FIFA Executives Arrested

[Chairman Meow]

Didn't we offer to give his son a job? something along those lines.... and then the Beckham wining and dining.

 

Would be quite funny if the FA were caught paying bribes too!

 

Wasn't the entire problem the FA had with the process that the other countries hadn't played fair and were better at being corrupt than us?

[Anubis]

There was a suggestion we were asked to speed up citizenship for somebody in his family, I think.

[FanchesterCity]

Wasn't the entire problem the FA had with the process that the other countries hadn't played fair and were better at being corrupt than us?

 

Ultimately yes. We were cosying up like all the rest. 

[Section_31]

"FBI says bribes associated with 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup in US amounted to two thirds of costs of staging the tournament."

 

Awesome!

[ZonkoVille77]

"FBI says bribes associated with 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup in US amounted to two thirds of costs of staging the tournament."

Awesome!

Holy shiiitttt....

 

The tower is gonna come tumblin' right down.

[TheHowieLama]

Are they gone yet?

[niallers]

Thank Fuck the Yanks actually go after white collar crime.

[Trumo]

Jack Warner has already claimed he is innocent of all charges against him and actually suggests that the actions of FIFA are nothing to do with him, simply because he resigned from FIFA in 2011. Newsflash Jack: this investigation includes all the dodgy shite you were involved in over the last 20 years or more.

 

http://www.espnfc.co.uk/fifa-world-cup/story/2468560/jack-warner-says-he-is-innocent-amid-fifa-corruption-charges

 

Jack Warner says he is 'innocent' amid FIFA federal corruption charges

 

Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner has said he is "innocent of any charges" after Swiss authorities arrested FIFA officials in relation to federal corruption charges.

 

Seven officials including FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb from the Cayman Islands were arrested by Swiss authorities on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice which has indicted 18 people alleging bribery totalling more than $150 million.

 

Later on Wednesday, the Swiss attorney general also opened criminal proceedings over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and seized documents and electronic data from FIFA's headquarters and will question 10 current FIFA executive committee members who voted on that tournament.

 

The twin proceedings have cast FIFA into a state of crisis ahead of Friday's presidential election but the world governing body has said the vote, where incumbent Sepp Blatter is facing Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, will go ahead, as will the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar respectively.

 

Warner left FIFA in 2011 after being suspended by the Ethics Committee following a corruption scandal.

 

The Trinidadian said in a statement to Press Association Sport: "I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter. I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges. I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.

 

"The actions of FIFA no longer concern me. I cannot help but note, however, that these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled for elections to select a president who is universally disliked by the international community.

 

"At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous international business.

 

"That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago."

 

Jim Boyce, Britain's outgoing FIFA vice president, added: "This is another sad day for FIFA. I hope the investigations that FIFA have themselves initiated will lead to those individuals - if found guilty of dishonesty and corruption -- dealt with in the strongest possible manner by the law authorities."

 

Four men have already pleaded guilty in the U.S. football corruption investigation involving bribes totaling more than $100 million.

 

Chuck Blazer, for nearly two decades the most senior American official at FIFA, was among those whose guilty pleas were unsealed Wednesday by U.S. authorities.

 

Blazer had pocketed millions of dollars in marketing commissions and avoided paying taxes. He has been a cooperating witness for the FBI since leaving soccer in 2013 and has forfeited almost $2 million.

 

U.S. officials say guilty pleas were also given by Daryan Warner and Daryll Warner, sons of former senior FIFA official Warner; and Jose Hawilla, an executive of the Brazil-based sports marketing firm Traffic Sports.

 

U.S. officials say Hawilla has agreed to forfeit over $151 million.

 

They face maximum jail terms of incarceration of 20 years for "the RICO conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice charges."

 

[setreal]

All this made me think of that story pre 2006 when Germany got the WC and a (great) satire magazine over here "tried to bribe" FIFA officials. For those who dont know it:

 

 

 

2006 FIFA World Cup bribery affair[edit]

 

In July 2000, Martin Sonneborn (then Titanic's editor-in-chief) sent hoax bribery faxes to a number of delegates of the FIFA World championship committee. In these letters, he offered the delegates gifts if they showed their support of the German bid for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

 

Before this incident, it had been widely expected that the tournament would take place in South Africa. However, New Zealand's representative, Charlie Dempsey, who had been instructed to vote for South Africa by the Oceania Football Confederation, abstained from voting at the last minute. His vote for South Africa would have brought the tally to 12:12, resulting in FIFA's President Sepp Blatter—who had supported South Africa's bid—having to break the tie. Dempsey was one of the eight members of the executive committee who had received Sonneborn's fax on Wednesday, the night before the vote. In his letter to Dempsey, Sonneborn promised him a cuckoo clock and Black Forest ham in exchange for Dempsey's vote for Germany:

In this difficult situation, Germany would like to emphasize the urgency of its appeal to hold the World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Let me come straight to the point:
In appreciation of your support we would like to offer you a small gift for your vote in favor of Germany:
A fine basket with specialties from the black forest, including some really good sausages, ham and — hold on to your seat — a wonderful KuKuClock!
And a beer mug, too! Do we leave you any choice?

