Last year, in light of the 2014 World Cup, John Oliver examined the non-profit organization and explained how it treats it wrings profit out of its host countries, sometimes imposes its own laws on them and how it can make billions of dollars despite its status.
Oliver got new ammunition last week when FIFA officials became the subject of a corruption scandal, as several members were investigated by the IRS over an alleged $150 million in bribes.
Though the investigation didn’t target FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, there were nonetheless calls for him to step down. He remained defiant, saying he can’t watch all of his employees all the time, and was re-elected as president on Friday.
Oliver tore into Blatter for his “weak” defense of the allegations against FIFA, and delved into the absurdity of its members under investigation. Former Vice President Jack Warner is one such member, and after he was released from jail and danced with his supporters to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” he released a video rant. In it, he cited an Onion article to support an argument.
Most importantly, Oliver explained the likely reason why so many countries voted to re-elect Blatter: every country gets one vote in the election and process, and every country gets an equal share of FIFA profits. Oliver uses the example of how Montserrat, which isn’t even a country and houses less than 6,000 people, gets the same money as the United States or Germany. With that logic, smaller countries likely want to keep things the way they are.
Oliver then says the only real way to get rid of Sepp Blatter as president is if major FIFA sponsors like McDonald’s and Adidas pull their sponsorships. Despite many brands voicing their distaste, not one has decided to pull the plug yet.
