FIFA Officials Arrested

Glath

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/sports/soccer/fifa-officials-face-corruption-charges-in-us.html'>http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/sports/soccer/fifa-officials-face-corruption-charges-in-us.html</a>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"> Swiss authorities conducted an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.
</blockquote>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote"> The charges allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case. The charges include wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering, and officials said they targeted members of FIFAâ€™s powerful executive committee, which wields enormous power and does its business largely in secret.
</blockquote>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
The inquiry is also a major threat to Sepp Blatter, FIFAâ€™s longtime president who is generally recognized as the most powerful person in sports, though he was not charged. An election, seemingly pre-ordained to give him a fifth term as president, is scheduled for Friday.
<div> </div>
<div>Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment against more than 10 officials, not all of whom are in Zurich, law enforcement officials said. Among them are Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, a vice president of the executive committee; Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay, who is also an executive committee vice president and until recently was the president of South Americaâ€™s soccer association; and Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, a former member of the executive committee who has been accused of numerous ethical violations.</div>
</blockquote>
 
 
Hopefully some will squeal and they'll nab Blatter. The new US Attorney Loretta Lynch supervised the FIFA investigation, and the F.B.I. Director and she are expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday in New York.

mariner4life

Hell hath no fury like a USA scorned
 
Haven't got the head gangster though, but it's about time something was done about this cesspool of an organisation.

Mokey

FIFA corrupt. In other shocking news, Big Bird is yellow.

Sneakdefreak

Friday (Swiss time) is gonna be fun.

canefan

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="492760" data-time="1432709288">Hell hath no fury like a USA scorned 
 
Haven't got the head gangster though, but it's about time something was done about this cesspool of an organisation. </blockquote>The U.S. Justice organisation is relentless. Just ask Lance Armstrong

No Quarter

Fuckin finally.

Nepia

So the Swiss roll over for fraud but deny extradition of a convicted rapist.

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="492883" data-time="1432728969">
So the Swiss roll over for fraud but deny extradition of a convicted rapist.</blockquote>
 
Que?

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="booboo" data-cid="492893" data-time="1432729647">
<div>
Que?
</div>
</blockquote>
Polanski.

Tim

The US fucked up the paper work on that.

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="492898" data-time="1432730022">
<div>
The US fucked up the paper work on that.
</div>
</blockquote>
Nah (they didn't send confidential testimony rather than fuck up any paperwork - testimony that was irrelevant to the extradition case), the Swiss weaseled out of it - likely due to pressure from the French.

NTA

I saw this on twitter, and replied that if they were arresting corrupt FIFA officials, they might want a few more police.

Tim

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="492907" data-time="1432730929">
<div>
Nah (they didn't send confidential testimony rather than fuck up any paperwork - testimony that was irrelevant to the extradition case), the Swiss weaseled out of it - likely due to pressure from the French.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Aha.
 
Looks like the World Cup allocations are being investigated too:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21652222-officials-world-footballs-governing-body-have-been-arrested-american-instigation'>http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21652222-officials-world-footballs-governing-body-have-been-arrested-american-instigation</a>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">Americaâ€™s actions could force other countries to investigate FIFA more bravely. Indeed, that may already be happening. In what appears to be a separate case, Swiss officers raided FIFAâ€™s headquarters in Zurich, seized electronic records and said they had opened criminal proceedings against â€œpersons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cupsâ€. According to reports, 10 FIFA members who participated in the vote for those competitions are to be questioned by police.
 
</blockquote>

Gary

Didn't Demsey (?) the old fella voting for Oceania say he was offered bribes etc that's why he didn't vote giving the work cup to Germany instead of Voting for South Africa as he was instructed.

gollum

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Gary" data-cid="492921" data-time="1432743569">
<div>
Didn't Demsey (?) the old fella voting for Oceania say he was offered bribes etc that's why he didn't vote giving the work cup to Germany instead of Voting for South Africa as he was instructed.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
It was one of those where it was never clear if he was dirty, overly clean, or just senile. With most of the hard money on senile....

Tim

Watching the press conference you may have wondered "Will he go there, will he drop that pun on them?" Hell yeah motherfucker.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://vine.co/v/eb5BKVVjeDA'>https://vine.co/v/eb5BKVVjeDA</a>

Glath

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
WARNER further stated that a representative of one of the CFU member associations had contacted CONCACAF offices in New York to advise Co-Conspirator #1 of the payments. WARNER was angry that the representative had done this. WARNER stated, â€œThere are some people here who think they are more pious than thou. If youâ€™re pious, open a church, friends. Our business is our business.â€
</blockquote>
 

Haha. Some entertaining extracts in the Indictment Report.
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://images.businessweek.com/bloomberg/pdfs/FIFAindictment.pdf'>http://images.businessweek.com/bloomberg/pdfs/FIFAindictment.pdf</a> if anyone has too much time on their hands. 
 
Can't wait for Blatter & Co to be nailed under RICO.

Unco

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="492897" data-time="1432729848">
<div>
Polanski.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
While I agree that Polanski is a piece of shit, rapist scumbag, France and Switzerland are two different countries. Plus, the problem there is that Polanski is a French national and most countries don't extradite their own nationals.
 
Anyway, Blatter's been informed he can't leave Switzerland and Russia have thrown around some bullshit accusations. I guess they see their World Cup falling through their fingers, let's hope it does.

Tim

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Unco" data-cid="492931" data-time="1432754516">
<div>
While I agree that Polanski is a piece of shit, rapist scumbag, France and Switzerland are two different countries. Plus, the problem there is that Polanski is a French national and most countries don't extradite their own nationals.
 
