ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss police arrested some of the most powerful figures in global soccer on Wednesday, announcing a criminal investigation into the awarding of the next two World Cups and plunging the world's most popular sport into turmoil.

In addition to the Swiss criminal probe, nine soccer officials and five sports media and promotions executives face extradition to the United States on corruption charges involving more than $150 million in bribes, U.S. authorities said..............................

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/arrested-fi...--sow.html

everybody "knew" this stuff was happening. Qatar being awarded the 2022 WC all but solidified that and pushed everyone else into finally confronting the problem.

Swiss help means this **** just got real.

Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

Edit: Looks like all the allegations occured on US soil, so that's how the US can go after these people. The FIFA VP is included, so at least that's a start.

Quote:Here Are the FIFA Officials Indicted on Corruption Charges

Jeffrey Webb
Webb, 50, has been president of Concacaf, the regional confederation representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, since 2012. That post also makes him a vice president of FIFA. His arrest might be the biggest surprise: Webb is widely hailed as a voice for change in world soccer, and he has pressed FIFA to be more proactive in fighting corruption and mismanagement. He was among the few voices who pressed FIFA to release the entire report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Webb has also taken the lead in fighting racism in the game; he currently leads FIFA's anti-discrimination task force.

Jack Warner
Warner, 72, was a dominant force in Concacaf and FIFA politics for nearly 30 years until he resigned all of his positions in the wake of numerous charges of corruption and bribery against him. Because of FIFA rules at the time he retired in 2011, Warner’s resignation brought to an end all ethics proceedings against him. That prevented a public airing of the charges – “the presumption of innocence is maintained,” FIFA said in announcing his departure – including allegations that he had benefited from reselling World Cup tickets and television rights and that he had used FIFA funds to build a $26 million training center on property that he owned, making him its de facto owner. Warner dismissed a report detailing his financial mismanagement of Concacaf as "baseless and malicious" when it was released in 2013. "I left Concacaf and turned my back on football two years ago," he said. "Since then, I have had no interest in any football-related matter."

Eugenio Figueredo
Figueredo, 83, was the president of Uruguay's soccer federation from 1997 to 2006, and served as the vice president of Conmebol, the governing body for soccer in South America, from 1993 to 2013. He ascended to the presidency of the federation when Nicolás Leoz of Paraguay resigned from FIFA; Leoz cited "health and personal" reasons for his resignation, but he had been accused of soliciting bribes for his vote in the competition for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Figueredo's time on the Executive Committee was short, however; he recently lost his seat to another Paraguayan, Juan Ángel Napout.

Eduardo Li
A businessman with Chinese roots, Li is the president of Costa Rica's soccer federation and is to join FIFA's executive committee this week. Last year, he oversaw Costa Rica's hosting of the Under-17 Women's World Cup. He is also a member of the executive committee of Concacaf and of the panel that oversees its regional championship tournament, the Gold Cup.

Nicolás Leoz
Leoz, 86, served as president of Conmebol, the South American soccer association, from 1986 to 2013 and was a longtime member of FIFA's executive committee, but he resigned both positions two years ago, citing health and personal issues. His resignation came after he was accused of taking kickbacks from a former FIFA marketing partner during the 1990s, and after an official for England's 2018 World Cup bid said Leoz had demanded a knighthood in exchange for his vote.

José Maria Marin
Marin, 83, was president of the Brazilian soccer federation from 2012 until April of this year, and as a result was the head of Brazilian soccer when it hosted the 2014 World Cup. He is also a member of the organizing committee for next year's Olympic soccer tournament in Rio. Of Brazil's humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semifinal, which shattered the country's fans and prevented the team from lifting the Cup at home, Marin said this year: "We don't want to blame Brazil's lack of success in the World Cup on anyone in particular; I believe we are all to blame."

Julio Rocha
FIFA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Rocha is an official at the Nicaraguan soccer federation and also serves as a FIFA development officer.

Rafael Esquivel
Esquivel, 68, has been the president of Venezuela's soccer federation since 1988, making him the longest-serving national federation president in South America.

Costas Takkas
Takkas, according to multiple news media reports, is a former top official in the Cayman Islands federation of which Webb is president.

Aaron Davidson
Davidson is the president of Traffic Sports USA — a promoter of soccer events — and chairman of the board of the North American Soccer League.

Alejandro Burzaco
Burzaco is an Argentine sports media executive.

Hugo and Mariano Jinkis
Both are soccer media executives with businesses in South America.

José Margulies
Margulies was charged with being an intermediary who facilitated illegal payments.

