World football was rocked on the morning May 27, 2015, when news came in that seven top-ranking Federation International de Football Association officials were arrested by the Swiss police on corruption charges levied by the United States. A total of 14 officials have been charged. While FIFA has been plagued with rampant corruption accusations in the recent past, this marks a new low in the history of world football.
What exactly happened?
Early on the morning of May 27, Swiss plainclothes policemen walked into the five-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, Switzerland and arrested seven top FIFA officials on account of major corruption charges levied by the US Department of Justice. Those arrested will face extradition from Switzerland to the United States to appear in a US court to face their charges.
Later, Swiss prosecutors announced that they had opened a separate investigation against unidentified people on the suspicion of mismanagement and money-laundering related to the awarding of 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
What are the charges?
Fourteen officials have been charged by the US Department of Justice with 47 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering conspiracies. According to US authorities, these cases involved more than $150 million in bribes over a period of four years. At a press conference, US Internal Revenue Service chief Richard Weber slammed FIFA calling the proceedings a "World Cup of fraud".
As part of the second investigation, officials from Swiss Office of the Attorney General seized data and documents from FIFA IT systems as part of their investigation. This followed an earlier complaint by FIFA, on November 18, 2014, against unidentified people. FIFA says that the second investigation is being conducted with full co-operation from their side. Swiss officials are now interviewing ten FIFA executive committee members who were part of the 2010 World Cup bidding process.
Who are the ones involved?
The list of officials arrested includes some in very prominent positions, which is likely to hugely embarrass FIFA:
Jeffrey Webb: Current FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF president
Eugenio Figueredo: Former president of CONEMBOL and former FIFA Vice-President
Eduardo Li: Current President of Costa Rica Football Federation
Julio Rocha: A FIFA development officer and president of the Nicaragua Football Association
Rafael Esquivel: President of the Venezuelan Football Federation and current executive committee member of CONEMBO
Costas Takkas: Current attaché to the CONCACAF president
What happens now?
Those arrested have been detained, pending extradition to the United States. Switzerland and the United States have an extradition treaty which can be used to send accused persons back to trial in the US. The Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland said that six of those arrested had contested extradition, while one had agreed to be extradited.
Is current FIFA president Sepp Blatter involved?
Not directly, at least. Sepp Blatter is not among the 14 individuals charged with corruption. US authorities have not commented on whether Blatter is one of the targets of their probe.
However, there might be implications for Blatter politically. As the current president of FIFA, Blatter has weathered various corruption charges through his long reign (which started in 1998) and has been able to successfully battle them out. He is standing for re-election for a fifth term as President in a vote scheduled to be held at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on Friday, May 29. Though FIFA officials say that the vote will go ahead as planned, these developments have surely tarnished Blatter’s reputation and it remains to be seen whether there will be any impact on the voting.
It does appear though that Blatter is staying out of public view. Since Wednesday, he has skipped three public appearances, including those at the meetings of the African and South American Federations. On Thursday morning, Blatter was scheduled to speak at the opening of the second session of FIFA’s Medical Conference but did not show up. However, he is believed to be conducting emergency meetings with various football federations.
How has the world reacted?
Reactions have come in from all quarters slamming Sepp Blatter and calling for his resignation. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has called for total reform of world football’s governing body and has supported calls for Blatter to step down as FIFA president. The Labour Party in the UK has also demanded that bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups be reopened and alternative tournaments be organised if the demand is not met.
There is trouble on the commercial front for FIFA as well. VISA, one of FIFA’s biggest sponsors, have warned the football body that it would “reassess its sponsorship” if FIFA failed to clean up its act.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is one of the few to have to jumped to Blatter’s defence, perhaps rattled by the threat of Russia’s being stripped of the 2018 World Cup. In a typically combative statement, Putin accused the USA of trumping up allegations for political reasons.
What are Blatter’s rivals saying?
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Blatter’s rival in the upcoming FIFA Presidential election, called it “a sad day for football” and called for “leadership that governs, guides and protects its national associations”.
Michael Platini, the former French football superstar, current president of the UEFA, and outspoken critic of Blatter, urged Blatter to quit during a personal meeting, but Blatter has rejected that possibility, BBC Sports reports.
Luis Figo, former Portuguese footballing great who had pulled out of the presidential race after slamming the proposed election as a “farce”, has come out with a statement labelling May 27 as one of the worst days in the history of FIFA.
Is there a chance that Russia and Qatar will be stripped of their right to hold the World Cup?
