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Former head of South American soccer under house arrest
Jun. 1, 2015 7:57 PM EDT
Judge Humberto Otazu talks to journalists as he exits Migone Hospital, after meeting with Nicolas Leoz, former president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and former FIFA executive member in Asuncion, Paraguay, Monday, June 1, 2015. Leoz, one of several former and current top soccer officials named in a FIFA corruption investigation, was put under house arrest, according to Otazu. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — A judge in Paraguay on Monday ordered house arrest for the former president of the South American Football Confederation amid a far-reaching corruption scandal at FIFA that has tarnished the image of world soccer's governing body.
Judge Humberto Otazu also said that 86-year-old Nicolas Leoz is expected to be released later in the day from a hospital in the Paraguayan capital where he is being treated for high blood pressure. Leoz, who was president of the federation, known as CONMEBOL, from 1986 to 2013, is one of several former and current top soccer officials named in a FIFA corruption investigation.
"In accordance with the seriousness of the case ... it's prudent and timely to issue the house arrest," Otazu told reporters outside the hospital, adding that Leoz was not sent to prison because under Paraguayan law defendants over 70 years of age cannot be jailed pending a trial.
Last week, seven soccer officials were arrested in dawn raids at a luxury Zurich hotel. The U.S. Justice Department indicted 14 people on charges of bribery, racketeering, money-laundering and other charges. Among those in custody was Leoz's successor at CONMEBOL and FIFA vice president and executive committee member, Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay.
The Paraguayan foreign ministry has received a note from the United States Embassy requesting Leoz's arrest and seeking his extradition.
Leoz has been receiving treatment at the Migone private hospital that he owns in Asuncion since the scandal broke out last Wednesday, pushing FIFA into the worst crisis in its 111-year history.
Lawyer Fernando Barriocanal told reporters outside the hospital that his client is in good spirits and will defend himself when the right time comes.
Platini to lead Europe's fightback against ex-ally Blatter
By ROB HARRIS
May. 31, 2015 6:06 PM EDT
Re-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter, right, is congratulated by FIFA vice president and UEFA president Michel Platini after his speech during the 65th FIFA Congress held at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, May 29, 2015. Blatter has been re-elected as FIFA president for a fifth term, chosen to lead world soccer despite separate U.S. and Swiss criminal investigations into corruption. The 209 FIFA member federations gave the 79-year-old Blatter another four-year term on Friday after Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan conceded defeat after losing 133-73 in the first round. (Patrick B. Kraemer / Keystone via AP)
LONDON (AP) — In the buildup to the Champions League final, Lionel Messi and Andrea Pirlo could be overshadowed by a star of the showpiece 30 years earlier: Michel Platini.
As Barcelona and Juventus descend on Berlin to contest European soccer's annual extravaganza on Saturday, the UEFA president will be formulating the continent's fightback against Sepp Blatter's FIFA.
Platini, a European Cup winner with Juventus in 1985 who helped Blatter first get elected in 1998, has put UEFA on a direct collision course with FIFA in what he says is a mission to restore credibility to the sport.
Platini and UEFA led efforts to oust Blatter from power, supporting challenger Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan in Friday's election, but the 79-year-old Swiss official extended his 17-year grip on power. Blatter's victory came despite some of his close allies, including FIFA vice presidents, being arrested in Zurich ahead of the congress as part of an American investigation into soccer corruption.
Platini will now lead a UEFA meeting in Berlin on Friday to discuss their next move: begrudgingly put up with four more years of Blatter or seriously threaten a European exodus from FIFA.
English soccer leaders have been long-standing critics of Blatter and are hoping for action from Platini.
"It does require real leadership and Mr. Platini has now got to stand up," English FA chairman Greg Dyke told the BBC on Sunday. "He stood up and criticized Sepp Blatter. He's now got to lead the opposition."
A World Cup boycott does not appear to be a credible threat without the weight of the game's powers behind UEFA.
"If we could get 10 large countries to do the same thing then I think you could have a big impact," Dyke said.
German federation president Wolfgang Niersbach, a new member of FIFA's ruling executive committee, cautioned that "boycotts are always a bad weapon."
"I don't see that it helps us Europeans to boycott the (FIFA) executive committee," Niersbach told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Blatter warned on Saturday of the main potential consequence of a UEFA boycott: players deserting Europe's wealthy leagues to ensure they could continue playing for national teams.
In a Swiss newspaper interviewed published on Sunday, Blatter pointed out: "Europe couldn't even get together its own candidate."
Dutch football federation president Michael van Praag and Portugal great Luis Figo withdrew their candidacies a week before the poll, leaving Prince Ali as the UEFA-backed challenger.
Blatter's daughter, Corinne, weighed in to defend her father's integrity on Sunday and questioned why Platini ducked out of contesting the presidential election.
"How can UEFA, who say they are the strongest confederation, not put up a candidate?" Corinne Blatter told the BBC. "If (Platini) was serious about it he should have (stood)."
Platini's plans were derailed, though, when Blatter reneged on a 2011 pledge to step aside at the end of his four-year term.
"If he had kept his promise and recommended that his protege Platini should be his successor, a clean transition would have been possible," Niersbach said. "We wanted change — we did not achieve that aim. Now we as Europe must watch that we keep to a clear line and of course we will continue to work closely together in UEFA on this.
"We must, for example, watch out that we do not lose power in the ExCo because the number of members from other continents is increased. We must now deal with the situation and consult again as UEFA before the Champions League final."
The soccer world will also be watching to see if any leading players — like Barcelona's Messi or Juventus' Pirlo — take a stand against Blatter. In the run-up to Blatter's re-election, the stars of the game stayed silent despite the FIFA corruption scandal leading the news agenda globally.
That frustrates David Bernstein, the former English FA chairman.
"We need action now," Bernstein said. "I'd like to hear football managers speaking out. I'd like to hear footballers speaking out. I'd like Lionel Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo coming out.
"I'd like to hear football clubs coming out and trying to influence their supporters."
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron has been urged by the opposition Labour Party to convene an emergency summit on FIFA. Legislator Chris Bryant, who speaks on sports issues for Labour, said British teams should consider snubbing FIFA competitions.
The Serious Fraud Office in London also said it was assessing "material in its possession" after British banks Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank were named in U.S. indictments as among the financial institutions used to transfer cash as part of the alleged conspiracy.
Sepp Blatter, FIFA facing more criticism this week
By ROB HARRIS
Jun. 1, 2015 7:39 PM EDT
FILE - In this Friday, May 29, 2015 file photo, FIFA president Sepp Blatter after his election as President at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. (Patrick B. Kraemer/Keystone via AP, File)
LONDON (AP) — In the House of Commons, they're calling for Sepp Blatter's head. And even inside the FIFA president's own executive committee, there is the threat of resignation.