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

(05-27-2015 07:48 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

Yeah, the US came in second in the voting. Not that big of a stretch to think the reasons for that were the bribes offered by the winner to FIFA. Only way for anything to happen is for major sponsors such as Coke, Visa, etc to boycot the games. Don't seeing that happening due to all the $$ involved though.

(05-27-2015 08:08 AM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:48 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

Yeah, the US came in second in the voting. Not that big of a stretch to think the reasons for that were the bribes offered by the winner to FIFA. Only way for anything to happen is for major sponsors such as Coke, Visa, etc to boycot the games. Don't seeing that happening due to all the $$ involved though.

and for that to happen, more fans need to stand up to the slave labor Qatar is putting to work on all of their stadiums. You would think a sponsor like coke would want to pull out because of that, which would create some major positive PR for them, and would probably garner them way more attention for doing so.

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

Edit: Looks like all the allegations occured on US soil, so that's how the US can go after these people. The FIFA VP is included, so at least that's a start.

Quote:Here Are the FIFA Officials Indicted on Corruption Charges

Jeffrey Webb
Webb, 50, has been president of Concacaf, the regional confederation representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, since 2012. That post also makes him a vice president of FIFA. His arrest might be the biggest surprise: Webb is widely hailed as a voice for change in world soccer, and he has pressed FIFA to be more proactive in fighting corruption and mismanagement. He was among the few voices who pressed FIFA to release the entire report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Webb has also taken the lead in fighting racism in the game; he currently leads FIFA's anti-discrimination task force.

Jack Warner
Warner, 72, was a dominant force in Concacaf and FIFA politics for nearly 30 years until he resigned all of his positions in the wake of numerous charges of corruption and bribery against him. Because of FIFA rules at the time he retired in 2011, Warner’s resignation brought to an end all ethics proceedings against him. That prevented a public airing of the charges – “the presumption of innocence is maintained,” FIFA said in announcing his departure – including allegations that he had benefited from reselling World Cup tickets and television rights and that he had used FIFA funds to build a $26 million training center on property that he owned, making him its de facto owner. Warner dismissed a report detailing his financial mismanagement of Concacaf as "baseless and malicious" when it was released in 2013. "I left Concacaf and turned my back on football two years ago," he said. "Since then, I have had no interest in any football-related matter."

Eugenio Figueredo
Figueredo, 83, was the president of Uruguay's soccer federation from 1997 to 2006, and served as the vice president of Conmebol, the governing body for soccer in South America, from 1993 to 2013. He ascended to the presidency of the federation when Nicolás Leoz of Paraguay resigned from FIFA; Leoz cited "health and personal" reasons for his resignation, but he had been accused of soliciting bribes for his vote in the competition for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Figueredo's time on the Executive Committee was short, however; he recently lost his seat to another Paraguayan, Juan Ángel Napout.

Eduardo Li
A businessman with Chinese roots, Li is the president of Costa Rica's soccer federation and is to join FIFA's executive committee this week. Last year, he oversaw Costa Rica's hosting of the Under-17 Women's World Cup. He is also a member of the executive committee of Concacaf and of the panel that oversees its regional championship tournament, the Gold Cup.

Nicolás Leoz
Leoz, 86, served as president of Conmebol, the South American soccer association, from 1986 to 2013 and was a longtime member of FIFA's executive committee, but he resigned both positions two years ago, citing health and personal issues. His resignation came after he was accused of taking kickbacks from a former FIFA marketing partner during the 1990s, and after an official for England's 2018 World Cup bid said Leoz had demanded a knighthood in exchange for his vote.

José Maria Marin
Marin, 83, was president of the Brazilian soccer federation from 2012 until April of this year, and as a result was the head of Brazilian soccer when it hosted the 2014 World Cup. He is also a member of the organizing committee for next year's Olympic soccer tournament in Rio. Of Brazil's humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semifinal, which shattered the country's fans and prevented the team from lifting the Cup at home, Marin said this year: "We don't want to blame Brazil's lack of success in the World Cup on anyone in particular; I believe we are all to blame."

Julio Rocha
FIFA DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Rocha is an official at the Nicaraguan soccer federation and also serves as a FIFA development officer.

Rafael Esquivel
Esquivel, 68, has been the president of Venezuela's soccer federation since 1988, making him the longest-serving national federation president in South America.

Costas Takkas
Takkas, according to multiple news media reports, is a former top official in the Cayman Islands federation of which Webb is president.

Aaron Davidson
Davidson is the president of Traffic Sports USA — a promoter of soccer events — and chairman of the board of the North American Soccer League.

