Last week, the newly appointed chairman of FIFA's latest Reform Committee, Francois Carrard, spoke to the press and had quite a few things to say that caused a stir in the press and in one of the organization's most important federations. It didn't take long for the embattled organization to issue a response to cover their tracks.

Perhaps the highlight of Carrard's statement was that he absolved current president, Sepp Blatter, of any wrong doing before he even begins any investigation into the problems in FIFA and how to change them. A curious statement to make when many have called Blatter's leadership into question over the decades due to his fostering of corruption, if nothing else. Corruption that lead to a dozen and a half FIFA officials and sports marketing executives around the world under indictment in the United States and other countries.

Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States, issued the indictments in late May just ahead of the election in which Blatter defeated Prince Ali of Jordan to earn his staggering 5th term as FIFA President. In her speech to the press in New York, Lynch likened FIFA under Blatter to that of the mob. To have someone who has such experience in tackling corrupt organizations describe FIFA as such certainly carries more weight than any statement made by Carrard after only a couple days on the job.

When Carrard took a swipe at the rich history of soccer in the United States, things just got worse for him.

Interestingly, it didn't take FIFA's public relations department long to issue a statement in regards to all of these comments. They said that his comments were personal feelings and not reflective of how FIFA itself feels. Perhaps most amusingly, the statement said, "Fifa is committed to reform and sees the investigations as key elements to ensure a successful process. Fifa is cooperating with the authorities in this matter.”

This isn't the first time FIFA has attempted to reform itself via committee. None of the previous committees over the years have found much success, as Ms Lynch proved so succinctly earlier this year. Her continuing investigation into corruption within FIFA, alongside that of the Swiss, Paraguayan, Argentine, Brazilian and Trinidad and Tobagan governments is proof of the lack of reform FIFA has instituted over the years.

The statement continued by praising the footballing history in the United States. “The growth of football and the increased participation levels in the US have been tremendous and demonstrate the nation’s passion for the game." It's a nice statement to backtrack Carrard's completely dismissive one. Of course the idea that FIFA is at all involved in, or cares for, "[the] global development of the game" is funny since money seems to be all they, and many at the con/federation levels, truly care about.

Is the statement enough to counter Carrard's statements, or simply empty platitudes? It's easy to lean towards the latter since all of the Reform Chairman's statements have been said by other officials over the decades. Perhaps the biggest thing to take away from the whole situation is that within days of joining FIFA, Carrard is already parroting ideas and beliefs Blatter and his henchmen cronies coworkers have. It's unlikely that much in the way of real reform will happen anytime soon under his watch.