FIFA’s reported decision to extend the voting for the 2013 Ballon d’Or has been viewed in Spain as a blatant ploy to ensure Cristiano Ronaldo wins the prize, reports ESPN FC.
The deadline for coaches and captains of national team and participating journalists to submit their top three choices had been Friday Nov 15, hours after the World Cup qualifier playoff first legs had finished, and Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery was then clear favourite in the betting to take a first award. However, that date has now been extended to Friday Nov 29, and votes can be changed to take into account recent performances – such as Ronaldo’s spectacular hat trick on Tuesday against Sweden which clinched Portugal’s place at next summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil.
Mundo Deportivo’s Francesc Aguilar, reportedly France Football’s voter in Spain, broke the news during Tuesday’s matches with a series of tweets which suggested he suspected a conspiracy led by FIFA. ‘I have no words,’ Aguilar tweeted.
‘FIFA and France Football have extended the period of voting to Nov 29, 2013. First the jury had to have voted by at least the 15th of this month. The second legs for Brazil 2014 were not included. That was just as unfair as this change is suspicious. Bit by bit FIFA are ruining the Ballon d’Or with the decisions which are taking place. You do not need to be a genius to see that this decision to extend the voting period for the FIFA Ballon d’Or benefits CR7.’
News of the move to extend the voting period has been mostly welcomed in the Madrid press, which had been highly critical of FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s recent mockery of Ronaldo, and played along with theories of a conspiracy to deny the Real Madrid player individual honours.
-With New Age input
