After saying that Brazil needs a "kick in the butt", FIFA secretary apologizes

03/06/2012 - 08h39

In a letter, the secretary general of FIFA, Jérôme Valcke, apologized to the federal government for having said that Brazil needed a "kick in the butt" to speed up the organization for the 2014 World Cup.

The claim of the French leader in the document - sent to the sports minister, Aldo Rebelo, who released it - is that the translation amplified the tone of his criticism of the country. But the meaning of his expression is the same in Portuguese, French or English, the language of the country where the interview of the leader was given.

The leader's apology does not end the friction between FIFA and the federal government.

The entity rules out, at this time, removing him from the position of interlocutor for the World Cup in Brazil.

And the government does not look kindly having to negotiate with him. So much so, as Folha has revealed, that Aldo Rebelo sent a letter to FIFA asking for his removal as interlocutor regarding the issues of the 2014 World Cup.

There are still disputed issues, such as the General Law of the World Cup and the progress of the works at airports and urban transportation, which are stopped.

In his letter, Valcke said that there is no Plan B for the Cup: "I would like to reiterate, as I have on many occasions, that Brazil is and will always be the only option to host the FIFA Brazil 2014 World Cup.

The leader of FIFA, however, did not retract his criticism of the progress of the works. And said, therefore, he is under pressure within the organization.

"There is certainly an air of preoccupation in FIFA, and it is me, in the final analysis, who is the person responsible for this World Cup, so I'm under a lot of pressure," said the leader, who has already criticized the works and the law before.

Regarding his statement, Valcke tried to blame the translation.

"In French, 'se donner un coup de pied aux fesses' means only 'to speed up the pace' and unfortunately this expression was translated into Portuguese using much stronger words," he said.

But "se donner un coup de pied aux fesses" means to give a kick in the butt and can have the same offensive tone in French, Portuguese and English.

The French leader extended his apology to "anyone who felt offended by my words."

His letter, however, did not resolve the issue with the government, nor with the COL (Local Organizing Committtee).

The president of the COL, Ricardo Teixeira, is also estranged from the secretary general over his fight with the president of FIFA, Joseph Blatter, who is threatening to remove him from the body.

The president of the CBF talked with Minister Aldo Rebelo, but is ignored by President Dilma Roussef. In other words, he can't be a mediator.

This tension is clear in Valcke's trip to Brazil, which will begin on Monday. A meeting of the three parties involved in the Cup - the government, FIFA and COL - is scheduled for Wednesday, the 14th in Brasília.

The presence of Teixeira alongside the Frenchman was not even confirmed until yesterday. FIFA and the committee declined to comment on the case.

Regarding the stadium works, Valcke's trip includes visits to three host cities: Cuiabá, Recife and Manaus.

Translated by DAVE WOLIN