Posted by Milos Sugovic
Soccer (or football) is by nature a dirty sport; but that doesn’t mean cheating is acceptable. Unless, of course, you make the rules.
It took the setting up of an easy play-off draw, two tough matches against soccer giants Ireland, an undetected offside, and a handball by captain and top scorer Thierry Henry for the French to barely qualify to the World Cup 2010. Great news for French fans but a shameful embarrassment for FIFA - Fédération Internationale de Football Association - a French acronym for the international football governing body.
In the aftermath of a match-fixing crackdown on 40 European games, last night’s referee blunder comes as a bitter pill for football fans to swallow. After Thierry Henry’s handball followed an obvious offside and a furious reaction by half-dozen Irish players, it’s curious how Swedish referee and chief culprit Martin Hansson and his assistants missed the blatant cheating. Or did they?
FIFA has already been warned over the dangers of match-fixing, as illegal gambling and corruption crowd out any discussion of minor issues like doping. Now I’m no huge fan of conspiracy theories, but when the president of UEFA - the Union of European Football Associations which is the governing body of football in Europe – is Michel Platini, a former French football player and manager, things start smelling a bit fishy.
FIFA already has a bad name, and last night’s incident does no good to its struggling image. Propagating fair-play by giving out worthless awards won’t pull a 180 on public perception. Nor will a snazzy tagline like “For the Good of the Game.”
What’s good for the game, and FIFA’s image, is to correct this by getting its hands dirty (pun intended) – in a good way. If they won’t grant the Irish a re-match or institute a video review process, at the very least FIFA should immediately strip Martin Hansson from refereeing international matches and impose a penalty on Thierry Henry for unsportsmanlike conduct. Admitting murder doesn’t make one innocent. Oh, and how about having the guts to explicitly mention the controversy when recapping the match on the FIFA website?
A little can go a long way for FIFA and businesses alike. When in crisis, man up, and admit a wrong took place. Maybe all three referees saw the future and had a Flash Forward moment when the French basketball team came onto the pitch, but the 6 billion football fans around the globe didn’t. If you want them to consume the product you’re selling – the World Cup dream come summer of 2010 - then show your commitment to good customer service. And that means, admitting fault and ensuring the mistakes of the past will stay as such. Telling your most devoted consumers that “we have come to accept [these things] happen every week” will do no good in the long-run.
So what can businesses learn from FIFA in the realm of crisis communication and management? Follow this motto: What would FIFA not do?
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