Blatter Re-elected President of FIFA
- Thread starter hallgrad80
- Start date
Not surprising but it is disgraceful. Too bad it is a secret vote. It would great to publicly shame those countries that voted for Blatter. Blatter's 3rd world support makes him unbeatable. It is also these same countries that "profit" the most from his reign.
This is actually a great day. Blatter was elected on votes from nothing but Third World countries and tiny islands, many of which aren't actually countries. No actual major soccer nation other than Spain voted for him. (Seriously, what's wrong with you Spain?) There was talk even before the vote that UEFA was ready to pull out of FIFA if Blatter won. It's not coming immediately but it's coming. We'll eventually look back at today as the day FIFA died. UEFA is ultimately going to break off, rope in South America and a few others (USA, Mexico, Japan, Australia, South Korea) and form their own governing body. FIFA is a dead association walking. All these tiny little countries essentially voted themselves out of the sport today.
Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, linked to $10 million bribe: report
BY Nathaniel Vinton , Teri Thompson
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke (l.) is Sepp Blatter's (r.) most loyal aide.
The massive federal investigation into corruption in world soccer inched closer to FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday when Blatter’s second-in command was identified in news reports as responsible for a $10 million wire transfer that ended up vanishing into the murky coffers of corrupt officials in New York and Trinidad.
Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general, is the “high-ranking FIFA official” described in the government’s indictment as “causing” the transfer in 2008, according to the New York Times. Valcke denies wrongdoing, and told the Times he did not have the power or authorization to make such a payment.
A spokeswoman for FIFA said the $10 million in bank transactions were authorized by the then-FIFA Finance Committee chairman. The Finance Committee chairman was Julio Grondona, who died last year.
RELATED: LETTER SHOWS VALCKE KNEW OF $10 MILLION PAYMENT
Valcke, a Frenchman who is Blatter’s most loyal aide, is not named in the blockbuster indictment unveiled last week by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. Nor does the indictment’s description of the transfer say that the official who made it knew that the money was a bribe.
One source familiar with the long-running investigation, however, told the Daily News last Tuesday night, just before the raid in Switzerland, that Valcke would likely become part of the indictment, joining a long list of other officials, including Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, who together ran CONCACAF,the North American and Caribbean soccer federation that is at the center of the criminal prosecution.
“There are two people who can get Blatter — Warner and Valcke,” said the source, referring to what Valcke might know of any possible involvement by the FIFA boss in the scandal.
FIFA Scandal Explained
NY Daily News
Valcke’s name also appears on a confidential list of 44 names of top soccer executives obtained by The News that was given to Blazer after he began cooperating with the feds in 2011. Blazer understood the list named people whose phone calls and emails agents meant to intercept, according to a News source.
RELATED: FIFA VP JACK WARNER'S TICKET-SCALPING SON SANG TO FEDS
FIFA announced early Monday that Valcke would not attend Saturday’s opening of the women’s World Cup tournament in Canada, fueling speculation that he is avoiding a trip that could bring him within reach of U.S. law enforcement officers pursuing fraud and racketeering charges against members of soccer’s international governing body. Even if Valcke were not arrested in Canada, he could be questioned by agents, as could Blatter.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York, portrays a $10 million transfer, made in three installments, as a bribe meant to persuade three FIFA executives to support South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup tournament. The money came in three transfers totaling $10 million to be wired from a FIFA account in Switzerland to a New York bank account controlled by Warner, a former vice president of soccer’s international governing body, according to the indictment.
Alessandro Della Bella/Getty Images
It's just a matter of time before Jerome Valcke is indicted in the FIFA corruption probe, a source told the Daily News.
Warner, who was jailed overnight last week in Trinidad, is accused by the government of diverting the funds to a variety of personal accounts, and of sending $750,000 of it to Blazer, Warner’s former friend and colleague atop the hierarchy of CONCACAF, then based in New York. The two are accused of looting CONCACAF through a web of offshore accounts, kickbacks and phony projects and, in Warner’s case, even a $26 million soccer development facility in Trinidad called the “Havelange Centre for Excellence” built with FIFA funds but deeded in Warner’s name.
Blazer, who turned on Warner in 2011 amid a brazen payment-for-votes scam in the 2011 FIFA election in which a challenger to Blatter doled out $40,000 payments to voters with Warner’s help, is a cooperating witness for the government. He secretly pleaded guilty in 2013 to a range of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy and tax evasion. The Daily News first reported in 2014 the investigation by FBI and IRS agents out of the Eastern District of New York, and that Blazer made surreptitious recordings of his fellow sport executives at the behest of the FBI.
He also had a blunt description of Jerome Valcke, telling one former associate: “He’s Blatter’s bagman.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/s...man-linked-10m-bribe-report-article-1.2243105
BY Nathaniel Vinton , Teri Thompson
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke (l.) is Sepp Blatter's (r.) most loyal aide.
The massive federal investigation into corruption in world soccer inched closer to FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday when Blatter’s second-in command was identified in news reports as responsible for a $10 million wire transfer that ended up vanishing into the murky coffers of corrupt officials in New York and Trinidad.
Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general, is the “high-ranking FIFA official” described in the government’s indictment as “causing” the transfer in 2008, according to the New York Times. Valcke denies wrongdoing, and told the Times he did not have the power or authorization to make such a payment.
A spokeswoman for FIFA said the $10 million in bank transactions were authorized by the then-FIFA Finance Committee chairman. The Finance Committee chairman was Julio Grondona, who died last year.
RELATED: LETTER SHOWS VALCKE KNEW OF $10 MILLION PAYMENT
Valcke, a Frenchman who is Blatter’s most loyal aide, is not named in the blockbuster indictment unveiled last week by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York. Nor does the indictment’s description of the transfer say that the official who made it knew that the money was a bribe.
One source familiar with the long-running investigation, however, told the Daily News last Tuesday night, just before the raid in Switzerland, that Valcke would likely become part of the indictment, joining a long list of other officials, including Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, who together ran CONCACAF,the North American and Caribbean soccer federation that is at the center of the criminal prosecution.
“There are two people who can get Blatter — Warner and Valcke,” said the source, referring to what Valcke might know of any possible involvement by the FIFA boss in the scandal.
FIFA Scandal Explained
NY Daily News
Valcke’s name also appears on a confidential list of 44 names of top soccer executives obtained by The News that was given to Blazer after he began cooperating with the feds in 2011. Blazer understood the list named people whose phone calls and emails agents meant to intercept, according to a News source.
RELATED: FIFA VP JACK WARNER'S TICKET-SCALPING SON SANG TO FEDS
FIFA announced early Monday that Valcke would not attend Saturday’s opening of the women’s World Cup tournament in Canada, fueling speculation that he is avoiding a trip that could bring him within reach of U.S. law enforcement officers pursuing fraud and racketeering charges against members of soccer’s international governing body. Even if Valcke were not arrested in Canada, he could be questioned by agents, as could Blatter.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York, portrays a $10 million transfer, made in three installments, as a bribe meant to persuade three FIFA executives to support South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup tournament. The money came in three transfers totaling $10 million to be wired from a FIFA account in Switzerland to a New York bank account controlled by Warner, a former vice president of soccer’s international governing body, according to the indictment.
It's just a matter of time before Jerome Valcke is indicted in the FIFA corruption probe, a source told the Daily News.
Warner, who was jailed overnight last week in Trinidad, is accused by the government of diverting the funds to a variety of personal accounts, and of sending $750,000 of it to Blazer, Warner’s former friend and colleague atop the hierarchy of CONCACAF, then based in New York. The two are accused of looting CONCACAF through a web of offshore accounts, kickbacks and phony projects and, in Warner’s case, even a $26 million soccer development facility in Trinidad called the “Havelange Centre for Excellence” built with FIFA funds but deeded in Warner’s name.
Blazer, who turned on Warner in 2011 amid a brazen payment-for-votes scam in the 2011 FIFA election in which a challenger to Blatter doled out $40,000 payments to voters with Warner’s help, is a cooperating witness for the government. He secretly pleaded guilty in 2013 to a range of crimes, including racketeering conspiracy and tax evasion. The Daily News first reported in 2014 the investigation by FBI and IRS agents out of the Eastern District of New York, and that Blazer made surreptitious recordings of his fellow sport executives at the behest of the FBI.
He also had a blunt description of Jerome Valcke, telling one former associate: “He’s Blatter’s bagman.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/s...man-linked-10m-bribe-report-article-1.2243105
Zach Braziller @NYPost_Brazille 4h4 hours ago Queens, NY When do the Liberty hire Sepp Blatter as Isiah's VP?
When do the Liberty hire Sepp Blatter as Isiah's VP?
That'd be funny if it weren't so believable, sadly. Never underestimate the stupidity of Dolan.
Right after he hires Dennis Hassert as his political advisor....
When do the Liberty hire Sepp Blatter as Isiah's VP?
BY Mike Lupica
Blatter's resignation as FIFA president is one goal, now get 'em all
NY DAILY NEWS
June 2, 2015
Blatter, here with the World Cup trophy, resigns in disgrace as a major scandal rocks FIFA, which definitely needed some rocking.
This all comes out of the Eastern District of New York where Loretta Lynch, who is going to be somebody to watch in Washington, D.C., for a long time, first showed you that she was completely unafraid to go after bad guys who thought they were so far above the law that no one could ever touch them.
Lynch prosecuted Michael Grimm, a Republican congressmen from Staten Island. She went after another no-account politician named Pedro Espada Jr., and went after big banks. Now as the attorney general of the United States, she goes after FIFA, the governing body of international soccer that she hit so hard with indictments last week and that now sees its president, a glorified ward heeler named Sepp Blatter, resign.
Fourteen senior FIFA officials and marketing executives saw those indictments, 47 in all, come at them like waves. There are more where that came from, now that FIFA has been shown to the world to be nothing more than some high-class, multi-lingual version of “Goodfellas.” Don’t be surprised if Loretta Lynch eventually goes after Blatter at the end of an investigation that she first supervised as U.S. attorney in the Eastern District.
People kept saying that no one was going to touch Blatter, that he was too powerful, had too much support. It meant they were as blind to what was happening as Blatter was. He was finished the minute Loretta Lynch went at his underbosses the way she did.