A new week has brought new turmoil for soccer's embattled 79-year-old president and his scandal-tainted governing body, which is in the midst of the worst corruption case in its 111-year history.
"For the good of the game, it is time for Sepp Blatter to go," British sports and culture secretary John Whittingdale told the House of Commons on Monday.
While the newly re-elected Blatter seems to be going nowhere despite the arrests and indictments of several soccer officials last week in Zurich, others are calling it quits or threatening to do so.
FIFA medical chief Michel D'Hooghe, the longest-serving member on the executive committee, said he would leave unless there were rapid reforms.
"I cannot reconcile myself with an institution where I work, where I have carried the medical responsibility for 27 years and about which I now learn that there is a lot of corruption," D'Hooghe told the VRT television network in Belgium.
"My conclusion is very clear: I will no longer continue to participate (in FIFA) under such conditions. So, it is high time for change to come and we will see over the coming days what may happen. Let's be clear, if this atmosphere prevails at FIFA, I have no place there."
D'Hooghe has served on FIFA's ruling body since 1988, a decade before Blatter's move up from secretary general to president.
"If you are faced with an abscess, simple medication does not suffice," D'Hooghe said. "You have to cut it open."
Heather Rabbatts went a step further and resigned from her post on the FIFA anti-discrimination task force.
That body, until last week, was chaired by Jeffrey Webb, who was suspended as a FIFA vice president and remains in custody in Switzerland along with six others after being arrested as part of the U.S. corruption investigation.
Rabbatts is also a director at the English Football Association, a long-standing critic of Blatter.
"Like many in the game I find it unacceptable that so little has been done to reform FIFA," she wrote in a letter to FIFA. "And it is clear from the re-election of President Blatter that the challenges facing FIFA and the ongoing damage to the reputation of football's world governing body are bound to continue to overshadow and undermine the credibility of any work in the anti-discrimination arena and beyond."
The corruption scandal crept closer to FIFA's Zurich headquarters when The New York Times reported late Monday that U.S. law enforcement officials believe the high-ranking FIFA member mentioned in the indictment as having made a $10-million payment central to the investigation was Blatter's right-hand man, Jerome Valcke.
The report cited unidentified officials who believe Valcke, FIFA's secretary general, transferred the money in 2008 to accounts controlled by Jack Warner, the former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president. That payment was allegedly made in exchange for Warner and others having voted to give the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
FIFA said the payment, which South African officials have said was meant to help with soccer development in the Caribbean, was authorized by the then-finance committee chairman, per FIFA regulations. The chairman, Julio Grondona, died last year.
The debate in Britain, where Blatter faces some of his harshest criticism, made its way to Parliament on Monday, and Whittingdale wasn't alone in his condemnation of the FIFA president.
Chris Bryant, the sports spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, said Blatter was a "tainted leader of a corrupt organization" who was re-elected because of "Mafioso cronyism."
FIFA on Monday provisionally banned another soccer official — CONCACAF General Secretary Enrique Sanz — as its ethics committee assesses evidence from the U.S. criminal investigation.
An unidentified co-conspirator listed in last week's indictment fit the description of Sanz' work history. Sanz, who has been battling leukemia, was placed on a leave of absence by CONCACAF on Thursday.
Top FIFA aide linked to money transfer key to indictment - source
Reuters
June 2, 2015, 3:43 am
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke takes part in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) being held in the Culloden Hotel near Belfast, Northern Ireland, in this February 28, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton/Files
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors believe FIFA President Sepp Blatter's top lieutenant made $10 million (£6.6 million) in bank transactions that are central to the bribery investigation of the world football body, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Jerome Valcke, FIFA's secretary general, is described in an indictment filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, as an unidentified "high-ranking FIFA official" who in 2008 transferred the sum to another FIFA official, Jack Warner.
Valcke is not named as a defendant and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He was not immediately available for comment.
Valcke and Blatter are the top two officials within FIFA. His connection to the case was first reported by The New York Times, which said Valcke had said in an email to the newspaper that he had not authorized the payment nor had the power to do so.
After news broke of his alleged connection to the case, FIFA announced that Valcke would not attend the opening of the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 due to begin June 6 as previously scheduled.
"It is important that he attends to matters at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich," FIFA said in a statement.
Warner, a former FIFA vice president, is among 14 FIFA officials and corporate executives charged by the U.S. Department of Justice last Wednesday with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than $150 million in bribes.
The $10 million payment is featured in the indictment accusing Warner, who was among those charged, of taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 World Cup.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; additional reporting by Michael Collett in London; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Sepp Blatter quits as Fifa president
79-year-old who has ruled soccer's world governing body for almost two decades announces shock resignation just days after being re-elected to a fifth term
Sepp Blatter has quit as Fifa president just days after being elected to a fifth term. Photo: AFP
Sepp Blatter resigned as Fifa president on Tuesday in the face of a US-led corruption investigation that has plunged world soccer’s governing body into the worst crisis in its history.
Blatter, 79, announced the decision at a news conference in Zurich, six days after the FBI raided a hotel in the Swiss city and arrested several Fifa officials and just four days after he was re-elected to a fifth term as president.
Blatter said an election to choose a new Fifa president would be held as soon as possible. The election is expected to take place sometime between December and March.
Blatter said Fifa needed “profound reconstruction” and that he had “thoroughly reconsidered” his presidency since his re-election.
He added: “While I have a mandate from the membership of Fifa, I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at Fifa.”
Fifa, ruled over by Blatter since 1998, was rocked this week by the announcement of a US investigation into alleged widespread financial wrongdoing stretching back for years. Swiss authorities mounted their own criminal probe into the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively.
The US Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Swiss attorney general said Blatter was not under investigation in Switzerland.
Blatter initially attempted to bat away the furore, relying on his network of friends to hold onto power at Fifa, which he joined in 1975.
While Blatter was not mentioned in either the US or Swiss investigations, there were widespread calls for him to quit, mostly from Western nations. Some major sponsors also expressed misgivings about the impact of the scandal.
The investigation however closed in on Blatter on Tuesday, when Fifa was forced to deny that his right-hand man, secretary-general Jerome Valcke, was implicated in a US$10 million payment that lies at the heart of the US case.
But at the same time, a letter addressed to Valcke was published outlining the transaction.
Valcke, who has been secretary-general since 2007 and is seen as one of the most powerful men in world sport, had no role in the payments, which were authorised by the chairman of Fifa’s finance committee, Fifa said in an earlier statement.
The chairman of the committee at the time of the payments was Argentina’s Julio Grondona, who died last year.
A person familiar with the matter said on Monday that US prosecutors believe Valcke made the US$10 million bank transactions that are central to a US bribery investigation against Fifa.