It’s unclear, but unlikely. There have been allegations of corruption regarding the allocations since 2010, when the tournaments were awarded to Russia and Qatar after a vote from FIFA’s executive committee. Officials from competing countries alleged that bribes were asked for in exchange of votes.
Although Swiss officials are investigating the bidding process, FIFA contends that it is being done with their cooperation. According to FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio, “The World Cups 2018 and 2022 will be played in Russia and Qatar.”
What happens then if the Swiss investigation uncovers irregularities in the bidding process? We’re not clear and FIFA isn’t going to answer that, till (and if) it happens.
Does this mean there was some hokey-pokey about the 2010 World Cup too?
Not if you ask the South Africans. Though investigators have declared that they are investigating the 2010 World Cup bidding process as well, South Africa’s sports minister has categorically announced that “all 2010 World Cup funds had been accounted and audited”.
However, there might have been money exchanged when the time came to conduct the final vote and allocate the 2010 World Cup, in 2004. The New York Times has run a story suggesting that one of the committee members, Jack Warner, received $10 million from South Africa to cast his vote in their favour.
According to the report, this is how business has been conducted in international football for decades.
Is this going to affect any of the major leagues or tournaments?
It shouldn’t. The only major tournament that could have been affected is the Copa America, scheduled to start on June 11, but CONMEBOL’s official statement does not mention delaying or postponing the tournament.
Most of the major football leagues around the world, such as the English Premier League or the Spanish La Liga, are administered by their own football associations and should not be affected by the scandal.
However, many of these associations have called for postponement of the scheduled presidential election on Friday and have warned that they will boycott the election process. It remains to be seen whether FIFA will take any punitive action against these associations in such a scenario.
What does this mean for international football?
At the ground level, this may not affect the game much. But on an administrative level, it has the potential to bring in far-reaching changes.
Football fans have been accustomed to reading about one scandal after another in the last few years. The final straw was the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, both countries with dismal records of human rights violations. Recently, news has also surfaced about the inhumane conditions in which workers in Qatar are working while employed in building infrastructure for the proposed World Cup.
But believing that these investigations will clean up world football for good is simply wishful thinking. Corruption has become entrenched in world football, and it will require a substantial number of convictions to bring about a change. But it is a step in the right direction and might provide cause for introspection to all officials in football administration worldwide.
What exactly happened?
Early on the morning of May 27, Swiss plainclothes policemen walked into the five-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, Switzerland and arrested seven top FIFA officials on account of major corruption charges levied by the US Department of Justice. Those arrested will face extradition from Switzerland to the United States to appear in a US court to face their charges.
Later, Swiss prosecutors announced that they had opened a separate investigation against unidentified people on the suspicion of mismanagement and money-laundering related to the awarding of 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
What are the charges?
Fourteen officials have been charged by the US Department of Justice with 47 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering conspiracies. According to US authorities, these cases involved more than $150 million in bribes over a period of four years. At a press conference, US Internal Revenue Service chief Richard Weber slammed FIFA calling the proceedings a "World Cup of fraud".
As part of the second investigation, officials from Swiss Office of the Attorney General seized data and documents from FIFA IT systems as part of their investigation. This followed an earlier complaint by FIFA, on November 18, 2014, against unidentified people. FIFA says that the second investigation is being conducted with full co-operation from their side. Swiss officials are now interviewing ten FIFA executive committee members who were part of the 2010 World Cup bidding process.
Who are the ones involved?
The list of officials arrested includes some in very prominent positions, which is likely to hugely embarrass FIFA:
Jeffrey Webb: Current FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF president
Eugenio Figueredo: Former president of CONEMBOL and former FIFA Vice-President
Eduardo Li: Current President of Costa Rica Football Federation
Julio Rocha: A FIFA development officer and president of the Nicaragua Football Association
Rafael Esquivel: President of the Venezuelan Football Federation and current executive committee member of CONEMBO
Costas Takkas: Current attaché to the CONCACAF president
What happens now?
Those arrested have been detained, pending extradition to the United States. Switzerland and the United States have an extradition treaty which can be used to send accused persons back to trial in the US. The Federal Office of Justice in Switzerland said that six of those arrested had contested extradition, while one had agreed to be extradited.
Is current FIFA president Sepp Blatter involved?
Not directly, at least. Sepp Blatter is not among the 14 individuals charged with corruption. US authorities have not commented on whether Blatter is one of the targets of their probe.