And you thought Blatter couldn't possibly look more ridiculous.
It may have happened sooner than anybody expected, Blatter doing everything on Tuesday except leave in mid-sentence. But what happened, Blatter quitting this way, was as inevitable as corruption in his sport.
Somehow, though, he did manage to tell one truth about his circumstances on his way out the door.
“FIFA needs a profound overhaul,” Blatter said. “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.”
Loretta Lynch and our government are the ones with the mandate here, to do what soccer refused to do on its own: Clean up the biggest sport in the world, not let it be run by people who thought they could sell themselves and their federations and even their World Cup votes in broad daylight.
“These people,” a source close to this investigation said, “really have no idea what it’s like to have the federal government come after them this way.”
This all really did start in the Eastern District, as reported well and for a long time in the Daily News, because of a colorful cooperating witness named Chuck Blazer, a former FIFA executive from New York City. Blazer has already pleaded guilty to fraud and racketeering and tax evasion. Of course with FIFA, that just makes you another member of the conga line.
Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images
FIFA now needs a new president - and an entire organization that doesn't become corrupt.
And it is probably just one of those crazy coincidences you get in life sometimes that Sepp Blatter resigns after his top lieutenant, Jerome Valcke, turns out to be the previously unnamed FIFA official involved with a $10 million wire transfer allegedly sent to a soccer bum named Jack Warner for his help in putting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Still, when somebody recently asked Blatter if he himself expected to be jailed, he said, “For what?” Say it again: Richard Nixon never thought he would resign his own presidency because of what all the small-time crooks who worked for him had done with Watergate. These men end up drunk with their own power and never see themselves tripping and falling, all the way into indictments.
Even at the end on Tuesday, Blatter still acted as if he were running for something, instead of away from the law, thanking all those who had supported him in a “constructive and loyal manner.” Then he actually talked about his wish that when all of this is over, that “(soccer) is the winner.”
The sport won on this day because once and for all it lost this guy, reportedly being investigated by the feds already. All these soccer people bowed and scraped in front of Blatter as if he were royalty. He never saw Loretta Lynch, out of Greensboro, N.C., the daughter of a Baptist minister, coming for him, hitting Blatter’s underbosses so hard he’s the one who quit on his stool.
Goodbye to him now, and good riddance.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/lupica-sepp-blatter-resignation-goal-em-article-1.2244562
FIFA official Jack Warner could prove link that may implicate Sepp Blatter in corrupt dealings
BY Teri Thompson , Christian Red
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Shirley Bahadur/AP
Jack Warner says he will prove a link of corrupt dealings between FIFA and his home country of Trinadad and Tobago's presidential elections in 2010.
Sepp Blatter has one more reason to be quaking in his soccer cleats after former high-ranking FIFA member Jack Warner made some bombshell remarks Wednesday night.
Warner, the Trinidad-born ex-president of CONCACAF and one of the 14 FIFA officials and marketing executives indicted last week by U.S. prosecutors in a sweeping investigation of corruption in world soccer, said in a televised address that he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and his nation’s presidential elections in 2010.
RELATED: CHUCK BLAZER ADMITS FACILITATING WORLD CUP BID BRIBES
“I will no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country,” Warner said.
Blatter wasn’t named in the 47-count federal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, but after resigning his post as FIFA’s president on Tuesday, Blatter appears to be squarely in the cross-hairs of the ongoing investigation into a corrupt culture that has gone unchecked for decades.
And Warner, a FIFA loose cannon, is believed to hold the keys to a Pandora’s Box of corrupt dealings, many of which could implicate Blatter.
“Not even death will stop the avalanche that is coming,” Warner said. “The die is cast. There can be no turning back. Let the chips fall where they fall.”
Warner also said in the address, which was a paid political advertisement: “I reasonably actually fear for my life.”
RELATED: QATAR MAY FACE THE BOOT AS 2022 WORLD CUP HOST
Warner, whose sons have pleaded guilty in the case, cryptically claimed that he has documents and checks that link FIFA officials, including Blatter, to the 2010 presidential election in Trinidad and Tobago, and promised to release an avalanche of documents proving his claims in that election, and ostensibly, many other corrupt acts he has knowledge of. Sources have told the Daily News they expect Warner to cooperate with U.S. authorities, who are seeking to extradite him, possibly to help his sons when they are sentenced.
Warner said he has compiled reams of documents and is delivering them to his attorneys, who will disseminate them as they see fit.
Warner spoke at his Independent Liberal Party’s rally on a residential street after his television appearance, with his supporters cheering him on.
VALERIANO DI DOMENICO/AFP/Getty Images
Recently resigned FIFA president Sepp Blatter escapes initial federal indictment charges, but is not in the clear yet.
According to the Associated Press, at least a couple hundred people were present when Warner spoke, many of them having not seen the televised remarks.
“I apologize for not disclosing my knowledge of these events before,” Warner said.
Mopping sweat from his forehead several times, Warner, who has been charged with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering in the sweeping indictment, told supporters that he will not hold back in his newfound plan to expose scandal.
“Blatter knows why he fell. And if anyone else knows, I do,” Warner said.