Anyway, Blatter's been informed he can't leave Switzerland and Russia have thrown around some bullshit accusations. I guess they see their World Cup falling through their fingers, let's hope it does.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Polanski was arrested in Switzerland.

Tim

Looks like Nike have been snared:
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://qz.com/413556/nike-is-cooperating-with-investigators-in-a-30m-case-of-alleged-bribery-to-sponsor-brazils-national-team/'>Nike is cooperating with investigators in a $30m case of alleged bribery to sponsor Brazilâ€™s national team</a>

Unco

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="492932" data-time="1432754937">
<div>
Polanski was arrested in Switzerland.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, it was fucked. I'm guessing there was a lot of political pressure on them within the EU to release him.

No Quarter

ACT Crusader

Bonita Mersiades (former OZ football exec) was interviewed last night about the arrests. She gave some interesting insights into Australia's bid and the FBI investigation. <a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4243794.htm">http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4243794.htm</a>

antipodean

Stockcar86

red terror

<img src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PdT5RWFt--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1271157631436277136.jpg" alt="1271157631436277136.jpg">
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://screamer.deadspin.com/chart-the-qatar-world-cup-death-toll-is-stunning-1707286095'>http://screamer.deadspin.com/chart-the-qatar-world-cup-death-toll-is-stunning-1707286095</a>

No Quarter

So the next WC is scheduled to be in Russia, where being gay is illegal, and then the WC after that in Qatar, where being a woman is illegal. Be great if they take it away from both countries as a result of this.

Damo

I'm not a fan of Russia getting it, but by far the worse award is Qatar. Aside from mountains of money to pay bribes, there isn't a thing going for it. Their labour situation is feudal. Masses of immigrant workers work in appallingly unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the richest country in the world per capita. There's no good excuse for treating workers badly, but when a country is a rich as those buggers are it makes me sick. 
 
I hope they finish all the stadiums and as soon as they are done then FIFA takes it off them.

Tim

Mitt Romney has been suggested as a choice to reform FIFA. Not a bad idea.

ACT Crusader

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="492953" data-time="1432768906"><img src="http://maddawggmanifesto.info/pics/britepics/shocked.JPG" alt="shocked.JPG"></blockquote>
 
It is actually shocking that someone has actually gone after these guys. After decades of alleged corruption, kickbacks and bribes, eventually a country (U.S.) where football is not the mainstream brings it all to a head.

Nepia

More to the point I wonder what lobby group in the US set the State Dept onto FIFA.

red terror

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="493035" data-time="1432818582">
<div>
More to the point I wonder what lobby group in the US set the State Dept onto FIFA.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
My guess is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, the U.S. taxman), same organization that took down Al Capone and other mobsters.

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="493034" data-time="1432818219">
It is actually shocking that someone has actually gone after these guys. After decades of alleged corruption, kickbacks and bribes, eventually a country (U.S.) where football is not the mainstream brings it all to a head.</blockquote>
I wonder whether the US is less scared of FIFA than a soccer country?

Crucial

That photo of the lobby of the hotel before the arrests is quite funny. They send in a handful of plainclothes cops who appear to be asking nicely at the front desk before going to knock on doors. Nice Swiss folk.
Of course, if any of the FIFA officials were fat germans and it was the NZ police involved there would have been helicopters, armed tactical units and dogs......

sparky

When the police came to arrest the 7 Fifa officials, they rolled around on the ground several time feigning injury.
 
Blatter is the kingpin here. He's the Capone of football.

Mokey

Blatter is unbelievable. His reign stretches over a time of terrible corruption and ridiculous decisions, and he says he welcomes the probe - and to re-elect him president. Now that is steel balled cold, right there. You can only imagine who he will sacrifice (and keep sacrificing) to get what he wants.
 
How can they possibly hold elections with this dangling like an anvil?

Tim

NTA

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="sparky" data-cid="493055" data-time="1432847068">When the police came to arrest the 7 Fifa officials, they rolled around on the ground several time feigning injury. 
Blatter is the kingpin here. He's the Capone of football.</blockquote>
Saw this yesterday: 
[attachment=1754:IMG_20150529_074757.jpg]

Crucial

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mokey" data-cid="493056" data-time="1432848547">
<div>
Blatter is unbelievable. His reign stretches over a time of terrible corruption and ridiculous decisions, and he says he welcomes the probe - and to re-elect him president. Now that is steel balled cold, right there. You can only imagine who he will sacrifice (and keep sacrificing) to get what he wants.
 
How can they possibly hold elections with this dangling like an anvil?
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I think it's a great time for an election. Will show up those countries that hold him accountable and those that are complicit (NZ included).
 
It is quite obvious that NZ has done something to appease the FIFA machine with the awarding of 3 age group WCs in recent times. Not sure if it is a naive acceptance of a payback from the Charlie Dempsey thing or what, but we are happily accepting the 'rewards' they are throwing us for something we have done and continuing to back the hand that is feeding us.
 
Blatter inferring that this was all hidden from him is incredible. The 'Sergeant Schultz' defence.

Chris B.

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="493061" data-time="1432850179">
<div>
It is quite obvious that NZ has done something to appease the FIFA machine with the awarding of 3 age group WCs in recent times. Not sure if it is a naive acceptance of a payback from the Charlie Dempsey thing or what, but we are happily accepting the 'rewards' they are throwing us for something we have done and continuing to back the hand that is feeding us.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Blatter is a politician in a fairly safe seat. He's looking after us well and we're voting for him. At times he's made noises about Oceania having direct entry into the FWC - which makes bugger all sense really - except that it helps deliver quite a few country votes (Tuvalu = China) to Blatter. Same sort of patronage system exists across many international agencies.

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FIFA Officials Arrested