Latest FIFA injustice returns to spotlight at U.S. women's national team media day

Latest FIFA injustice returns to spotlight at U.S. women's national team media day

NEW YORK – They didn't want to talk about it, but that doesn't mean there was nothing for them to say.

The United States women's national team gathered here Wednesday for what was to be a standard media availability but found themselves thrust into the whirlwind of an international controversy over a cascade of FIFA arrests. If the media event had happened 24 hours before, nearly all of the questions would have been about the World Cup. Instead, a lot of the questions were about Sepp Blatter and corruption.

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Asked if she felt FIFA had done enough to support women's soccer, Ali Krieger laughed and mulled for a moment.

"I don't want to comment on it," she finally said.

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The answer is: Of course, FIFA hasn't done enough. Abby Wambach led a group of 40 international players who sued FIFA last year after the governing body decided to play the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada on artificial turf. Every men's World Cup has been played on grass. Even the next two men's tournaments, as controversy-ridden as they are, will be played on grass. But the women have to play on the fake stuff – including in Moncton, where grass was ripped out to install turf.

The Ontario Human Rights Code states "every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods and facilities, without discrimination." But FIFA didn't much care. After all, Blatter reportedly didn't even recognize Alex Morgan, one of the premier stars in the game.

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"We filed too late," Wambach said Wednesday. "They slow-played it until after the World Cup. But do I think it was unfair? Absolutely."

FIFA also slow-played, or no-played, a reported offer from Scott's Lawn Care to install real grass in all six venues for this summer's tournament. FIFA said the talks were "informal" and it was unfair that it didn't include the training sites around Canada, so that the teams could practice and play on the same surface.

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That's a whopper of a contrived reason. In the lead-up to a friendly against Mexico in California earlier this month, head coach Jill Ellis bussed her team to a nearby turf field to practice before their match on real grass. So that supposed worry on the part of FIFA has already come to an obnoxious fruition.

"With turf, the way you play is completely different," Lauren Holiday said. "At this point, I try not to think about it."

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They have to think about it. How can a soccer player who has spent her whole life playing on grass  suddenly be fully comfortable with turf? Yet that's what all the players in this tournament must do. That's what FIFA should be concerned about.

Then there's the other aspect of this that the players are trying not to think about. Several studies have shown a higher incidence of injuries on artificial turf.

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"You see the pictures of players' legs," said Sydney Leroux on Wednesday. "It's artificial, not real. We hope our voice is heard and this never happens again."

But that's just it. Their voice wasn't heard. Credit Wambach and the others for going to the lengths of suing FIFA for this injustice, but on Wednesday the team mostly decided to talk about the tournament. It was a rare day when a player's comments would have made international headlines, and the team didn't provide much in the way of fodder for that.

It's hard to blame the players, as they do have a once-in-a-lifetime shot coming up in a matter of days. Now is the time to lock in on the game itself. Yet a few more sharp jabs about inequality, especially as it relates to safety, would have provided a lot more fuel to the building fire of resentment for FIFA. A richer discussion of the turf vs. grass issue would have demonstrated once again where FIFA's priorities are, and it would've cast even more light on a leader who once said "tighter shorts" would help bring interest in the women's game and recently declared himself the "godfather" of women's soccer.

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Blatter gets away with it because he can. FIFA gets away with it because it can. And that's because of the beautiful game – the captivating action on the pitch and the athletes who play. The American women have done far, far more for the sport than the FIFA president; it's not like little girls want to be Sepp Blatter when they grow up. They continue to bail out FIFA by producing brilliant soccer that makes everyone forget the wizard behind the corrupt curtain. These players, from Wambach on down, have earned the right to speak on whatever they please, whenever they please.

They have also earned the right to say little or nothing. It's just that the "hope our voice is heard" doesn't always get us to "this never happens again." It shouldn't ever happen again. But the question still remains: How can we be sure it won't?

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