MOBILE USER? SEE JACK WARNER'S STATEMENT HERE
- With AP
BY Teri Thompson , Christian Red
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Shirley Bahadur/AP
Jack Warner says he will prove a link of corrupt dealings between FIFA and his home country of Trinadad and Tobago's presidential elections in 2010.
Sepp Blatter has one more reason to be quaking in his soccer cleats after former high-ranking FIFA member Jack Warner made some bombshell remarks Wednesday night.
Warner, the Trinidad-born ex-president of CONCACAF and one of the 14 FIFA officials and marketing executives indicted last week by U.S. prosecutors in a sweeping investigation of corruption in world soccer, said in a televised address that he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and his nation’s presidential elections in 2010.
RELATED: CHUCK BLAZER ADMITS FACILITATING WORLD CUP BID BRIBES
“I will no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country,” Warner said.
Blatter wasn’t named in the 47-count federal indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, but after resigning his post as FIFA’s president on Tuesday, Blatter appears to be squarely in the cross-hairs of the ongoing investigation into a corrupt culture that has gone unchecked for decades.
And Warner, a FIFA loose cannon, is believed to hold the keys to a Pandora’s Box of corrupt dealings, many of which could implicate Blatter.
“Not even death will stop the avalanche that is coming,” Warner said. “The die is cast. There can be no turning back. Let the chips fall where they fall.”
Warner also said in the address, which was a paid political advertisement: “I reasonably actually fear for my life.”
RELATED: QATAR MAY FACE THE BOOT AS 2022 WORLD CUP HOST
Warner, whose sons have pleaded guilty in the case, cryptically claimed that he has documents and checks that link FIFA officials, including Blatter, to the 2010 presidential election in Trinidad and Tobago, and promised to release an avalanche of documents proving his claims in that election, and ostensibly, many other corrupt acts he has knowledge of. Sources have told the Daily News they expect Warner to cooperate with U.S. authorities, who are seeking to extradite him, possibly to help his sons when they are sentenced.
Warner said he has compiled reams of documents and is delivering them to his attorneys, who will disseminate them as they see fit.
Warner spoke at his Independent Liberal Party’s rally on a residential street after his television appearance, with his supporters cheering him on.
Recently resigned FIFA president Sepp Blatter escapes initial federal indictment charges, but is not in the clear yet.
According to the Associated Press, at least a couple hundred people were present when Warner spoke, many of them having not seen the televised remarks.
“I apologize for not disclosing my knowledge of these events before,” Warner said.
Mopping sweat from his forehead several times, Warner, who has been charged with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering in the sweeping indictment, told supporters that he will not hold back in his newfound plan to expose scandal.
“Blatter knows why he fell. And if anyone else knows, I do,” Warner said.
MOBILE USER? SEE JACK WARNER'S STATEMENT HERE
- With AP
Too much money involved , too many people with their hands out for FIFA to ever be corruption free especially when you consider how many countries in FIFA there are where bribery is an accepted practice.
There will be a day in the not to distant future where you can replace the letters FIFA with NCAA
Walter De Gregorio, FIFA's director of public affairs and a Sepp Blatter ally, stepping down: Follow the FIFA scandal as it happens
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sepp Blatter effectively sacked himself June 2, announcing his plans to resign the FIFA presidency he’s held since 1998.
So how did we get to this point and where do we go from here?
Here’s a look at today’s news, and the events that brought FIFA to this point:
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015
ZURICH (AP) —FIFA says its director of public affairs Walter De Gregorio, who is closely tied to President Sepp Blatter, is leaving his job.
FIFA says De Gregorio “has decided to relinquish his office with immediate effect” but will stay on as consultant until the end of the year. The Swiss former journalist joined FIFA in 2011 after working on Blatter’s campaign team during that year’s presidential election.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he is glad “we will be able to continue to draw on (De Gregorio’s) expertise until the end of the year.”
FIFA says De Gregorio’s deputy, Nicolas Maingot, will step up to the director’s position. The election to replace Blatter is expected between December and March.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
Computer files from FIFA’s world headquarters in Zurich were seized by Swiss police on Wednesday morning, according to a report by the BBC. The data in question—which came from offices including that of former President Sepp Blatter—was obtained as part of an investigation into the handling of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. IT equipment was also handed over to police in the search.
FIFA said it handed over the information willfully and has been completely cooperative in the investigative process, reiterating the stance that it is “the injured party” in the proceedings. The search comes just after the organization’s secretary general, Jerome Valcke, announced it would delay the bidding process for the 2026 tournament amidst the scandal that has rocked international soccer.
— Sean Coffey
***
"I think it’s nonsense to start any bidding process," FIFASecretary General Jerome Valcke said Wednesday in Russia, announcing that the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup will be postponed.| READ MORE
TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015
The locations of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, will remain unchanged — at least for now.
Just two days after Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee, claimed that those selections could be vacated if evidence of bribery was brought forth, FIFA refuted that assertion with a statement defending the bid process.
“Russia and Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups by democratic vote of the Executive Committee,” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday. “Based on expert opinions and available facts, FIFA has no legal grounds to take away the hosting of the FIFA World Cup from Russia and Qatar.”
