Unfortunately the FIFA world has been dominated with speculation of bribery and solicitation forever – most recently with the decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Due to this, FIFA Officials are viewed as rich & powerful men who are likely corrupt. Even the most casual American soccer fan is aware of this.
They’re like the mob, or the cartels in South America: they run such a lucrative and powerful operation that the authorities have always been forced to look the other way.
They may not be as overtly evil as those two other organizations – but you get what I’m saying here. They run a shady enterprise by their own rules and it’s accepted out of… Fear? Laziness? Or because they’ve bribed enough people on the other side to cover for them.
Not anymore. This New York Times article tells us that now at least one of these men may be feeling the wrath of justice from inside a jail cell.
As leaders of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, gathered for their annual meeting, more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich.
The officers went to the registration desk to get keys, then headed upstairs toward the hotel rooms. One FIFA official was led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to bring his luggage.
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 FIFA’s powerful executive committee, which wields enormous power and does its business largely in secret.
The arrests were a startling blow to FIFA, a multibillion-dollar organization that governs the world’s most popular sport but has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades.
But wait – there’s more!
Prosecutors planned to unseal an indictment against more than 10 officials, not all of whom are in Zurich, law enforcement officials said.
“We’re struck by just how long this went on for and how it touched nearly every part of what F.I.F.A. did,” said a law enforcement official. “It just seemed to permeate every element of the federation and was just their way of doing business. It seems like this corruption was institutionalized.”
Fans of FIFA around the world, rejoice.
You may – someday – no longer have to wonder whether your league is being ran on the up and up. Obviously there are to be expected handshake deals and some element of bribery in all sports, I’m sure. That’s what happens when there’s that much money involved in anything in life.
This punishment has been a long time coming for the FIFA world, however, and it sounds like its only the start of the corruption charges for their officials.
GOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL for justice.