However, there might be implications for Blatter politically. As the current president of FIFA, Blatter has weathered various corruption charges through his long reign (which started in 1998) and has been able to successfully battle them out. He is standing for re-election for a fifth term as President in a vote scheduled to be held at the FIFA Congress in Zurich on Friday, May 29. Though FIFA officials say that the vote will go ahead as planned, these developments have surely tarnished Blatter’s reputation and it remains to be seen whether there will be any impact on the voting.
It does appear though that Blatter is staying out of public view. Since Wednesday, he has skipped three public appearances, including those at the meetings of the African and South American Federations. On Thursday morning, Blatter was scheduled to speak at the opening of the second session of FIFA’s Medical Conference but did not show up. However, he is believed to be conducting emergency meetings with various football federations.
How has the world reacted?
Reactions have come in from all quarters slamming Sepp Blatter and calling for his resignation. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has called for total reform of world football’s governing body and has supported calls for Blatter to step down as FIFA president. The Labour Party in the UK has also demanded that bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups be reopened and alternative tournaments be organised if the demand is not met.
There is trouble on the commercial front for FIFA as well. VISA, one of FIFA’s biggest sponsors, have warned the football body that it would “reassess its sponsorship” if FIFA failed to clean up its act.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is one of the few to have to jumped to Blatter’s defence, perhaps rattled by the threat of Russia’s being stripped of the 2018 World Cup. In a typically combative statement, Putin accused the USA of trumping up allegations for political reasons.
What are Blatter’s rivals saying?
Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Blatter’s rival in the upcoming FIFA Presidential election, called it “a sad day for football” and called for “leadership that governs, guides and protects its national associations”.
Michael Platini, the former French football superstar, current president of the UEFA, and outspoken critic of Blatter, urged Blatter to quit during a personal meeting, but Blatter has rejected that possibility, BBC Sports reports.
Luis Figo, former Portuguese footballing great who had pulled out of the presidential race after slamming the proposed election as a “farce”, has come out with a statement labelling May 27 as one of the worst days in the history of FIFA.
Is there a chance that Russia and Qatar will be stripped of their right to hold the World Cup?
It’s unclear, but unlikely. There have been allegations of corruption regarding the allocations since 2010, when the tournaments were awarded to Russia and Qatar after a vote from FIFA’s executive committee. Officials from competing countries alleged that bribes were asked for in exchange of votes.
Although Swiss officials are investigating the bidding process, FIFA contends that it is being done with their cooperation. According to FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio, “The World Cups 2018 and 2022 will be played in Russia and Qatar.”
What happens then if the Swiss investigation uncovers irregularities in the bidding process? We’re not clear and FIFA isn’t going to answer that, till (and if) it happens.
Does this mean there was some hokey-pokey about the 2010 World Cup too?
Not if you ask the South Africans. Though investigators have declared that they are investigating the 2010 World Cup bidding process as well, South Africa’s sports minister has categorically announced that “all 2010 World Cup funds had been accounted and audited”.
However, there might have been money exchanged when the time came to conduct the final vote and allocate the 2010 World Cup, in 2004. The New York Times has run a story suggesting that one of the committee members, Jack Warner, received $10 million from South Africa to cast his vote in their favour.
According to the report, this is how business has been conducted in international football for decades.
Is this going to affect any of the major leagues or tournaments?
It shouldn’t. The only major tournament that could have been affected is the Copa America, scheduled to start on June 11, but CONMEBOL’s official statement does not mention delaying or postponing the tournament.
Most of the major football leagues around the world, such as the English Premier League or the Spanish La Liga, are administered by their own football associations and should not be affected by the scandal.
However, many of these associations have called for postponement of the scheduled presidential election on Friday and have warned that they will boycott the election process. It remains to be seen whether FIFA will take any punitive action against these associations in such a scenario.
What does this mean for international football?
At the ground level, this may not affect the game much. But on an administrative level, it has the potential to bring in far-reaching changes.
Football fans have been accustomed to reading about one scandal after another in the last few years. The final straw was the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, both countries with dismal records of human rights violations. Recently, news has also surfaced about the inhumane conditions in which workers in Qatar are working while employed in building infrastructure for the proposed World Cup.
But believing that these investigations will clean up world football for good is simply wishful thinking. Corruption has become entrenched in world football, and it will require a substantial number of convictions to bring about a change. But it is a step in the right direction and might provide cause for introspection to all officials in football administration worldwide.
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