Rumors have swirled about possible corruption in those voting proceedings ever since FIFA’s executive committee selected Russia and Qatar — a nation with no world soccer experience — for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments back in 2010. Many of those suspicions were only compounded following the arrest of nine high-ranking FIFA officials on charges of corruption, money-laundering, and racketeering last week; it has since been reported that FIFA procured a $10 million bribe from South Africa before that nation was chosen to host the World Cup in 2010.
Both nations have remained steadfast in their denials of any corruption or bribery, with the chief of Russia’s World Cup organizing committee, Alexey Sorokin, insisting “it (the vote) was clean” in an interview with CNN last week.
“It didn’t transgress any FIFA practices, any practices applicable to the bidding process,” Sorokin said.
Both Russia and Qatar have maintained the allegations have not affected their preparations for the tournament. The FBI continues to investigate the selection of the two host nations.
— Sean Coffey
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sepp Blatter effectively sacked himself June 2, announcing his plans to resign the FIFA presidency he’s held since 1998.
So how did we get to this point and where do we go from here?
Here’s a look at today’s news, and the events that brought FIFA to this point:
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015
ZURICH (AP) —FIFA says its director of public affairs Walter De Gregorio, who is closely tied to President Sepp Blatter, is leaving his job.
FIFA says De Gregorio “has decided to relinquish his office with immediate effect” but will stay on as consultant until the end of the year. The Swiss former journalist joined FIFA in 2011 after working on Blatter’s campaign team during that year’s presidential election.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he is glad “we will be able to continue to draw on (De Gregorio’s) expertise until the end of the year.”
FIFA says De Gregorio’s deputy, Nicolas Maingot, will step up to the director’s position. The election to replace Blatter is expected between December and March.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015
Computer files from FIFA’s world headquarters in Zurich were seized by Swiss police on Wednesday morning, according to a report by the BBC. The data in question—which came from offices including that of former President Sepp Blatter—was obtained as part of an investigation into the handling of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. IT equipment was also handed over to police in the search.
FIFA said it handed over the information willfully and has been completely cooperative in the investigative process, reiterating the stance that it is “the injured party” in the proceedings. The search comes just after the organization’s secretary general, Jerome Valcke, announced it would delay the bidding process for the 2026 tournament amidst the scandal that has rocked international soccer.
— Sean Coffey
***
"I think it’s nonsense to start any bidding process," FIFASecretary General Jerome Valcke said Wednesday in Russia, announcing that the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup will be postponed.| READ MORE
TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015
The locations of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, will remain unchanged — at least for now.
Just two days after Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee, claimed that those selections could be vacated if evidence of bribery was brought forth, FIFA refuted that assertion with a statement defending the bid process.
“Russia and Qatar were awarded the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups by democratic vote of the Executive Committee,” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday. “Based on expert opinions and available facts, FIFA has no legal grounds to take away the hosting of the FIFA World Cup from Russia and Qatar.”
Rumors have swirled about possible corruption in those voting proceedings ever since FIFA’s executive committee selected Russia and Qatar — a nation with no world soccer experience — for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments back in 2010. Many of those suspicions were only compounded following the arrest of nine high-ranking FIFA officials on charges of corruption, money-laundering, and racketeering last week; it has since been reported that FIFA procured a $10 million bribe from South Africa before that nation was chosen to host the World Cup in 2010.
Both nations have remained steadfast in their denials of any corruption or bribery, with the chief of Russia’s World Cup organizing committee, Alexey Sorokin, insisting “it (the vote) was clean” in an interview with CNN last week.
“It didn’t transgress any FIFA practices, any practices applicable to the bidding process,” Sorokin said.
Both Russia and Qatar have maintained the allegations have not affected their preparations for the tournament. The FBI continues to investigate the selection of the two host nations.
— Sean Coffey
Continued
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015
FIFA might have already officially chosen host nations for next two World Cups, but on Sunday evening the man charged with overseeing the organization's reform made it clear those decisions wouldn't necessarily be final if evidence of foul-play comes to light. The 2018 and 2022 tournaments are currently set to be played in Russia and Qatar, respectively.
"If evidence should emerge that the awards to Qatar and Russia only came about thanks to bought votes then the awards could be invalidated," Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, said in an interview with Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung on Sunday. Scala, who was chosen last week to superintend the organization's period of reform in the midst of its ever-growing scandal, also made it clear to the Swiss news outlet that no such evidence has yet emerged.
The comments come shortly after the FBI announced that it would expand its investigation into worldwide corruption in soccer to include the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the processes that led to their selection.
While no evidence of bribery has been brought to light yet, former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer made it clear in his testimony to federal officials that the votes of other high-ranking FIFA officials had been bought for past World Cups, including the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The South African government has categorically denied that any bribery took place in that process, and Russia followed suit on Sunday by emphatically defending its selection by FIFA.
"It was clean," chief of Russia's 2018 organizing committee Alexey Sorokin told CNN last week. "It didn't transgress any FIFA practices, any practices applicable to the bidding process. What else can we say?"
— Sean Coffey
SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015
Man of his word, John Oliver, chugs a Bud Light Lime on "Last Week Tonight" to toast the U.S. Justice Department's takedown of Sepp Blatter.