Alejandro Burzaco
Burzaco is an Argentine sports media executive.

Hugo and Mariano Jinkis
Both are soccer media executives with businesses in South America.

José Margulies
Margulies was charged with being an intermediary who facilitated illegal payments.

I think there were two separate groups arrested.

I guess I have to give the justice department props on this one. Hope it leads to changes.

(05-27-2015 08:38 AM)fsquid Wrote:  I guess I have to give the justice department props on this one. Hope it leads to changes.

I agree. It looks like Switzerland is opening it's own investigation as well. If other countries do the same then maybe something will change.

Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

Quote:The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, partnering with the State of Qatar, “committed to utilizing its research and development for sustainable infrastructure at the 2022 FIFA World Cup to improve food security in Qatar, the Middle East, and other arid and water-stressed regions throughout the world,” according to the Clinton Foundation website.

The cost of the two-year project is not listed on the Clinton Foundation website, but the Qatar 2022 committee gave the foundation between $250,000 and $500,000 in 2014 and the State of Qatar gave between $1 million and $5 million in previous, unspecified years.

(05-27-2015 03:16 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

oh wow. That is interesting....

(05-27-2015 03:20 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:16 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

oh wow. That is interesting....

yeah.

clinton is on the board to help bring the WC to the USA. Fifa donates to the CF. Qatar gets the WC, and gives millions to the CF......

(05-27-2015 03:24 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:20 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:16 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

oh wow. That is interesting....

yeah.

clinton is on the board to help bring the WC to the USA. Fifa donates to the CF. Qatar gets the WC, and gives millions to the CF......

The sad thing is, these sorts of people and foundations at this level are inherently incestuous like this. Makes it hard to prove any sort of influence.

On the FIFA note, good. It's taken too damn long for this to happen, and I certainly hope it's because they were making sure they had an ironclad case before they went forward with this. It's almost as if a small desert country, whose temperatures reach 110 degrees during the period of the World Cup, whose laws are extremely archaic and anti-western (no drinking/public affection is iffy/etc), winning a supposedly objective World Cup bid should have signaled those involved in FIFA who aren't complete morons that they were going to get busted. Seriously, just stick to countries who are willing to bribe but aren't pimples on the @ss of Saudi Arabia and this racket goes on for another few decades. But no one wants to travel to Qatar, the sponsors are all mad because of the slave labor type work conditions, and therefore it's easy to get the political impetus to crack down on them.

(05-27-2015 03:35 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:24 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:20 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:16 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

oh wow. That is interesting....

yeah.

clinton is on the board to help bring the WC to the USA. Fifa donates to the CF. Qatar gets the WC, and gives millions to the CF......

The sad thing is, these sorts of people and foundations at this level are inherently incestuous like this. Makes it hard to prove any sort of influence.

On the FIFA note, good. It's taken too damn long for this to happen, and I certainly hope it's because they were making sure they had an ironclad case before they went forward with this. It's almost as if a small desert country, whose temperatures reach 110 degrees during the period of the World Cup, whose laws are extremely archaic and anti-western (no drinking/public affection is iffy/etc), winning a supposedly objective World Cup bid should have signaled those involved in FIFA who aren't complete morons that they were going to get busted. Seriously, just stick to countries who are willing to bribe but aren't pimples on the @ss of Saudi Arabia and this racket goes on for another few decades. But no one wants to travel to Qatar, the sponsors are all mad because of the slave labor type work conditions, and therefore it's easy to get the political impetus to crack down on them.

that's what I don't get. these guys had to have been sitting around and talking
Fifa1: Hey man, Qatar will pay us big bucks if we pick them
Fifa2: Qatar??!?!? Come on man, nobody will buy that crap. It is a sh1thole!
Fifa1: Come on bro, $150M in our pockets
Fifa2: Someone will know this is fishy
Fifa1: They are tossing in free hookers for life
Fifa2: Sold.

(05-27-2015 08:08 AM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:48 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

Yeah, the US came in second in the voting. Not that big of a stretch to think the reasons for that were the bribes offered by the winner to FIFA. Only way for anything to happen is for major sponsors such as Coke, Visa, etc to boycot the games. Don't seeing that happening due to all the $$ involved though.

The only way you'll get change at FIFA is if the US government adds a line to the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) that disallows expense treatment for sponsorship of organizations held to be corrupt by the US government. So the 10 Billion or so coming from the US to FIFA will go away.

(05-27-2015 03:39 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:35 PM)UCF08 Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:24 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:20 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 03:16 PM)NCeagle Wrote:  Clinton was on the committee trying to get the WC to the US.

