Pelé Welcomes Sepp Blatter Election As FIFA President Despite Corruption Arrests

Retired soccer legend Pelé welcomed last week’s reelection of embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter calling it “perfect.” The election followed a U.S. Justice Department indictment naming 14 criminal defendants including top FIFA officials on charges of bribery, money laundering, and fraud. Blatter was not charged with any crime but many called for him to resign, as the abuses all occurred under his more than two-decade watch as FIFA President. Following the Justice Department allegations that gave traction to decades of allegations of FIFA, the U.S. delegation pledged to vote for a rival candidate, who did not win. Dozens more are expected to be charged in the ongoing investigation. Despite the controversy, soccer’s most celebrated star stood by the FIFA chief.

“I was in favor. It was necessary because it is better to have people with experience,” he said Sunday at a charity soccer match in Havana. “He’s a man who has been there for 25 years [with Fifa], you have to respect him, it was an election.”

Meanwhile, Pelé’s colleagues blasted Blatter’s performance as inadequate. Days before the criminal allegations and well before the election, Diego Maradona, 54, had called Blatter a “dictator” and criticized his failure to address racism in soccer and support women’s leagues. Romário, a former teammate on the Brazilian national team and currently senator in Brazil, also criticized Blatter’s reelection to the multi-billion dollar NGO calling it “shameful.” A longtime critic of FIFA, Romário says that he wants to see Blatter in prison.

"I'm not going to say that I'm surprised, but that doesn't mean that I'm not indignant,” the senator said on Instagram. "At the end of this term he will complete 20 years in power. Poor soccer will continue to be assaulted."

Pelé, 74, is the known as the “King of Soccer,” a former NY Cosmos star who conquered the World Cup multiple times as the star goal-scorer on Brazil’s national squad. Unlike his legacy rival Maradona of Argentina, Pelé has mostly been able to keep his literal and metaphorical nose clean, grooming a corporate-friendly public image. Though he’s never run for office, he’s served in the political arena as Brazil’s Minister of Sport.

Pelé has never been the voice of popular opinion. As I wrote for AlterNet in 2014, Pelé has become both a supporter of philanthropy and a corporate shill. He's secured major endorsement deals with companies like Subway and viagra, even indirectly advocating for rainforest destruction on behalf of Brazil’s agriculture lobby. In 2013, when Brazilians took to the streets demanding reform ahead of the World Cup, he insinuated that they were unpatriotic and called for them to stop.

Brazilians remixed his comments on social media, splicing them with comments from Romário that illustrate the ongoing spat between the two stars. I translated the video, which you can watch below.