Looks like releasing a movie about the origins of an ultimatley corrupt and shady organization in the country that brought it down turned out to be a bad idea. Who knew?
FIFA-funded flick "United Passions" bombed in its United States release this weekend according to the Hollywood Reporter, netting just $607 on Friday and Saturday. The low point? One theatre in Phoenix reported making $9 - the price of a single ticket - on the film.
Disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter is played by Tim Roth in writer-director Frederic Auburtin's film.
The movie was originally released overseas in 2014 and holds just a 2.6 rating (out of 10) on IMDb.com, mostly dismissed as a propaganda, according to reviewers.
— Dan O'Leary
* * *
Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner used money sent on behalf of South Africa for cash withdrawals, personal loans and to launder money, according to documents, the BBC reports in its investigation on what happened to the $10 million sent to FIFA accounts.
Warner, 72, who has been indicted for corruption, denies wrongdoing, as does South Africa's Football Association.
The money was meant to be used for South Africa's diaspora legacy program to develop soccer in the Caribbean, but documents show how the money was spent.
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015
(AP) — A global sports organization pummeled by a corruption scandal. The president under pressure to resign. The U.S. Justice Department and FBI leading the investigation. Sponsors clamoring for reform. FIFA in 2015? This was the crisis facing the International Olympic Committee in the late 1990s.
The IOC, however, managed to move quickly to clean itself up and enact reforms that helped restore credibility and confidence in the Olympic body. Now, the IOC is being held as a model for FIFA to follow as its tries to dig itself out of the biggest bribery scandal in its 111-year history. According to the man who helped lead the IOC cleanup, it will be a much more difficult challenge for soccer’s governing body.
“It’s a complete and utter mess,” senior IOC member Dick Pound told The Associated Press. “It may be too late.”
Pound, a Canadian lawyer, headed the internal investigation into the bribery allegations that rocked the IOC to its foundations. The case, which broke in December 1998, centered on the cash, scholarships, medical care, lavish gifts and other favors linked to Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2015
FIFA might have already officially chosen host nations for next two World Cups, but on Sunday evening the man charged with overseeing the organization's reform made it clear those decisions wouldn't necessarily be final if evidence of foul-play comes to light. The 2018 and 2022 tournaments are currently set to be played in Russia and Qatar, respectively.
"If evidence should emerge that the awards to Qatar and Russia only came about thanks to bought votes then the awards could be invalidated," Domenico Scala, chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, said in an interview with Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung on Sunday. Scala, who was chosen last week to superintend the organization's period of reform in the midst of its ever-growing scandal, also made it clear to the Swiss news outlet that no such evidence has yet emerged.
The comments come shortly after the FBI announced that it would expand its investigation into worldwide corruption in soccer to include the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the processes that led to their selection.
While no evidence of bribery has been brought to light yet, former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer made it clear in his testimony to federal officials that the votes of other high-ranking FIFA officials had been bought for past World Cups, including the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The South African government has categorically denied that any bribery took place in that process, and Russia followed suit on Sunday by emphatically defending its selection by FIFA.
"It was clean," chief of Russia's 2018 organizing committee Alexey Sorokin told CNN last week. "It didn't transgress any FIFA practices, any practices applicable to the bidding process. What else can we say?"
— Sean Coffey
SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015
Man of his word, John Oliver, chugs a Bud Light Lime on "Last Week Tonight" to toast the U.S. Justice Department's takedown of Sepp Blatter.
Looks like releasing a movie about the origins of an ultimatley corrupt and shady organization in the country that brought it down turned out to be a bad idea. Who knew?
FIFA-funded flick "United Passions" bombed in its United States release this weekend according to the Hollywood Reporter, netting just $607 on Friday and Saturday. The low point? One theatre in Phoenix reported making $9 - the price of a single ticket - on the film.
Disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter is played by Tim Roth in writer-director Frederic Auburtin's film.
The movie was originally released overseas in 2014 and holds just a 2.6 rating (out of 10) on IMDb.com, mostly dismissed as a propaganda, according to reviewers.
— Dan O'Leary
* * *
Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner used money sent on behalf of South Africa for cash withdrawals, personal loans and to launder money, according to documents, the BBC reports in its investigation on what happened to the $10 million sent to FIFA accounts.
Warner, 72, who has been indicted for corruption, denies wrongdoing, as does South Africa's Football Association.
The money was meant to be used for South Africa's diaspora legacy program to develop soccer in the Caribbean, but documents show how the money was spent.
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2015
(AP) — A global sports organization pummeled by a corruption scandal. The president under pressure to resign. The U.S. Justice Department and FBI leading the investigation. Sponsors clamoring for reform. FIFA in 2015? This was the crisis facing the International Olympic Committee in the late 1990s.
The IOC, however, managed to move quickly to clean itself up and enact reforms that helped restore credibility and confidence in the Olympic body. Now, the IOC is being held as a model for FIFA to follow as its tries to dig itself out of the biggest bribery scandal in its 111-year history. According to the man who helped lead the IOC cleanup, it will be a much more difficult challenge for soccer’s governing body.
“It’s a complete and utter mess,” senior IOC member Dick Pound told The Associated Press. “It may be too late.”
