Tom English: 'There's always been poison in FIFA. But now it's out in the open'

Chuck Blazer once lauded Jack Warner like a God. When Warner did a deal with Donald Trump to move the offices of CONCACAF to Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, Chuck thought that Warner wasn't just good at business, he thought he was blessed from on high. "I knew of Jack's closeness with God," said Blazer. "We didn't get Trump Tower by accident... it had to come from some divine intervention... I am mindful that there appeared to be some spiritual force looking afte

That "holy" bond between them is now broken, smashed to pieces last week when Blazer, general secretary of the Caribbean, central and north American federation, pointed the finger at his old mate and cried corruption.

Warner, the CONCACAF president, and Sepp Blatter were the best of allies, too. When Blatter needed votes, Warner weighed in. When Jack needed Blatter, the president was there for him, offering help throughout the many scandals in his life at FIFA. "Jack Warner," Blatter once said, "is a wonderful and loyal friend. He is very competent and I just have to say that Jack is one of the top personalities in the world of football."

That wonderful friendship is well and truly over now. When Blazer put Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam up on a bribery charge on Thursday, Warner responded by calling it an internal conspiracy at FIFA, a calculated attempt to stop Bin Hammam from challenging Blatter for the presidency with Warner portraying himself as some kind of innocent bystander. He feels sure that the ethics committee will today see through this "tawdry manoeuvre". He believes FIFA is as pure as the driven snow and rounds on those who think otherwise.

Mohamed Bin Hammam once looked on Sepp Blatter as a brother. While Blatter was campaigning for the presidency of FIFA in 1998, Bin Hammam, his ally on the hustings, took a phone call in Paris from his wife. She told them that their 22-year-old son had suffered an horrendous accident at home in Doha and was fighting for his life in hospital. The lady wanted Bin Hammam to rush home to be with her and their boy, but Bin Hammam said no. "I apologised to my wife and told her that my son doesn't need me but needs the blessing of God and help of doctors while it is Mr Blatter who is in need of my help now. So I sacrificed seeing my son maybe for the last time." That "bigger than family" connection between Bin Hammam and Blatter is also at an end, snapped for all time over the last few days. Bin Hammam - at Blazer's behest - faces allegations that he paid members of the Caribbean Football Union in return for votes in the presidential election. Blatter - on the word of a retaliating Bin Hammam - is charged with knowing about the payments.Ten members of the "FIFA family", and "made men" of the 25-strong executive committee, now find themselves embroiled in a deepening crisis. They are:

Amos Adamu of Nigeria: Filmed by the Sunday Times trying to sell his vote in the World Cup bidding process, 500,000 the sum. The newspaper alleged that a similar deal was made with the Qataris. The Sunday Times put all of this in a report and sent it to FIFA. As yet, nothing has been done.

Reynald Temarii of Tahiti: Banned by FIFA after a Sunday Times investigation showed that he had asked for 1.5 million to build an academy.

Issa Hayatou of Cameroon: Conservative MP, Damien Collins, has alleged that Hayatou was paid $1.5m (909,000) to support the Qatar bid. Qatar deny it.

Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast: Also accused by Collins. Again, Qatar deny buying his vote.

Richard Teixeira of Brazil: Lord Triesman, former head of the FA, has alleged that the immensely powerful Teixeira had told him to "come and tell me what you have got for me" in relation to England's bid to host the World Cup. Teixeira denies saying any such thing.

Worawi Makudi of Thailand: Triesman reportedly was asked to hand over the TV rights for a friendly between England and Thailand. He denies it.

Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay: Triesman claims that Leoz asked for an honorary knighthood in exchange for his vote for England's World Cup bid.

Jack Warner of Trinidad & Tobago: Once again Triesman alleges that Warner asked for 2.5m to build an education centre in Trinidad with the cash to be passed to him personally. John McBeth, the former president of the SFA, has in the past spoken about Warner and his request that the SFA pass money to him directly. Warner is also accused of asking for money to buy Haiti's World Cup TV rights as well as being implicated by Blazer last week. He rejects all allegations.

Mohammed Bin Hammam of Qatar: Accused by Blazer of offering bribes in return for votes in this week's FIFA presidential elections. He denies any wrong-doing.

Sepp Blatter of Switzerland: Accused by Bin Hammam of turning a blind eye to bribery. He has sought to rubbish the claim.

Although this is all new and revelatory and people are going around saying it is unprecedented in the history of FIFA, the fact is that we have been here before in a sense.

In May of 2002, Michel Zen-Ruffinen, then the general secretary of FIFA, compiled a dossier that detailed alleged criminal misuse of the association's funds and presented it to colleagues in Zurich. David Will, the Scot, was one of seven FIFA vice-presidents who saw Zen-Ruffinen's report and one of five who called upon Blatter, the president, to resign once they had read what Zen-Ruffinen had produced. "I'm astounded by what is in the report," said Will at the time. "There is much more than I expected."

Yet nothing was done. No full investigation into what Zen-Ruffinen discovered, no resignations, no criminal charges.FIFA ambled along as before, protected by their own rules, above the law and accountable to nobody but themselves. There's always been poison in FIFA. What is different now is that it is out in the open for everybody to see. Blatter and Bin Hammam will come before FIFA's ethics committee today. The committee reckons they'll have their investigation completed and verdict announced by 6pm. They'll have one guilty man, two guilty men or no guilty men at all. Whatever the outcome they still believe that one of these individuals will be named president of FIFA this coming Wednesday. They see no reason to suspend the election. They don't see how it has been compromised and reduced to high-farce.

Blatter has set his stall out for four more years. He has said he will tackle the corruption within FIFA, corruption he had been saying up until a few weeks ago didn't exist.

It has been said that we are at a crossroads with FIFA, that this is the moment everything may change and transparency becomes a fact rather than an empty slogan trotted out by Blatter time and again. Somehow, that looks like wishful thinking. There would be hope of lasting reform if there was a will in the organisation to properly cleanse itself, to form a fully independent tribunal with complete powers to investigate the allegations of many years and full authority to act against the guilty. That is transparency. And that is what is needed.

Only when the doors of FIFA are opened up to outside inspectors will there be hope of change. Right now, though, despite their public meltdown of recent days, there is little reason to believe in a new FIFA being created.

The old one still serves too many people far too well.