Meanwhile, Blatter’s shock resignation was hailed as “great for football” by one of his chief critics, English Football Association chief Greg Dyke.
Dyke, who told BBC World he had lost faith in Blatter last year, said he thought the 79-year-old Swiss realised the mounting corruption scandal “was getting close to him”.
Blatter, though, was praised Tuesday by one of his biggest opponents, his one-time Fifa protege Michel Platini.
“It was a difficult decision, a brave decision, and the right decision,” said Platini, the president of European soccer’s governing body Uefa. Platini had failed to persuade Blatter last week to resign ahead of the election.
Platini, who opted out of taking on Blatter head-to-head, will be expected to run for the top job now.
The new election will be overseen by Domenico Scala, chairman of Fifa’s audit and compliance committee.
Scala gave a statement immediately after Blatter in which he praised a decision that was “difficult and courageous in the current circumstances”.
“This is the most responsible way to ensure an orderly transition,” Scala said. “There is significant work to be done to regain the trust of the public.”
Reporting by Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press
Fifa whistleblower Blazer reveals World Cup bribes
By Joe Wright
Jun 3, 2015 21:07:05
The former Fifa official has claimed that he and members of the executive committee agreed to take kickbacks over the allocation of a number of tournaments
Fifa whistleblower Chuck Blazer has claimed that bribes were taken over the selection of the host nations for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups in an extraordinary testimony.
Blazer, a former Fifa Executive Committee member, was a key witness in the corruption investigation that has led to the arrests of a number of footballing officials over allegations of money-laundering and racketeering.
And the 70-year-old has now revealed the extent to which bribery took place in the awarding of certain international events, including the World Cups in France and South Africa, following the release of details of a US court hearing from two years ago.
Speaking in 2013 in a hearing in New York over alleged tax offences, Blazer said : "I also served as General Secretary of Concacaf from 1990 through December of 2011, and was responsible for, among other things, participating in the negotiations for sponsorship and media rights.
"During my association with Fifa and Concacaf, among other things, I and others agreed that I or a co-conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity. Among other things, I agreed with other persons in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup.
"Beginning in or about 1993 and continuing through the early 2000s, I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups. Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup. Among other things, my actions above had common participants and results.
"Between April of 2004 and May 2011, I and others who were fiduciaries to both Fifa and Concacaf, in contravention of our duties, I and others, while acting in our official capacities, agreed to participate in a scheme to defraud Fifa and Concacaf to the right to honest services by taking undisclosed bribes. I and others agreed to use e-mail, telephone and a wire transfer into and out of the United States in furtherance of the scheme. Funds procured through these improper payments passed through JFK Airport in the form of a check (cheque).
"Between December 2008 and May 2011, I and others agreed to and transmitted funds by wire transfer and cheques from places within the United States to places in the Caribbean, and from places in the Caribbean to places in the United States. I agreed to and took these actions to, among other things, promote and conceal my receipt of bribes and kickbacks. I knew that the funds involved were the proceeds of an unlawful bribe, and I and others used wires, e-mails and telephone to effectuate payment of and conceal the nature of the bribe. Funds procured through these improper payments passed through JFK airport in the form of a check (cheque).
"Between 2005 and 2010, while a resident of New York, New York, I knowingly and wilfully failed to file an income tax return and failed to pay income taxes. In this way, I intentionally concealed my true income from the IRS, thereby defrauding the IRS of income tax owed. I knew that my actions were wrong at the time."
Blazer was part of the Fifa Executive Committee between 1996 and 2013.
As well as holding a high position within Concacaf, the confederation for North America and the Caribbean, Blazer was also executive vice-president of the U.S. soccer federation.
His statement comes in a week which has seen Sepp Blatter confirm he will step down as Fifa president, with the FBI due to investigate the Swiss as part of their on-going inquest into alleged Fifa corruption.
A total of 14 individuals have so far been indicted by the US Department of Justice under charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
Beckham condemns Fifa over 'despicable' corruption saga
Jun 3, 2015 20:39:00
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder has expressed his disgust at the crisis currently engulfing the governing body following Sepp Blatter's resignation
David Beckham has condemned Fifa for the "despicable" corruption scandal that led to the resignation of Sepp Blatter on Tuesday.
Blatter's resignation was preceded by the arrests of seven senior officials at a Zurich hotel, with 14 people then indicted by the US Department of Justice under charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
The Swiss nonetheless won re-election as Fifa president last Friday but subsequently opted to step down, on the same day that his secretary general, Jerome Valcke, was implicated in the DOJ's investigations into a $10 million payment to former vice-president Jack Warner.
Beckham has now revealed his disgust at the furore, but hopes that Blatter's resignation will lead to reform at world football's governing body.
In a statement, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star said: "Whilst it has not been good to read some of the headlines surrounding our support recently, I hope at last we are now moving in the right direction.
"Some of the things that we know now happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game we love so much.
"Football is not owned by a few individuals the top, it belongs to the millions of people around the world who love this sport. It is time for Fifa to change and we should all welcome it."
Platini, Prince Ali and the Fifa presidency hopefuls
By Kris Voakes
Jun 3, 2015 11:41:00
With Sepp Blatter about to leave his post, there are a number of potential candidates already in with a chance of succeeding him
Less than a week after Sepp Blatter was re-elected as Fifa president until 2019, football finds itself back in the market for a new administrative leader.
As Blatter's shock resignation on Tuesday begins to sink in, several leading members of sports administration will now consider whether to throw their hat into the ring to replace the long-serving president.
But while David Ginola has already announced his intention to stand and Luis Figo may again pledge himself to the cause, there are a number of other figures who are expected to be among those showing an interest in the leading role.
Here, Goal runs through a handful of the big-hitters who could run for the presidency.
PRINCE ALI BIN AL-HUSSEIN
After Luis Figo and Michael van Praag pulled out of the race for Fifa president, Prince Ali was the only opponent left to fight Blatter as the Swiss marched to a fifth term in power. But having gained the favour of 73 member nations, the Jordanian may well believe he has what it takes to persuade another 32 that he is the man to lead football into the post-Blatter era after announcing he will again run for the post.
Last time around, Prince Ali was able to garner enough support to meet the minimum requirements of the election process even before he had made any pledges regarding his plans for football. But a wider pool of candidates under the modernisation banner may see the 39-year-old's voter base split.
SHEIKH AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH
Many people within football expected Sheikh Ahmad to make a play for the Fifa presidency in 2019 under the assumption that Blatter would retain the position throughout his fifth term. But the shock events of the past week may well see the Kuwaiti accelerate his power play.
Currently the president of the Olympic Council of Asia and a big name in the corridors of the International Olympic Committee, the 51-year-old was said to be targetting one of the AFC's places on the Fifa Executive Committee during the 2015-19 cycle until Blatter's resignation. The Sheikh formerly served in the Kuwaiti army and was minister of oil under his uncle's premiership in his home country.
