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PARIS -- Here in the epicenter of soccer dysfunction, we have yet another ghastly headline involving those chaotic French footballers. Franck Ribery didn't manage a goal during the World Cup, but he was charged with scoring illegally during his 26th birthday party in Berlin, when he had sex with a prostitute who was under 18. He was grilled by police for seven hours here this week and, if convicted, faces up to three years in prison.
"I never knowingly did anything wrong,'' said Ribery, who is 27, married, the father of two children and says he flew in the call girl from France for the occasion.
So add this to the mayhem that shamed the national team during the just-completed World Cup, a disgrace to the mother land that only reconfirmed that the French, in general, bitch and gripe at levels far above the global norm. You had players who refused to practice, the resignation of the team director, an inept coach who once proposed to a girlfriend on television immediately after a tough international loss, profane arguments between the players and coach and, inevitably, a pathetic early ouster in the tournament that defines countries and culture in this part of the world.
All of which led the new France coach, Laurent Blanc, to take an unprecedented but refreshing step Friday. He suspended all 23 of the nation's World Cup players for his first match next month, a step approved by the French federation. This is a brilliant decision, a cumulative punishment that doesn't single out one player but targets them all. They cannot be humiliated enough, and while you might say it's no biggie to suspend everyone for a friendly against Norway, it will be if the suspension turns out to be a long-term whitewashing for some of the players. A new team will be announced Aug. 5, and that could be a new start for Les Bleus.
Hope Franck Ribery got his money's worth. The sex romp might cost him his career.
In America, we understand how a franchise as esteemed as the Yankees mirrors mighty New York and how a franchise as lowly as the Chiefs reflects wee Kansas City. But faring miserably in the World Cup is a failure that a country must live with for four years and seeps through the national consciousness like sewage stench. In that sense, there is no argument that the World Cup is the most colossal and important sports event on the planet, even if we in the States foolishly want to keep pushing the Super Bowl for such a distinction. And as long as soccer's showcase remains in such an epic context -- with ratings continuing to soar in all parts of the globe, including a 41-percent spike in the U.S. for Spain's 1-0 overtime victory over the Netherlands in the final -- I may as well ask a pertinent question.
Why is the World Cup such a mess?
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