London – The English Football Association should lead the way in rejecting a culture of gift-giving in soccer to counter continual allegations of corruption and bribery within the sport’s governing bodies, FA chairman Greg Dyke said on Sunday.
Dyke, 67, was one of 65 officials given luxury watches, valued at 25 000 Swiss francs ($26,600), by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) prior to this year’s World Cup finals.
Fifa has asked the officials to return the watches by October 24 or face disciplinary action because the acceptance of such gifts breached their code of ethics.
Dyke, who has said he will return the watch, called for an end to the culture of gift-giving.
“I think the FA should lead the way by saying: ‘Look, we are not going to be part of this culture any more. We are not going to give presents or accept them’,” Dyke told the BBC.
“I don’t like the culture of present giving in football. Everywhere you go, every time you have a game they give you some sort of present. It’s usually trinkets.
“But if they are going to start giving presents of 16,000 pounds then that is not acceptable. I’ve been given about six watches since I took over at the FA and I don’t use any of them.”
Dyke said he found the watch in his hotel room during a Fifa congress in Sao Paulo in June but made no initial attempt to return it, a decision which was criticised by former FA chief executive Ian Watmore.
“Very poor from Greg Dyke in not returning watch straightaway. Error of judgment which weakens FA stance against Fifa,” Watmore tweeted.
Dyke, however, played down suggestions that the controversy could cost him his job.
“I don’t think having a watch that you have no idea the value of and have never used is a resigning matter,” he said.
On Friday Uefa president Michel Platini said he would ignore Fifa’s request to return his watch and would instead make a charitable donation of the same value. – Reuters