FIFA insist Lionel Messi’s BEST award was not rigged

Despite delegates and players connected to various federations claiming that their votes had been changed or were not counted at all, FIFA has insisted that everything was conducted properly. The football’s worlds governing body had already released a statement that votes from Egypt were not taken into consideration as they had submitted their votes in capital letters.

But controversy emerged when many suggested that the vote for the BEST Men’s Player of the Year award was rigged in favour of Lionel Messi. That is not something FIFA believed happened, with them releasing a statement to the effect, which went on to say just how fairly everything was conducted.

“FIFA has been disappointed to see a number of reports in the media questioning the integrity of the voting process for the awards. These reports are unfair and misleading. The voting procedure for each of the awards is supervised and monitored by an independent observer, in this case PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland," said the statement.

The statement went on to add that FIFA asked the delegations and it’s members to send forms both electronically and as hard copies, to ensure a proper vote. They also went on to say that should there be any issue with the vote or if they do find any wrongdoing, then FIFA will investigate and apply sanctions if needed.

"Both FIFA and the independent observer can demonstrate that all the votes submitted in accordance with the rules and within the deadlines were taken into account. Consequently, there is no doubt whatsoever as to the authenticity of the result. Should there have been any case of wrongdoing, and even if this did not affect the result of the vote, FIFA will investigate and apply sanctions where necessary," concluded the statement.