DAVID GILL
David Gill was elected as Britain's Fifa vice-president in March only to announce his intention to resign after Sepp Blatter was given a new mandate as president. But the news of Blatter's exit was immediately followed by the news that Gill - who had not yet formally handed in his notice - would now take up the role as planned.
"Having yet to confirm formally my resignation, I am more than willing to play my part in helping to bring about a positive future for Fifa and to work with the many people within the organisation who are only committed to developing and promoting the game around the world," Gill said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 57-year-old former Manchester United executive has also sat on the English FA board and became a Uefa Executive Committee member in 2013.
ISSA HAYATOU
The 68-year-old Cameroonian has been president of Caf for the past 27 years and has already run for the Fifa presidency once, losing out to Blatter in 2002 after gaining 56 votes to the Swiss' 139.
In 2011 he was reprimanded by the IOC for taking kickbacks as part of an investigation into relationships between major sporting figures and the former sports marketing company ISL. Hayatou denied corruption, claiming he received the $20,000 from ISL as a gift for his confederation. He was later named by the Sunday Times as one of the leading executives linked to Mohammed Bin Hammam's alleged attempts to garner votes for the 2022 Qatar World Cup bid.
As a member of the Blatterite African confederation, Hayatou may well find himself heavily backed by member nations should he decided to stand.
MICHEL PLATINI
Having announced he would not run against Sepp Blatter for presidency, the current Uefa president may finally throw his name into the hat after the 79-year-old's demise. The Frenchman has gained many supporters around the European game for his introduction of the Financial Fair Play legislation and concern for child welfare, but also courted criticism for his support for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
The 59-year-old called Blatter's resignation "a brave decision" having previously appealed to the Swiss in person not to stand for a fifth term in charge. Platini is many bookmakers' early favourite to win the election at Fifa's Extraordinary Congress.
The former Fifa officials have been named as wanted by the international law organisation along withthree sports marketing heads
Interpol has issued international wanted persons alerts for former Fifa officials Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz over corruption charges.
Former vice-president Warner and Conmebol chief Leoz were among 14 people indicted on charges including racketeering conspiracy and corruption last Wednesday.
Warner has pleaded his innocence and questioned the charges against him, while a judge in Paraguay has reportedly ordered the arrest of Leoz.
The duo have now been named among six people to be issued with 'Red Notices' by the international law organisation, which has 190 member countries.
Interpol uses the notices to inform its members that a judicial authority has issued an arrest warrant against an individual, whose location and arrest is sought for the purposes of extradition or a similar lawful action.
A statement from Interpol read: "At the request of US authorities, Interpol Red Notices – or international wanted persons alerts – have been issued for two former Fifa officials and four corporate executives for charges including racketeering conspiracy and corruption."
Controlling head of sports marketing business Torneos and Competencias SA, Alejandro Burzaco, has also been named, as has Velente Corp. controlling principal Jose Margulies.
Full Play Group SA controlling principals Hugo and Mariano Jinkis complete the six.
Fifa’s Sepp Blatter gives up, but investigators aren’t about to
Reports say US anti-corruption officials aim to get others to 'flip' on their former boss at Fifa
Fifa president Sepp Blatter trudges off after stunning the world of sport by resigning just days after he was re-elected. Photo: EPA
Hours after his shock resignation stunned soccer, reports suggested Sepp Blatter is in the crosshairs of US anti-corruption officials hoping to get high- profile Fifa figures to "flip" on the president of soccer's embattled world governing body.
The Swiss national, who has led Fifa for 17 years, was being investigated by US prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said a person who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirming reports that had appeared in The New York Times and ABC News.
And as the fallout from the biggest sporting scandal in years continued, Interpol issued international arrest warrants for six soccer officials, while South Africa denied that a US$10 million payment to former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, one of those named by Interpol, was a bribe to win the 2010 World Cup.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch declined to comment at a press conference yesterday.
"With respect to the Fifa investigation as was announced last week we are not able to comment further on the nature of other individuals who may or may not be under investigation," she said in the Latvian capital Riga. "This is an ongoing matter, it is an open case, and so we will now be speaking through the courts."
Blatter resigned in a stunning capitulation on Tuesday, saying he would remain in power until a special congress can choose a new leader.
Seven soccer officials were arrested on Wednesday last week in a dawn raid at a Swiss hotel, with 14 in total indicted by US authorities in an investigation into "rampant, systemic and deep-rooted" corruption at Fifa.
Despite that, Blatter was re-elected on Friday, but admitted just days later: "I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football."
Some of Blatter's opponents rejoiced at his announcement, while commercial sponsors urged Fifa to clean up its act.
"Why didn't he step down last week? Clearly there's a smoking gun of some sort," English Football Association chief Greg Dyke said. "He's not been honourable in years. Now he's gone - let's celebrate."
The New York Times, which broke news of the corruption investigation, said law enforcement officials "were hoping to win the cooperation of some of the Fifa officials now under indictment and work their way up the organisation".
A source told ABC: "Now that people are going to want to save themselves, there's probably a race to see who will flip on [Blatter] first."
"We may not be able to collapse the whole organisation but maybe you don't need to," another ABC source said.
Fifa refused to comment on the US reports, as did the US Justice Department and FBI.
Blatter'sdaughter, Corinne Blatter-Andenmatten, told Swiss newspaper Blick her father's decision "has absolutely nothing, to do with the allegations".
Blatter tried to weather the global storm when he secured a fifth term with backing from Africa and Asia, including the Hong Kong Football Association. But as pressure mounted, it seems he decided the game was up.
Interpol issued an international alert with the names of Warner, Fifa executive Nicolas Leoz and four heads of sports marketing companies on their most wanted list. All six are wanted by US authorities investigating more than US$150 million of bribes paid to soccer officials.
Warner is on bail in Trinidad and Tobago. Leoz is reportedly under house arrest in Paraguay.
Sponsors such as Visa, Coca-Cola and Kia-Hyundai welcomed Blatter's resignation and expressed hope that Fifa would change for the better.
As potential candidates to replace him - including Jordan's Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Uefa president Michel Platini, and former players Luis Figo and Zico - jostled for position - Blatter was back in his office as Fifa tried to put on a "business-as-usual" air.
"Everything continues as before. The president is still president, until the election of his successor," said a Fifa spokeswoman at the Zurich headquarters where dozens of television cameras waited at the entrance. "It's tough," said one employee.
FIFA paid Irish 5 million euros to stop legal action - FAI chief
Reuters
June 5, 2015, 2:20 am
An unidentified protestor stands in front the entrance of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland June 4, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
By Conor Humphries
DUBLIN (Reuters) - FIFA paid the Irish FA (FAI) five million euros (£3.65 million) to avoid a legal case over a controversial World Cup playoff defeat in 2009, FAI chief executive John Delaney said on Thursday.
