Stories like this are what make me miss Ben Knight’s reporting.
For whatever you thought of Ben, his work on the CSA reform and shining a light under the boulder of its bureaucracy really was unparalleled. He had a way of framing the debate, or seeing through the fog of opinion, and putting a finer point on issues that were often too complicated for even the keenest observers.
I also think he really took pleasure – even if it was just a little - in taking down those CSA bureaucrats who either stood in the way of moving our game forward or embodied the buffoon behaviour that we have come abhor.
And no behaviour has been more buffoonish than what has come out of the Quebec Soccer Association this week.
In case you missed it, here is the latest. The Quebec Soccer Association (QSF) has decided that it is, in their words, going to abide by FIFA law and continue to uphold a ban on turbans.
On their teleconference call the QSF claimed that the Sikh headwear were a safety issue but when questioned on how many injuries said headwear had caused in the past, they couldn’t name a single one. The incident has drawn international headlines and today, the Canadian Soccer Association finally responded with some pretty direct threats aimed at the provincial body.
“As an unequivocal majority of our membership agrees with our approach and has safe instituted it within their respective soccer communities, we expect the Quebec Soccer Federation to do the same,” said Victor Montagliani, President of the Canadian Soccer Association.
That’s the first step and it re-asserts the CSA’s position on the matter during this firestorm but it doesn’t go far enough.
The QSF president Martial Prudhomme, who is also a member of the CSA board of directors, must immediately step down from his board position. And if he has any desire to spare the QSF any further embarrassment, he should step down from the president’s post as well.
Here is why:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Canadian Soccer News has obtained the letter that the CSA sent to the provincial presidents and executive directors in April. In it outlines the the CSA's intent to allow the use of turbans.
The CSA Board of Directors, at its meeting on 23 March 2013, confirmed that, in light of this IFAB decision, referees may, until further notice, extend this ruling to the wearing of turbans/patkas/keski.
CSN has also obtained the packet that was distributed to the CSA board of directors, which once again, clearly outlines how they approved the use of turbans and headwear at the March meeting. It goes into great detail to show the kind and type that it is approved.
CSA Board of Directors, approved at its meeting on 23 March 2013. wearing of turbans/patkas/keski are permitted. The head covering must be safe and must not pose a danger to the wearer or other participants.
It is that exact kind and type that the QSF is now saying it is upholding a ban on.
Prudhomme knows this.
In fact, as a CSA board of directors member, he voted on it. The CSA board approved it. And yet, here we have a provincial body once again ignoring the will of the national governing body because it suits their own warped interests.
Moreover, in Prudhomme, we have a case of a CSA board member in a clear cut violation of conflict of interest rules.
It was those kinds of conflict of interest that Ben Knight railed against back in the CSA reform days. If you don’t recall, as part of the CSA reform package, provincial directors were to be banned from sitting on the board of the CSA. The whole intent, in such a move, was to eliminate the petty infighting that had been seen for years – the kind of regional self-interest that brought the CSA to its knees in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Unfortunately, the reformers were forced to make certain concessions when they initially pushed through their governance package. One of those concessions was that, for the next three years (starting in 2011), provincial directors could remain on the CSA board of directors and still hold their positions of power at the provincial level. Providing they abided by all the rules and regulations that the new governance package brought in.
I’ll give you one guess which province was the loudest voice in rejecting the move to fully push the provinces out? Yes, Quebec. I’d offer you another guess which provincial leader is now the first of the lot to put himself in a clear conflict of interest, but you’re already hip to the game.
If you look deeper, you can see that Prudhomme and the QSF have done themselves no favours by trying to play the Good Son role, claiming they’re just following Father FIFA’s rules. A key element to all of this is that the QSF isn't really a direct member of FIFA. The CSA is the direct FIFA member and the QSF is a member of the CSA.
The CSA has sent out a clear directive, based on their interpretation of FIFA's rules, which say to explicitly allow headscarves, but FIFA isn't as clear as it relates to turbans and other head gear that Sikhs often wear.
Simply put, the QSF should be following the CSA lead, which allows for both, and not claiming to be following the rules of an organization that they are technically not a member of.
Beyond that though, Prudhomme has breached his fiduciary duty to the CSA as a director.
Here are three requirements he has broke under the CSA board of director Accountability Code by allowing the QSF to uphold the ban.
• is accountable to the CSA’s membership and abides by its decisions and directives.
• maintains the trust and support of the CSA’s membership;
• ensures that the CSA operates within applicable laws and regulations;
Here is another he has broken under Planning
• develops, approves, and ensures the implementation of strategic plans, determines priorities, and monitors performance against plans
Another under Board Governance and Development
• approves of and updates other CSA policies, including those pertaining to risk management, conflict of interest, and harassment
And another under External Relations
• develops policies regarding the protection and enhancement of the CSA’s image and reputation.
Oh, and he broke pretty much every rule under the Board Meeting Code of Conduct
• Each Director shall conduct himself/herself in Board meetings with a view to furthering the general interests of the CSA and not the interests of individual and group stakeholders.
• Each Director shall respect confidentiality of Board business and Board deliberations
• Each Director shall support the majority decisions of the Board and speak with a unified voice to the membership and the community.
• Each Director shall conduct himself/herself in Board meetings in a manner exhibiting courtesy, goodwill, objectivity, frankness, openness to new ideas, constructiveness, independent-mindedness, restraint, effective communication, a willingness to compromise, and respect for others.
• Each Director shall ensure that the discussion of business occurs at the Board table and not outside the Board room between meetings.
• Each Director shall adhere to the conflict of interest requirements as they relate to Board meetings.
If you’d like to go through it yourself, please do. There are about 20 others in there that he’s broken with his actions that I haven’t listed.
For that, and the fact that he has thoroughly embarrassed the CSA and brought the game into disrepute, he should step down from the CSA board immediately.
If he won't leave, the CSA board should force him out. Full stop.
As for what he should do with the his role as president at the Quebec Soccer Association, well that’s more a matter that's up for debate. The QSF governance standards aren’t nearly as robust. Afterall, their ‘mission’ for Quebec Soccer is still under construction
But, disregarding their thin layer of laws, you would think this kind of negative attention would be bad for business. It has to reflect poorly on the QSF, no? The QSF president is still responsible for upholding that, yes?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Wearing a turban shouldn't stop you from playing soccer or participating fully in any other activity. The <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23QSF">#QSF</a> must drop its ban now.</p>— Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Well, as it is with buffoons, they’re more apt to stumble around the room, knocking over everyone and everything as they struggle to keep it together, instead of quietly and respectfully seeing themselves out. So, the best, and simplest way to deal with a buffoon, when you encounter one, is to toss them out on their ass immediately and be done with it - before they have another chance to embarrass everyone around them.