Pound, a Canadian lawyer, headed the internal investigation into the bribery allegations that rocked the IOC to its foundations. The case, which broke in December 1998, centered on the cash, scholarships, medical care, lavish gifts and other favors linked to Salt Lake City’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Continued
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
We like to keep this little feature here newsy, but this bit of gossip is just too good to ignore.
According to a report from Spain's El Mundo newspaper, Sepp Blatter and Irina Shayk were "lovers." Yes, that Irina Shayk. The supermodel and Cristiano Ronaldo's ex.
Getting this little item planted in the Spanish press show's just how powerful the outgoing FIFA boss is.
OK, back to the news ...
— Bernie Augustine
South Africa's former president signed off on the $10 million the country sent to FIFA in 2007, the nation's sports minister said on Friday.
While South Africa is denying that it was part of a bribe to bring the 2010 World Cup to the continent for the first time, sports minister Fikile Mbalula told a local newspaper on Friday that the payment was approved after then-President Thabo Mbeki spoke with the leaders of the 2010 World Cup local organizing committee.
“(It was) the government’s idea,” Mbalula told South African news outlet Beeld, according to the BBC. Mbeki has denied any bribery took place since the scandal broke.
“I wish to state that the government that I had the privilege to lead would never have paid any bribe even if it were solicited,” Mbeki said in a statement last week.
The South African government insists was made to CONCACAF to develop soccer in the Caribbean.
— Sean Coffey
(AP) — The president of the influential German soccer federation, Wolfgang Niersbach, says a new FIFA president needs to be elected sooner rather than later.
“For me it’s incredible the way it happened. You (Sepp Blatter) invite the whole world to a congress, you get re-elected and then four days later you resign, for whatever reason, but it’s not an immediate resignation,” Niersbach told German TV station ZDF.
FIFA said four months are needed to set up the extraordinary congress to elect the new president but Niersbach said “everything needs to go much faster.”
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015
U.S. goalie Tim Howard skeptical of 2022 World Cup re-vote
Another day, another FIFA bribe.
On Thursday morning it was reported that the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) accepted a bribe from FIFA totaling more than $5.6 million to not proceed with a legal case following a pivotal Thierry Henry handball in a 2009 World Cup qualifier. The handball, which went uncalled, opened the door for a winning French goal and ultimately cost Ireland a spot in the 2010 World Cup.
FAI chief executive John Delaney admitted to the bribe in an interview with Irish radio outlet RTE on Thursday morning.
“We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup playoff hadn’t worked out for us with the Henry handball,” Delaney told RTE. “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.”
When asked how big the bribe was, Delaney told RTE that the agreement barred him from mentioning the exact figure involved but didn't object when the interviewer claimed it was $5.6 million.
“You used a figure there,” said Delaney. “Well done to you.”
—Sean Coffey | READ MORE HERE
(AP) — 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.
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
We like to keep this little feature here newsy, but this bit of gossip is just too good to ignore.
According to a report from Spain's El Mundo newspaper, Sepp Blatter and Irina Shayk were "lovers." Yes, that Irina Shayk. The supermodel and Cristiano Ronaldo's ex.
Getting this little item planted in the Spanish press show's just how powerful the outgoing FIFA boss is.
OK, back to the news ...
— Bernie Augustine
South Africa's former president signed off on the $10 million the country sent to FIFA in 2007, the nation's sports minister said on Friday.
While South Africa is denying that it was part of a bribe to bring the 2010 World Cup to the continent for the first time, sports minister Fikile Mbalula told a local newspaper on Friday that the payment was approved after then-President Thabo Mbeki spoke with the leaders of the 2010 World Cup local organizing committee.
“(It was) the government’s idea,” Mbalula told South African news outlet Beeld, according to the BBC. Mbeki has denied any bribery took place since the scandal broke.
“I wish to state that the government that I had the privilege to lead would never have paid any bribe even if it were solicited,” Mbeki said in a statement last week.
The South African government insists was made to CONCACAF to develop soccer in the Caribbean.
— Sean Coffey
(AP) — The president of the influential German soccer federation, Wolfgang Niersbach, says a new FIFA president needs to be elected sooner rather than later.
“For me it’s incredible the way it happened. You (Sepp Blatter) invite the whole world to a congress, you get re-elected and then four days later you resign, for whatever reason, but it’s not an immediate resignation,” Niersbach told German TV station ZDF.
FIFA said four months are needed to set up the extraordinary congress to elect the new president but Niersbach said “everything needs to go much faster.”
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2015
U.S. goalie Tim Howard skeptical of 2022 World Cup re-vote
Another day, another FIFA bribe.
On Thursday morning it was reported that the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) accepted a bribe from FIFA totaling more than $5.6 million to not proceed with a legal case following a pivotal Thierry Henry handball in a 2009 World Cup qualifier. The handball, which went uncalled, opened the door for a winning French goal and ultimately cost Ireland a spot in the 2010 World Cup.
FAI chief executive John Delaney admitted to the bribe in an interview with Irish radio outlet RTE on Thursday morning.
“We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup playoff hadn’t worked out for us with the Henry handball,” Delaney told RTE. “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.”