Ireland were knocked out by France in a two-legged playoff to qualify for the 2010 South Africa tournament, with the decisive goal in the second leg coming after a handball by French striker Thierry Henry in extra time.
Former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Henry blatantly stopped the ball going out of play with his hand, before crossing for William Gallas to score. The game in Paris in 2009 ended 1-1 after with France progressing to the finals 2-1 on aggregate.
With moral outrage over the goal in Ireland and beyond, FIFA president Sepp Blatter revealed that the FAI had asked the governing body to be handed a "33rd place" in the World Cup at a confidential meeting to discuss a possible replay.
Delaney criticised Blatter at the time for his handling of the incident and accused the Swiss of being "disrespectful".
Speaking to Irish state broadcaster RTE on Thursday, Delaney said: "It was a payment to the association... not to proceed with a legal case.
"We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup hadn't worked out because of the Thierry Henry handball, also the way (Sepp) Blatter behaved if you remember on stage, having a snigger, having a laugh at us.
"So that day when I went in and told him how I felt about him... there were some expletives used, we came to an agreement.
"That was the Thursday and on Monday the agreement was all signed and all done. It was a very good agreement for the FAI, a very legitimate agreement for the FAI."
Delaney did not reveal the exact amount FIFA paid, but said: "I'm bound by confidentiality from naming the figure. You used a figure there... well done to you."
Henry's handball became known as "Le Hand of God" -- a reference to Diego Maradona's handball goal against England at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico.
(Writing by Martyn Herman; editing by Justin Palmer)
The Latest: US court asked to reveal Blazer's plea deal
By The Associated Press
Jun. 4, 2015 3:25 PM EDT
FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2005 file photo, Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) general secretary Chuck Blazer attends a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Blazer, a former FIFA executive committee member, told a U.S. federal judge he and others on the governing body's ruling panel agreed to receive bribes as part of the vote that picked South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup, according to a transcript of the 2013 hearing in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn unsealed by prosecutors Wednesday, June 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer, File)
1920 GMT (3:20 p.m. EDT)
The New York Times has asked a U.S. federal judge to make public the government's plea agreement with former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer.
In a motion filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, the paper said the plea agreement should be made available under rights attached to federal common law and the First Amendment.
The plea agreement was referenced in a 40-page transcript of Blazer's November 2013 plea hearing, which was unsealed on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ordered the government to respond by Tuesday.
Blazer, the former No. 2 official of soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, forfeited over $1.9 million at the time of his pleas to 10 counts of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, income tax evasion, and failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. He agreed to pay a second amount to be determined at the time of sentencing.
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1910 GMT (3:10 p.m. EDT)
FIFA has admitted to writing off a $5 million loan to Ireland in compensation for missing out on the 2010 World Cup after Thierry Henry's handball set up the French winner.
The payment, initially a loan, was not disclosed following the 2009 playoff game, which France won 2-1 on aggregate to reach the finals in South Africa.
The cash from FIFA was first disclosed in public on Thursday by Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney, who didn't say it was a loan.
FIFA says it granted the loan "to put an end to any claims against FIFA," but it would have to be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 World Cup.
After Ireland failed to qualify, FIFA says the loan was written off.
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1845 GMT (2:45 p.m. EDT)
Qatar's foreign minister says racism is behind the allegations that his country was wrongly awarded the 2022 World Cup, and he denounced the furor surrounding the widening FIFA scandal.
Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, visiting Tunisia, said on Thursday that his country cooperated with American investigators and was cleared of any suspicion.
"Unfortunately, there are some parties that cannot swallow the fact of an Arab and Muslim country hosting this competition," he said. "This cup will take place for the first time in the history of football and sport in an Arab country."
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1615 GMT (12:15 p.m. EDT)
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has issued his first public statement since announcing his resignation two days ago, saying he has already started the process of reforming soccer's governing body.
Blatter said Tuesday he would step down amid a corruption crisis that has shaken FIFA and soccer officials around the world.
FIFA says Blatter met with audit and compliance chairman Domenico Scala on Thursday to "instigate meaningful reform of the administration and structure of FIFA."
"I had a good, constructive meeting with Mr. Scala to establish a framework for action and a timetable. I am pleased to take advice and guidance from Mr. Scala," Blatter said. "I want a comprehensive program of reform and I am very aware that only the FIFA Congress can pass these reforms. Furthermore, the Executive Committee has a particular duty to share the responsibility of driving this process."
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1408 GMT (10:08 a.m. EDT)
Military intelligence officers have raided the headquarters of the Venezuelan Football Federation amid the spiraling FIFA scandal.
Venezuela's public prosecutor's office said agents raided the Venezuelan organization's offices Wednesday to gather evidence for a criminal investigation. The organization's former head, Rafael Esquivel, was detained in Switzerland last week along with six other FIFA officials accused of taking bribes.
The raid came hours after the prosecutor's office asked that Esquivel's bank accounts be frozen as he is investigated for money laundering. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has expressed support for the public prosecutor's actions against Esquivel even as he's raised concerns about the role of the U.S. in the larger investigation.
Esquivel, 68, may face extradition to the U.S.
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0940 GMT (5:40 a.m. EDT)
The British government says England is ready to step in and host the 2022 World Cup if the tournament is stripped from Qatar amid the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA.
"Obviously if FIFA came forward and asked us to consider hosting it, we have the facilities in this country and of course we did mount a very impressive, if unsuccessful bid to host the 2018 World Cup," culture secretary John Whittingdale told the House of Commons.
However, Whittingdale acknowledged that "it does seem very unlikely that another European country would host it in 2022" because Russia is due to stage the World Cup in 2018.
Swiss authorities are investigating the bidding contests for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, and have seized documents at FIFA headquarters as part of their corruption probe.
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0845 GMT (4:45 a.m. EDT)
South Africa's organized crime unit is conducting a preliminary investigation into bribery allegations surrounding the 2010 World Cup bid after being provided with documents by an opposition political party.
The unit's spokesman, Hangwani Mulaudzi, says a file has been opened and the unit will decide whether the information calls for a full investigation.
Mulaudzi would not describe the documents the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation received from the Freedom Front Plus political party.
Mulaudzi says the unit has "investigators looking into the matter."
Former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer said in court documents unsealed Wednesday in the United states that he and other top officials at FIFA took bribes connected to South Africa's successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup.
Hong Kong's role in the Fifa scandal emerged when US justice officials alleged at least one senior Fifa official had funnelled bribes through a bank account in the city. Photo: AP
A top-ranking Fifa official accused in connection with a global corruption and money laundering scandal engulfing world soccer may have been able to move cash through banks in Hong Kong as he was not deemed high-risk.