Qatar cut the clinton foundation a nice check after it was awarded to them
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/20...lions.html

oh wow. That is interesting....

yeah.

clinton is on the board to help bring the WC to the USA. Fifa donates to the CF. Qatar gets the WC, and gives millions to the CF......

The sad thing is, these sorts of people and foundations at this level are inherently incestuous like this. Makes it hard to prove any sort of influence.

On the FIFA note, good. It's taken too damn long for this to happen, and I certainly hope it's because they were making sure they had an ironclad case before they went forward with this. It's almost as if a small desert country, whose temperatures reach 110 degrees during the period of the World Cup, whose laws are extremely archaic and anti-western (no drinking/public affection is iffy/etc), winning a supposedly objective World Cup bid should have signaled those involved in FIFA who aren't complete morons that they were going to get busted. Seriously, just stick to countries who are willing to bribe but aren't pimples on the @ss of Saudi Arabia and this racket goes on for another few decades. But no one wants to travel to Qatar, the sponsors are all mad because of the slave labor type work conditions, and therefore it's easy to get the political impetus to crack down on them.

that's what I don't get. these guys had to have been sitting around and talking
Fifa1: Hey man, Qatar will pay us big bucks if we pick them
Fifa2: Qatar??!?!? Come on man, nobody will buy that crap. It is a sh1thole!
Fifa1: Come on bro, $150M in our pockets
Fifa2: Someone will know this is fishy
Fifa1: They are tossing in free hookers for life
Fifa2: Sold.

150 Million? Its probably much more than that

(05-27-2015 04:03 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 08:08 AM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:48 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

Yeah, the US came in second in the voting. Not that big of a stretch to think the reasons for that were the bribes offered by the winner to FIFA. Only way for anything to happen is for major sponsors such as Coke, Visa, etc to boycot the games. Don't seeing that happening due to all the $$ involved though.

The only way you'll get change at FIFA is if the US government adds a line to the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) that disallows expense treatment for sponsorship of organizations held to be corrupt by the US government. So the 10 Billion or so coming from the US to FIFA will go away.

$10 Billion? Where'd that figure come from? Anyway, the size of the country doesn't mean anything to Sepp Blatter. He can just pay off all the smaller member nations to keep him elected as President. There are more FIFA members than UN members.

(05-27-2015 04:20 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 04:03 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 08:08 AM)VA49er Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:48 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  

(05-27-2015 07:42 AM)VA49er Wrote:  Looks like only North and South Americans indicted? If so, the head snake escapes, for now.

well, the US got screwed out of hosting the WC in 2022, which obviously would have made this country billions of dollars (LA made approx $600M during the final in 1994). Figure that with the fact that we wouldn't need to build any stadiums to make this happen, and we have the infrastructure to support it, we wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to prepare. I have a feeling that is why this is suddenly coming to light.

Yeah, the US came in second in the voting. Not that big of a stretch to think the reasons for that were the bribes offered by the winner to FIFA. Only way for anything to happen is for major sponsors such as Coke, Visa, etc to boycot the games. Don't seeing that happening due to all the $$ involved though.

The only way you'll get change at FIFA is if the US government adds a line to the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) that disallows expense treatment for sponsorship of organizations held to be corrupt by the US government. So the 10 Billion or so coming from the US to FIFA will go away.

$10 Billion? Where'd that figure come from? Anyway, the size of the country doesn't mean anything to Sepp Blatter. He can just pay off all the smaller member nations to keep him elected as President. There are more FIFA members than UN members.

All the TV revenue plus sponsorship income etc. For the last couple of games.

Without American, Canadian, European, and ANZUS money....there'd be a lot LESS for him to pay African, Caribbean, and Asian 'yes men'.

(05-27-2015 07:18 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  everybody "knew" this stuff was happening. Qatar being awarded the 2022 WC all but solidified that and pushed everyone else into finally confronting the problem.

The corruption investigation should begin and end with Qatar and Russia meeting to negotiate purchasing strategies for the 2018,2020 world cups. The fact of the meetings is pretty damning, disregarding what may have actually been said.

email:Editors' Picks: Russia calls foul against FIFA corruption investigation Wrote:MIDFIELD PUTIN: Moscow is sliding in to FIFA’s defense as U.S. and Swiss authorities investigate corruption at the organization’s highest ranks -- including how the 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia: Read more

RED CARDS ALL AROUND: U.S. and Swiss authorities charged 14 FIFA officials with corruption. But the real targets of the investigation are Qatar and Russia. FP’s David Francis reports: Read more