This summer, they decided to launch a poll via their Web site to elect the Player of the Century.

Many, including yours truly, thought Pele was sure to win. Polls such as these are popularity contests as much as anything else and O Rey is considerably more popular than Diego.

Instead, Maradona notched a resounding victory, tallying 53.6 percent of the vote to Pele's 18.5 percent.

Oops!

For a variety of reasons, this would have been a highly embarrassing result for FIFA.

Not only because Maradona is a controversial figure who has often (and often rightly) criticized the game's governing body, but because it meant Pele, soccer's poster boy, would not be recognized.

Pele is too big to be ignored. To many, he is soccer.

On top of that, it would have displeased the Brazilian federation and the man who ran the sport for the past twenty years, Joao Havelange.

Throw in the fact that Internet polls can be rigged (or at least be influenced) by a concerted campaign and FIFA had quite a problem on its hands.

If they gave the award to Maradona, Pele's supporters would have accused the Argentines of flooding the Web site with votes. It would have led to recrimination and bitterness and spoiled soccer's day of self-celebration.

So, what to do?

Easy. They simply changed the rules.

They decided that Maradona would be the Internet Player of the Century and hastily set up another jury (made up of what Sepp Blatter likes to call the "FIFA family") to hand out another Player of the Century award, which predictably went to Pele.

Who was on this FIFA family jury? Officials, staff of FIFA's magazine, lackeys, etc. It didn't matter who was on it, Pele was going to win.

The awards were supposedly equal in value, but you wouldn't have known it watching the ceremony. Maradona got his along with Michelle Akers, the women's winner for the "Football Family" award (while China's Sun Wen won the Internet vote). Then the stage was cleared, there was a musical interlude and, finally, Pele' came out with all the whistles and bells that befit the Player of the Century.

It was FIFA's way of saying: "Maradona got his plastic bauble, now here's the real Player of the Century."

It was a sham: embarrassing, childish and utterly ridiculous.

This isn't about who is more deserving. It's about integrity.

Once you decide to hand out the award based on the Internet vote, you have to stick with it. You don't change the rules because you don't like the result.

"We had to set up a special committee because we realized that not everybody has access to the Internet and so it would have been unfair to base it exclusively on the Internet vote," explained Blatter.

Sure, Sepp. Except even fewer people have access to special FIFA juries. No voting system is perfect (and, of course, any Internet poll can be manipulated), but you can't change the rules once the election is under way.

FIFA's compromise solution managed to humiliate both Maradona and Pele.

The Argentine found that his award was meaningless, because his rival was handed one that, to everyone who witnessed it, appeared more important.

And Pele found himself accepting FIFA's charity: "We're sorry about the Internet fiasco, but we don't want you to go home empty-handed, so here's something for you."

Pele doesn't need people to suck up to him by giving him awards. His achievements speak for themselves.

The sad thing is that as a result of FIFA's bungling, both of these great footballers behaved in a less-than-classy way.

After receiving his award, Maradona left the building. He refused to stick around for Pele's ceremony.

At least he had the grace to name Pele among his choices for Player of the Century, alongside Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stefano.

Pele didn't even do that.

"I would have liked to have Maradona up on stage with me, but it he looks like he has already gone," he sneered when receiving his award.

Twenty-four hours earlier, speaking on Italian television, he was asked who he would have voted for if he couldn't vote for himself. Pele rattled off a list of twenty-odd names (which, bizarrely, included Michael Owen).

When pressed he said: "Look, it's like music. There are many different styles, many different preferences, many great musicians. But there is only one Beethoven, only one who is above everybody else."

He was asked if he himself was soccer's Beethoven and he simply smiled and nodded.

It's a shame because this kind of behavior made both Pele and Maradona seem petty.

Both should have been bigger than that. But it was FIFA's bungling that created this situation.

Their ridiculous compromise solution only wounded the pride and ego of these two great men. On the night of their umpteenth consecration, they were both shamed and humiliated.

I hope nobody remembers what took place in Rome Monday night. Neither Pele nor Maradona deserved to be put in such a situation.

But I also hope it serves as a lesson to FIFA.

Blatter has done a good job at the helm of world soccer, but he and hisminions badly dropped the ball on this one.

Based in London, Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com.