Sources confirmed that officials from soccer's governing bodies, such as Fifa, were not considered what are known as "politically exposed persons" under Hong Kong Monetary Authority guidelines.
If they were, any transactions linked to them or their associates would immediately trigger much stricter due diligence procedures than normal.
Hong Kong's role in the Fifa scandal emerged last week when US justice officials revealed that at least one senior official from the organisation had allegedly funnelled bribes through a bank account in the city.
Using a front company set up in the city and an HSBC account here, Fifa official Costas Takkas, 58, allegedly moved US$1.2 million in suspect payments received from a sports marketing conglomerate in Brazil.
According to international money laundering experts, Takkas - and the other eight officials now under arrest and awaiting extradition to the United States from Switzerland - should have been classified as "politically exposed persons".
"From a risk-based perspective, Fifa executives ought to be treated exactly the same as politically exposed persons," said Bill Majcher, a former financial crimes investigator with federal law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada.
"Fifa is effectively a non-governmental organisation, but because of the amount of influence it has over public works projects in member countries, as well as the history of allegations of corruption, its executives should be treated as high-risk," Majcher said.
Asked whether officials from the organisation governing world soccer were considered politically exposed persons, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said last night that it would not comment on individual cases.
The latest concerns come a day after HKMA deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang admitted that a number of banks in the city were under investigation over "deficiencies'' in their anti-money laundering procedures.
In December, Swiss lawmakers passed legislation that formally classed executives and employees of sporting federations as politically exposed people, a move aimed at allowing more scrutiny of sports officials.
Peter Gallo, a noted money-laundering expert and former due diligence specialist at Kroll Associates, earlier said that any accounts connected to Fifa officials should have been flagged as higher risk.
"Few people will really be surprised to see the word 'corruption' in a headline about Fifa. The organisation has had a reputation as being tainted by corruption for as long as I can remember," Gallo said.
A television screen grab of Thierry's handball which led to the controversial goal against Ireland in 2009. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Fifa paid Ireland’s FA (FAI) US$5 million to avoid a legal case over a controversial World Cup play-off defeat in 2009, world soccer’s governing body confirmed on Thursday.
Ireland were knocked out by France in a two-legged play-off to qualify for the 2010 South Africa tournament, with the decisive goal in the second leg coming after a handball by French striker Thierry Henry in extra time.
With moral outrage over the goal in Ireland and beyond growing, Fifa came to a financial agreement with the FAI not to proceed with legal action.
Fifa said on Thursday it gave the FAI a loan that would have been paid back had Ireland qualified for the 2014 World Cup.
“In January 2010 Fifa entered into an agreement with FAI in order to put an end to any claims against FIFA,” it said.
“Fifa granted FAI a loan of US$5 million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. At the same time, Uefa also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium.
“The terms agreed between Fifa and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 Fifa World Cup. Ireland did not so qualify.
“Because of this, and in view of the FAI’s financial situation, Fifa decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014.”
William Gallas celebrates scoring the goal resulting from Thierry Henry's pass. Photo: AP
Former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Henry blatantly stopped the ball going out of play with his hand, before crossing for William Gallas to score. The game in Paris in 2009 ended 1-1 after with France progressing to the finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter revealed that the FAI had asked the governing body to be handed a “33rd place” in the World Cup at a confidential meeting to discuss a possible replay.
FAI chief executive John Delaney criticised Blatter at the time for his handling of the incident and accused the Swiss of being “disrespectful”.
Speaking to Irish state broadcaster RTE on Thursday, Delaney said: “It was a payment to the association ... not to proceed with a legal case.
Irish players remonstrate with the referee following the goal. Photo: EPA
“We felt we had a legal case against Fifa because of how the World Cup hadn’t worked out because of the Thierry Henry handball, also the way Blatter behaved if you remember on stage, having a snigger, having a laugh at us.
“So that day when I went in and told him how I felt about him ... there were some expletives used, we came to an agreement. It was a very good agreement for the FAI, a very legitimate agreement for the FAI.”
Hong Kong's role in the growing corruption scandal engulfing world soccer has taken a new twist. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong's role in the growing corruption scandal engulfing world soccer has taken a new twist after it emerged that alleged bribes funnelled to a top Fifa official through an HSBC bank account in the city came from a bank in the US once linked to a Colombian drug cartel.
New details of the alleged bribe to Fifa official Costas Takkas - who remains under arrest in Switzerland pending extradition to the US - come as a global inter-governmental body which oversees the anti-money laundering efforts of member states, including Hong Kong, told the South China Morning Post "red flags" should have been raised over transactions linked to Fifa.
Earlier this week US Justice Department officials claimed an HSBC bank account in Hong Kong was one of a number used to funnel millions of dollars in bribes to Fifa officials.
It is now known that in 2003 the bank named in documents released by US investigators, Delta National Bank and Trust Company, pleaded guilty to failing to report transactions linked to a Colombian drug cartel.
It is understood US regulatory officials are taking a renewed interest in Delta National.
Yesterday a spokesman for HSBC in Hong Kong did not answer specific questions about why the payments from the Miami-based bank were not flagged, given the bank's history.
"We are continuing to review the allegations … to ensure that our services are not being misused for financial crime," the spokesman said.
According to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - which oversees anti-money-laundering efforts - Fifa officials could be considered "politically exposed" and be subject to greater scrutiny.
"An ongoing public debate about the integrity of any entity should raise sufficient red flags to financial institutions to treat customers that are related to that entity as high-risk customers," said an FATF spokesman.
Earlier this week, the deputy chief of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, warned that banks could face fines if they did not fully comply with anti-money-laundering requirements.
Last night a HKMA spokesman insisted that just because an individual was not designated as "politically exposed" did not mean they were not subject to proper due diligence. He declined to comment on oversight issues related to Delta National Bank and HSBC.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that the US Justice Department believed that HSBC's procedures to prevent money laundering, sanction-breaking and criminal activity had flaws so serious that to disclose them risked serious crime. The claim was in a US court motion by the department which wants to keep confidential a report on the bank.
Fifa confirms $5m payment to FAI following Henry handball
By Ronan Murphy
Jun 4, 2015 19:58:00
The game's governing body says it loaned the FAI money to aid the construction of a stadium but wrote off the loan after the national team failed to qualify for World Cup 2010
Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney has confirmed that the FAI were paid a large figure by Fifa to deter the association from proceeding with a legal case following Thierry Henry's handball in the 2010 World Cup playoff with France.
Henry's handball lead to a goal which helped France defeat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 to advance to the World Cup finals in South Africa, and Delaney believed that the FAI had a legitimate claim to bring Fifa to court over the matter.