When asked how big the bribe was, Delaney told RTE that the agreement barred him from mentioning the exact figure involved but didn't object when the interviewer claimed it was $5.6 million.
“You used a figure there,” said Delaney. “Well done to you.”
—Sean Coffey | READ MORE HERE
(AP) — 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.
Continued
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015
Jack Warner fears for his life, forecast "avalanche that is coming" in FIFA scandal
FIFA informant Chuck Blazer admitted to taking bribes for World Cup bids
(Reuters) — The FBI’s investigation of soccer governing body FIFA includes scrutiny of how the organization awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 competition to Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the review of the awards to host the tournament would be part of a probe that is looking beyond the allegations in an indictment announced a week ago of officials of world soccer’s governing body. Swiss prosecutors said then that they were investigating the 2018 and 2022 bids.
Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by its longtime president Sepp Blatter, who on Tuesday unexpectedly announced his plan to resign.
FIFA official Jack Warner could implicate Sepp Blatter in corrupt dealings
Chuck Blazer admitted to taking bribes for World Cup bids
Jack Warner among six men added to Interpol’s Most Wanted list as FIFA corruption probe widens
South Africa FA ‘categorically’ denies $10 million payment was a bribe
Informant Chuck Blazer is key player in FIFA arrest scandal
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015
Sepp Blatter announces he will resign as FIFA president: 'I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football'
FIFA VP Jack Warner's ticket-scalping son sang to federal investigators
Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, linked to $10 million bribe: report
MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015
Soccer executive Aaron Davidson, arrested in FIFA corruption probe, looking to cut deal
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015
Indicted ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner uses Onion article as proof of U.S. hypocrisy
SATURDAY MAY 30, 2015
Attorney General Loretta Lynch earns worldwide praise in FIFA probe
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015
Feds outline ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner’s alleged bribery scheme
Bomb threat called in to FIFA Congress meeting as nations vote on Sepp Blatter’s future as president
Sepp Blatter re-elected as FIFA president as Prince Ali bin al-Hussein concedes before second round of voting
FIFA scandal defendant enters not guilty plea in Brooklyn
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015
Is Sepp Blatter safe from U.S. FIFA probe? U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says ‘this investigation is ongoing’; Jack Warner surrenders to authorities
Putin accuses U.S. of meddling into FIFA affairs, trying to take away his country’s 2018 World Cup
Visa, Adidas urge FIFA to uphold ethical standards as top sponsors respond to top soccer officials being arrested
Embattled FIFA president Sepp Blatter said to be losing support ahead of Friday's re-election vote
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
Top FIFA officials arrested after federal probe days before boss Sepp Blatter is expected to be re-elected
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/s...s-fifa-scandal-live-updates-article-1.2245281
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015
Jack Warner fears for his life, forecast "avalanche that is coming" in FIFA scandal
FIFA informant Chuck Blazer admitted to taking bribes for World Cup bids
(Reuters) — The FBI’s investigation of soccer governing body FIFA includes scrutiny of how the organization awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 competition to Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the review of the awards to host the tournament would be part of a probe that is looking beyond the allegations in an indictment announced a week ago of officials of world soccer’s governing body. Swiss prosecutors said then that they were investigating the 2018 and 2022 bids.
Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by its longtime president Sepp Blatter, who on Tuesday unexpectedly announced his plan to resign.
FIFA official Jack Warner could implicate Sepp Blatter in corrupt dealings
Chuck Blazer admitted to taking bribes for World Cup bids
Jack Warner among six men added to Interpol’s Most Wanted list as FIFA corruption probe widens
South Africa FA ‘categorically’ denies $10 million payment was a bribe
Informant Chuck Blazer is key player in FIFA arrest scandal
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015
Sepp Blatter announces he will resign as FIFA president: 'I do not feel that I have a mandate from the entire world of football'
FIFA VP Jack Warner's ticket-scalping son sang to federal investigators
Sepp Blatter's right-hand man, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, linked to $10 million bribe: report
MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015
Soccer executive Aaron Davidson, arrested in FIFA corruption probe, looking to cut deal
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015
Indicted ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner uses Onion article as proof of U.S. hypocrisy
SATURDAY MAY 30, 2015
Attorney General Loretta Lynch earns worldwide praise in FIFA probe
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015
Feds outline ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner’s alleged bribery scheme
Bomb threat called in to FIFA Congress meeting as nations vote on Sepp Blatter’s future as president
Sepp Blatter re-elected as FIFA president as Prince Ali bin al-Hussein concedes before second round of voting
FIFA scandal defendant enters not guilty plea in Brooklyn
THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015
Is Sepp Blatter safe from U.S. FIFA probe? U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says ‘this investigation is ongoing’; Jack Warner surrenders to authorities
Putin accuses U.S. of meddling into FIFA affairs, trying to take away his country’s 2018 World Cup
Visa, Adidas urge FIFA to uphold ethical standards as top sponsors respond to top soccer officials being arrested
Embattled FIFA president Sepp Blatter said to be losing support ahead of Friday's re-election vote
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
Top FIFA officials arrested after federal probe days before boss Sepp Blatter is expected to be re-elected
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/s...s-fifa-scandal-live-updates-article-1.2245281
