just a few, it seems as though Blatter is not a well-intentioned man. With all of that in mind, I believe that his newly-constructed comments surrounding his view on women’s soccer are just that, constructed. They are not genuine in my eyes, as a man of his disposition does not simply change his mind on such a divisive matter.

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  4. Brian Wolfson

    I definitely think his sudden change in thought is not genuine. Blatter has been known to not be the most moral or ethical person, so I wouldn’t doubt if he would suddenly say these things just before a new FIFA election. I think these types of comments from Blatter need to be more widespread and shared, so others can be aware of what he says. This is because unless someone actively searches for them, one would never know that Blatter proposed things such as tighter shorts for women. Plus, the fact that the general public doesn’t know about this (I would never have guessed, for example) must have some effect into Blatter getting re-elected. Perhaps he does a good job of hiding his controversial comments and boasting others just for his re-election.

    Great post!

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