However, a legal case was not lodged as then Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Delaney agreed a substantial payoff, reported to be in the region of €5 million.
"We felt we had a legal case against Fifa because of how the World Cup play-off hadn’t worked out for us with the Henry handball,” Delaney told RTE Radio.
"Also the way Blatter behaved, if you remember on stage, having a snigger and having a laugh at us. That day when I went in, and I told him how I felt about him, there were some expletives used. We came to an agreement.
"That was a Thursday and on Monday the agreement was all signed and all done. It’s a very good agreement for the FAI and a very legitimate agreement for the FAI."
Delaney would not deny that the amount received was €5m, but was pleased with the outcome of the agreement.
"I’m bound by confidentiality for naming the figure," Delaney said.
"You’ve put a figure out there and fair play to you. It was a payment to the association to not proceed with a legal case. In there they signed a confidentiality agreement where I can’t talk about the amount involved.
"You used a figure there, well done to you, but it was a very good and legitimate deal for the FAI."
Fifa has issued a statement in response to Delaney's claims.
"On November 18 2009, there was a play-off match between France and the Republic of Ireland for a place in the 2010 World Cup finals. During the match, a handball by France's Thierry Henry led indirectly to a goal against the Irish team. Ireland did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals," it reads.
"While the Referee's decision is final, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) ultimately accepted it as such, in January 2010 FIFA entered into an agreement with FAI in order to put an end to any claims against FIFA. FIFA granted FAI a loan of USD 5 million for the construction of a stadium in Ireland. At the same time, UEFA also granted the FAI funds for the same stadium.
"The terms agreed between FIFA and the FAI were that the loan would be reimbursed if Ireland qualified for the 2014 World Cup. Ireland did not so qualify. Because of this, and in view of the FAI's financial situation, FIFA decided to write off the loan as per 31 December 2014."
FIFA’s secret 2026 TV rights giveaway to US network Fox opens legal minefield for other nations while every World Cup since 1998 becomes subject of corruption inquiries
FIFA gave US network Fox rights to 2026 World Cup with no tender process
FIFA effectively bought Fox’s compliance because they felt the broadcaster had a legal case over the 2022 switch to a winter World Cup in Qatar
Compensation claims could come from nations who bid for 2022 event
Ireland FA published a contract, signed by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, confirming a €5million (£3.6m) payment to avoid legal action
FIFA’s president Sepp Blatter announced he will step aside in the next year
By Nick Harris for The Mail on Sunday
Published: 22:40, 6 June 2015 | Updated: 00:28, 7 June 2015
FIFA’s secret deal to hand the US TV rights for the 2026 World Cup to the Fox network in America without a tender process is expected to come under scrutiny, leaving football’s world governing body open to compensation claims over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup.
Since FIFA’s president Sepp Blatter announced he intends to make way for a successor in the next year, more revelations about FIFA’s behaviour have emerged - including a payment of €5million (£3.6m) to the FA of Ireland to prevent legal action by the FAI over Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
The FAI have published the legal contract that sealed the hush-hush deal, which was signed by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, as well as a bank transfer chit showing the cash entering their account.
Sepp Blatter’s time as FIFA president is coming to an end with revelations of wrongdoing emerging by the day
Blatter shakes hands with FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who signed off the Ireland hush money deal
HOW SPORTSMAIL HELPED BRING DOWN BLATTER!
The momentous events that led to Sepp Blatter's resignation gained momentum last Sunday when The Mail on Sunday was the first publication to reveal his No 2, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, signed off $10m in payments to Jack Warner identified as bribes by US investigators(left).
FIFA claimed a dead man was responsible - the late FIFA executive Julio Grondona.
Paperwork from South Africa proved Valcke’s involvement and Blatter announced his intention to resign within hours.
FIFA have not responded to questions about how many other similar secret payments they have made, or on other covert deals kept from the public.
But Valcke admitted in February that Fox and the Spanish-language platform Telemundo had been awarded the 2026 World Cup rights ‘in order to protect FIFA’ from a legal threat over the moving of the 2022 World Cup from summer to winter. ‘We have done what we had to do in order to protect FIFA and the organisation of the World Cup,’ he said.
Fox and Telemundo agreed to pay almost $1bn for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on the basis they would be played in the summer. Fox were outraged at the prospect of a winter 2022 World Cup clashing with the NFL season.
So FIFA placated Fox by handing them the 2026 rights without any tender process, and it is understood there is a contractual agreement in place, signed by top FIFA officials, for that deal. FIFA did not respond to requests on Saturday night to confirm this, or to publish the contract.
If it is confirmed that FIFA effectively bought Fox’s compliance because they felt Fox had a legal case over the 2022 switch to winter, it would increase the chances of the losing bidders for 2022 - the USA, Australia, Japan and South Korea - claiming compensation for bidding for a World Cup under what might legally be claimed were FIFA’s false pretences that it would be a summer tournament.
Valcke admitted that Fox and the Spanish-language Telemundo had been awarded the 2026 World Cup rights ‘in order to protect FIFA’ from a legal threat over the moving of the 2022 World Cup from summer to winter
Football Association of Ireland published the contract, signed by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, that sealed €5million in hush money to avoid legal proceedings over their defeat by a Thierry Henry handball
The American authorities are already investigating alleged corruption in the awards of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, as are the Swiss authorities.
The fact that all the World Cups from 1998 to 2026 - where the venue is still unknown — are under scrutiny highlights the unprecedented crisis engulfing FIFA.
The 1998 World Cup award to France has become opaque after claims that bribes were offered in a hosting race also contested by Morocco. It is alleged Morocco offered to bribe former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
The 2002 World Cup is not under active investigation but former UEFA president Lennart Johansson has said in the past that FIFA executive committee members were offered bribes from nations bidding to stage it.
The 2006 World Cup award to Germany has long been rumoured to have been less than clean and new allegations claim Germany supplied Saudi Arabia with arms in exchange for support for their bid, which narrowly beat South Africa 12-11.
Indicted former FIFA vice president Jack Warner sits in his office in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday
The 2010 World Cup, hosted by South Africa, is now subject to claims that bribes were paid to Warner and others for votes. The FBI are also investigating the 2014 World Cup over alleged bribes and kickbacks related to tournament contractors.
With 2018, 2022 and 2026 also causing FIFA headaches, one veteran sports administrator who has succeeded in cleaning up institutional scandals is unsure football can quickly remedy its problems.
‘It’s a complete and utter mess,’ said Dick Pound, who headed the International Olympic Committee clean-up of the 2002 Salt Lake bribery scandal. ‘It may be too late.’
Pound, a Canadian lawyer, added: ‘[The IOC] took it seriously and did what we had to do. I don’t know whether FIFA is willing or even able to do the same sort of thing.’