We trust in the wisdom of your decision tomorrow,
sincerely yours

Martin Sonneborn
Secretary TDES

(WM 2006 initiative)

—Original text of the fax, sent by Titanic on July 5th, 2000

 

Dempsey himself famously stated "This final fax broke my neck." He argued that the pressure from all sides had become too much for him.^[5]

 

In July 2000, the biggest German tabloid BILD-Zeitung urged its readers to phone Titanic and express their outrage at damaging Germany's reputation through bribery. Titanic recorded those phone calls and published an audio CD with a selection of the funniest of them, called "BILD-Leser beschimpfen Titanic" ("BILD-readers insult Titanic"). One of the harshest was : "In einem Rechtsstaat gehören Menschen wie Sie in's KZ" ("In a law-abiding country, people like you belong in a concentration camp").

 

The German soccer association threatened Sonneborn with €300 million in damages, requiring him to swear never again to influence a FIFA decision. In November 2005, Sonneborn published a book about the affair, "Ich tat es für mein Land" — Wie TITANIC einmal die Fußball-WM 2006 nach Deutschland holte. Protokoll einer erfolgreichen Bestechung ("I did it for my country" — How TITANIC once brought the Football World Cup 2006 to Germany. Story of a successful bribery), Bombus Verlag, 

 

In 2006, the year the world cup took place in Germany, Titanic arranged an exhibition called "Wie Titanic einmal die Fußball-WM 2006 nach Deutschland holte" ("How Titanic once brought the Football World Cup 2006 to Germany") in the Historical Museum of Frankfurt am Main, which displayed the events surrounding Titanic's bribery faxes.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(magazine)

[milky]

Ultimately yes. We were cosying up like all the rest. 

 

[KMD7]

Diego isn't a fan

 

[FanchesterCity]

Diego isn't a fan

 

 

I'm wary of anybody who casts two shadows, worse still they are different shapes.

Only the devil's spawn exhibit this trait.

[FanchesterCity]

[ratcatcher]

 

Haha! That's very good.

[magicrat]

UEFA are calling for the election on Friday to be cancelled.

 

Always thought once UEFA grew a pair its the end for Blatter. FIFA are nothing without the European federations. Be hilarious if Blatter still forces through his coronation

[Captain]

Blatter relies on Asia and Africa, not Europe.

[Mathewbet1]

They should totally disband FIFA as an organisation and start again. Even the plants in their office are corrupt.  lets wipe the slate clean.

[Mathewbet1]

Greetings……….50 degrees in summer you say, don't you worry simply wire the funds into my account……i accept western union on money grams, if not simply give me your sort code and account number and i will do the rest

[Rotpeter]

Excellent reade.

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2088988/fifa-indictments.pdf

[JagSquared]

[Ne Moe Imya]

Never thought I'd be thankful for the Americans and their "World Police" approach to global issues ...

 

It remains to be seen just how much of the tower is going to crumble, but I would just Keegan-style LOVE IT if the WC ended up being taken away from Qatar.  Or even better, dig out that article written by the one journo who predicted it would end up being a winter cup and suggested a boycott and a breakaway tournament.  It was a brilliant scheme he had, host it in America, invite the same teams that had qualified for the WC and pay the players $1 million each (money to come from sponsorships, which would be far more than enough to cover it even if they were only a quarter as much as the "real" World Cup).

 

Essentially he proposed replacing FIFA entirely as the ones who put on the World Cup, you'd have to call it something else, of course, but that would pretty much end FIFA if it were a success.  And the more he explained how it would work the more it sounded sort of feasible, provided there was enough anger against FIFA to make it workable.  If UEFA, the US and maybe a couple other major countries boycotted a winter Qatar World Cup but instead held their own tournament in the summer of 2022 I think people would definitely watch.

[Trumo]

FIFA's various partners have been making noises about the possibility of withdrawing their sponsorship if FIFA does not clean up its act. Some of them would do well to remember that they became FIFA's partners through some of this very dodgy practice in the first place. VISA taking over from MasterCard is one prominent example. 

[Anny Road]

Blatter is fucked. The only reason the Asians and the Africans vote for him is that he turns a blind eye, and no doubt gets his tribute, to the massive money making scams which they have been pulling. That's over and Blatter is finished.

 

If he goes for the election and wins on Friday UEFA and the sponsors will have to boycott FIFA tournaments. It is the only way the game can retain any credibility. Would you want your global business associated with the name FIFA.

[Anubis]

FIFA's various partners have been making noises about the possibility of withdrawing their sponsorship if FIFA does not clean up its act. Some of them would do well to remember that they became FIFA's partners through some of this very dodgy practice in the first place. VISA taking over from MasterCard is one prominent example. 

 

 

The spokesman for the Association Of FIFA Sponsors had this to say...

 

[Major Tom]

FIFA's various partners have been making noises about the possibility of withdrawing their sponsorship if FIFA does not clean up its act. Some of them would do well to remember that they became FIFA's partners through some of this very dodgy practice in the first place. VISA taking over from MasterCard is one prominent example. 

 

I think the point is that they do remember how they became Fifa's partners, which is why they only ever pay lip service to the accusations of corruption..

 

....we are monitoring the situation closely.... they cry, failing to add the end bit which says...in the hope that nothing changes so we don't lose our seat on the gravy train...

 

The sponsors are as much to blame as Blatter. It's all a farcical farce.