Blatter has been urged to leave as soon as possible by the head of Germany’s football association, Wolfgang Niersbach. ‘We strongly advocate that the announced resignation be done quickly now to clear the path for a fresh start,’ he said.
Then-president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki (right) with Sepp Blatter and former president Nelson Mandela in 2004. Photo: EPA
Football’s world governing body faced fresh pressure on Saturday, after media reports that the highest levels of South Africa’s government approved a US$10-million payment US investigators suspect was a bribe to get the 2010 World Cup.
Then-president Thabo Mbeki and foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma approved the payment, the reports said, which the authorities again insisted was for a legitimate development project in the Caribbean.
The new revelations came as Fifa remained in the eye of a corruption storm that has seen seven executives arrested, its president Sepp Blatter announce his resignation and former executive committee member Chuck Blazer admit to paying bribes.
England’s Football Association chairman Greg Dyke predicted the scandal engulfing Fifa will see the arrest of 79-year-old Blatter, who has pledged to begin reforming the body before standing aside after a new election sometime between December and March 2016.
Blatter, once considered the most powerful man in sport, will not attend an International Olympic Committee meeting in Lausanne next week.
“The one thing you discover if you run an organisation is that the moment you say you’re going, you’ve gone. He’s dead. It’s over,” Dyke told British newspaper The Guardian.
The South African payment in 2008 was made through Fifa and went to an account controlled by Jack Warner, a disgraced former vice president from the Caribbean wanted by US authorities for accepting bribes.
US investigators suspect it was a bribe to get three Fifa executive votes for its World Cup bid. South African authorities say the US$10-million payment was an honest donation to support football among the “African diaspora” in the Caribbean.
“President Mbeki spoke with the leadership of the 2010 World Cup local organising committee,” Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula told the Beeld newspaper when asked who decided to pay the money. “[It was] the government’s idea,” he said.
The Mail and Guardian newspaper published a 2007 letter from World Cup bid chief Danny Jordaan to Fifa about South Africa’s donation to the “Diaspora legacy support programme”, which was virtually unknown in the country at the time.
Former South African foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was said to have approved the payment, along with former president Thabo Mbeki. Photo: AFP
Jordaan wrote that then foreign minister Dlamini-Zuma, now chairman of the African Union Commission, had advised the money should be paid to the organising committee. Fifa would then deduct the sum from the committee’s budget and pay it straight to the “diaspora programme”.
Mbalula said the latest disclosures did nothing to challenge South Africa’s position that the payment was genuine, and that the allegations are “being used to pursue political agendas”.
Warner, from Trinidad and Tobago, is one of 14 football and sports marketing company officials and executives facing charges in the United States over more than US$150 million of bribes paid over two decades.
On Friday, he blamed the charges on a conspiracy by the government of Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, his one-time ally, who he said was attacking him because he had opposed her nepotism.
“All that the prime minister was concerned about was schooling me so that their minions would rise as she promised,” wrote Warner, who was head of the American and Caribbean football association Concacaf at the time of the South African payments.
Current Concacaf head Jeffrey Webb was among the seven Fifa officials detained in Zurich last week who are now fighting extradition to the United States. Authorities in several countries, including South Africa, have since launched their own investigations.
The stadiums being built for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar may never be used for their intended purpose if corruption is found to be behind the country's successful hosting bid. Photo: AFP
Russia and Qatar could lose the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if evidence is found of corruption in the bidding process, a Fifa official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The comments by the head of Fifa’s auditing and compliance committee came as bribery claims mounted against disgraced former Fifa vice president Jack Warner, the man at the heart of the scandal engulfing football’s world body.
“If evidence exists that Qatar and Russia received the [World Cup] awards only thanks to bribes, then the awards could be annulled,” Domenico Scala told the Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung.
He said, however, that “this evidence has not been provided” so far.
His comments are the first by a senior Fifa official to even open up the possibility of either Russia or Qatar being stripped of the right to host the football extravaganza.
Swiss judicial authorities are already probing the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar as part of a far-reaching corruption scandal that has also raised questions about the 2010 event in South Africa.
Around 14 current or former Fifa officials and sports marketing executives are also accused by US prosecutors of taking part in a sweeping kickbacks scheme going back 20 years involving a total of US$150 million in bribes.
The revelations have thrown the world of football into turmoil and led to the notice of resignation given by long-serving Fifa president Sepp Blatter last week, just four days after his reelection for a fifth successive term.
Blatter’s replacement will not be chosen for months, but Freddy Rumo, a former vice-president of European football’s governing body Uefa, has said changing Fifa presidents will not root out graft at the organisation.
“The corruption, in my opinion, has nothing to do with Blatter’s person,” he told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
Domenico Scala is the first senior Fifa official to open up the possibility of either Russia or Qatar being stripped of the right to host the tournament. Photo: Reuters
“The solution of replacing a president with another will have basically zero effect.”
Although Blatter has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing, allegations are swirling around his one-time right-hand man Warner.
Accusations surfaced on Sunday that Warner sought a US$7 million bribe from Egypt for votes in the bidding process for the 2010 World Cup, and that he pocketed a US$10 million payment from South Africa – the eventual host.
Warner was arrested on May 29 at the request of US authorities and is currently free on US$400,000 bail pending a decision in his extradition case.
The 72-year-old former schoolteacher and Trinidadian justice minister has denied all the allegations against him.
The BBC claimed he personally used the US$10 million payment to Fifa in 2008 which South Africa says was intended for football development for the African diaspora in the Caribbean, where Warner was the longtime football baron.
The BBC, citing documents it has seen, said Warner laundered the money through a supermarket chain, made cash withdrawals, paid off his credit cards and took personal loans.
Jack Warner is the subject of fresh corruption claims. Photo: AFP
In three transactions in 2008, funds totalling US$10 million were moved from Fifa’s bank into an account of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) which was controlled by Warner, then its president.
According to a 2007 email published on Sunday by South Africa’s Sunday Times, Blatter and then South African president Thabo Mbeki discussed the US$10 million.
The email came from Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has previously said “I have nothing to blame myself for” over the payment.
In another allegation, former Egyptian sports minister Aley Eddine Helal said Warner asked Egypt in 2004 for a US$7-million bribe in exchange for seven votes to host the 2010 Cup.
“Warner was the one who approached us from Fifa. He said he could guarantee us seven votes. He asked for US$1 million for each vote,” claimed Helal, who has said Warner’s offer was rebuffed.
Egypt, one of the countries dominating African football, received no votes in the 2004 Fifa ballot.
South Africa on Sunday “categorically” denied it paid bribes to secure the World Cup – the first in Africa and one of Blatter’s main pledges when he took over as Fifa president in 1998.
The former chief of France’s 1998 World Cup organising committee last week also denied any “irregularities” over their bid.
