FIFA execs nabbed in Switzerland

[BigBubba]

An FBI led investigation into fraud at the highest levels of FIFA resulted in 7 arrests at a 5 star hotel in Zurich. It's all over the news in the U.S. Supposedly $150 million in bribes involving World Cup events in Moscow and Qatar, some deals apparently negotiated in NYC, are in question. Check your local sources for more details.

[BobHelm]

The arrests & USA involvement are all to do with long term bribery involving American (as in the Continent) officials. It is an FBI operation (because USA banks were used) with wire tap evidence involving a 'turned' official as well as other evidence. At least two of the non-footballing commercial employees involved have, apparently, admitted being guilty of the charges. The bribery has been been going on for a long time (20+ years).

At the same time Swiss authorities have an investigation ongoing concerning illegal activities over the granting of the rights of the next two World Cups.

The current head of the World Football authority (FIFA) is up for re-election to that position on Friday. He, Sepp Blatter, has been doing the job since 8 June 1998. FIFA have said that as Mr. Blatter has not been charged or accused of any offense then there is no reason for him to resign his position & not seek re-election.

Personally, I can think of no other Organisation where, if long term fraud & bribery was discovered to be constantly happening during the 17 year tenure of the CEO, that he would not have to go immediately. At the very least it is gross incompetence.

[Drunk Monkey]

Things are really hotting up with this story .. so the gist so far.....

7 FIFA OFFICIALS NICKED IN SWITZERLAND .......BY THE F.B.I must of thought they were AN I.S Swiss cell??

Plattini CALLS A PRESS CONFERENCE TO BOTH PROFESS HIS INNOCENCE and ASKS SEPP "THE MAIN MAN' BLATTER TO QUIT...asks all to vote for Prince Ali (son of footballing legend Mohamid) Blatters only rival in the FIFA election .

Another news conference ..Blatter REFUSES PLATTS ADVICE ... and professes his innocence and hatred of coruption in the game he loves .. and will contest the FIFA election presidency tomorrow .

Camoron asks Blatter to quit ... David Gill and UEFA ask Blatter to quit as if he wins they will all jack .. ,,, major sponsors VISA , COKE COLA ETC are reassessing their deals if Blatter stays .... the pressure in on Sepp .. but despite all this he could still win the election and be individual for another term .. as Africa and South America love him ...

Time for the nicked 7 to squeal and implicate Blatts ... time this old bent duffa was put out to grass and a youger straighter replacement .. IMO ..

Loads more titbits ive missed ....its certainly been a crazy day for armchair football politicians ..

BTW ... why were the FBI investigating FIFA in the first place ?

DM

[pomps]

Camoron asks Blatter to quit ... David Gill and UEFA ask Blatter to quit as if he wins they will all jack .. ,,, major sponsors VISA , COKE COLA ETC are reassessing their deals if Blatter stays .... the pressure in on Sepp .. but despite all this he could still win the election and be individual for another term .. as Africa and South America love him ...

BTW ... why were the FBI investigating FIFA in the first place ?

DM

Throw in to the mix Putin,loves blatter also
Presumably the alleged fraud occurred on US soil,ie banks there

[Zidane]

It was the US banks that were involved with other charges being money laundering,extortion,racketeering and fraud as well as bribery.Its been going on for 24 years so why its taken so long for all this to come out I dont know ?
Anyway,today Mr Blatter will be re-elected President of FIFA for another 5 years which gives time for the 2026 World Cup to be awarded to somewhere like India !

Blatter.jpg (10.37 KiB) Viewed 1497 times

[Zidane]

Sepp Blatter,now under investigation in the USA,resigns as President of FIFA. =D> =D> =D>
Theres now talk that South Africa paid a bung to stage the 2010 World Cup ?
Blatter is 79,so by the time a possible trial takes place nature could well have taken its course.

Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president amid corruption scandal (BBC)

Sepp Blatter is to resign as president of football's governing body Fifa amid a corruption scandal and is reportedly under investigation in the US.
In announcing his exit, the 79-year-old Swiss has called an extraordinary Fifa congress "as soon as possible" to elect a new president.
Blatter was re-elected last week, despite seven top Fifa officials being arrested two days before the vote.
But he said: "My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody."

When will a new president be elected?

Blatter, who has been Fifa president since 1998, said: "The next ordinary Fifa congress will take place on 13 May, 2016 in Mexico City.
"This would create unnecessary delay and I will urge the executive committee to organise an extraordinary congress for the election of my successor at the earliest opportunity.
"This will need to be done in line with Fifa's statutes and we must allow enough time for the best candidates to present themselves and to campaign."
The extraordinary congress is expected to take place between December 2015 and March 2016.

[mathusalah80]

[quote="Zidane"]Sepp Blatter,now under investigation in the USA,resigns as President of FIFA. =D> =D> =D>
Theres now talk that South Africa paid a bung to stage the 2010 World Cup ?
Blatter is 79,so by the time a possible trial takes place nature could well have taken its course.

Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president amid corruption scandal (BBC)

Certainly Zid, on the face of it, wonderful news. But, playing the Devil's Advocate I feel we should all keep our feet firmly planted on the ground, and consider the following.
The possibility, given that Blatter has no peer in the world of wheeling and dealing, that his latest election then resignation was all pre-planned. Had he been defeated, changes would have been of immediate effect, plus his obscene salary as President would have ceased immediately. This way, he will effectively remain in full control at full salary for at least eight months, more likely a year, while HE and his majority supporters in the equally corrupt Executive Committee, work at their own pace to implement the organization needed to implement the election of a new President. By' resigning' the Presidency he will be entitled to a substantial annual pension, which would not have been the case had he been defeated.
Furthermore the fact that his resignation relates ONLY to the Presidency, and that he will still remain a member of the Executive Committee, which he 'owns', appears to have been overlooked, in the euphoria of his resignation. So the power will continue to remain with Blatter, (the power behind the throne, as it were), and the new President will be merely an embarrassingly ineffective figurehead. With the continuing total dominance of 'Blatter employees' on that Committee, with the sheer number of their block votes far exceeding the remaining nations, and thus ensuring they are able to support their respective re-elections,( and that of Blatter, of course), seems to me this wonderful ' wind of change' remains just a theory.
Short of rumours becoming provable facts and Blatter being criminally indicted, and some avenue found enabling his forcible and complete removal from membership of,or office of any description in FIFA, I see no end of Blatter's 'ownership' of FIFA and, by extension, no chance at all of any change regarding the awards of the World Cup finals to Russia & Qatar.
Would be interested to read the views of other members, hopefully, able to demonstrate my pessimistic view of the situation is unjustified.

[jackspratt]

I suspect you may well be on to something here, matt.

This from today's ABC Online:

Significantly, despite every news organisation stating that he had resigned, he did not use the word in his brief press conference. The masterful politician remained in control until the end, and left us not entirely certain if it is indeed the end.

The key passage in Blatter's announcement stated:

I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA President until that election.

Until we hear differently - and this is a fluid situation - he is still at FIFA. More importantly, he is setting the agenda........

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/d ... fa/6517562

I wouldn't put anything past the wily old septuagenarian - Blatter, that is.

[socksy]

I suspect you may well be on to something here, matt.

This from today's ABC Online:

Significantly, despite every news organisation stating that he had resigned, he did not use the word in his brief press conference. The masterful politician remained in control until the end, and left us not entirely certain if it is indeed the end.

The key passage in Blatter's announcement stated:

I have decided to lay down my mandate at an extraordinary elective Congress. I will continue to exercise my functions as FIFA President until that election.

Until we hear differently - and this is a fluid situation - he is still at FIFA. More importantly, he is setting the agenda........

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/d ... fa/6517562

I wouldn't put anything past the wily old septuagenarian - Blatter, that is.

At the same time I think his sphincter must be going ten to the dozen in case one of his already arrested 'muckers' bubble him up big time. Maybe the net is finally tightening.

[Zidane]

This chap,Chuck Blazer,appears to be spilling the beans big style.
Mr Sepp Blatter was spotted in a Zurich department store yesterday buying dark coloured underpants.

Fifa crisis: Ex-official Chuck Blazer details bribe-taking
3 hours ago
From the section US and Canada

Former top Fifa official Chuck Blazer admits that he and others on the executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the choice of South Africa as 2010 World Cup host.
The American says he also helped to arrange bribes over the 1998 event.
The admissions come in a newly released transcript from a 2013 US hearing in which he pleads guilty to 10 charges.
The US has launched a wide-ranging criminal case that engulfed Fifa and led President Sepp Blatter to resign.
The US prosecutors last week indicted 14 people on charges of bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Four others had already been charged, including Mr Blazer.
The US justice department alleges they accepted bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m (£97m) over a 24-year period.
Seven of the 14 were top Fifa officials who were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, as they awaited the Fifa congress. Two were vice-presidents.
The details of Mr Blazer's guilty pleas came as prosecutors unsealed the transcript of the 2013 hearing in the Eastern New York District Court. The admissions are part of a sentencing deal with prosecutors.
Mr Blazer was the second highest official in Fifa's North and Central American and Caribbean region (Concacaf) from 1990 to 2011 and also served on Fifa's executive committee between 1997 and 2013.
In the transcript, prosecutors refer to Fifa "and its membership or constituent organisation" as a RICO enterprise - a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organisation.
Mr Blazer says: "Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup."
Earlier on Wednesday, South Africa denied paying a $10m bribe to secure the hosting of the 2010 event.
Mr Blazer also says: "I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups (the regional championship for national teams)."
Other admissions among the 10 charges in the 40-page dossier include US tax evasion.
Federal agents investigating the tax evasion had detained Mr Blazer and he agreed to co-operate in the US investigations.
He is said to have agreed to record his colleagues using a microphone hidden in a keychain.
The 70-year-old is said to be seriously ill, suffering from colon cancer.

[socksy]

I think Blatter may be out to the cash'ncarry stocking up large on man nappies Zid. Hopefully he will eventually get his come-uppence.

[wazza]

Rumours that FIFA paid off Ireland after the "Henry" handball in the French playoff to keep them from appealing the game.

5million Euros, agreed on the Thursday and signed off on the following Monday.

Mr Jack from The Windies now threatening to spill the beans on a warts and all cooperation with authorities.

Media will be loving this, a new headline every day

[pomps]

The luck of the Irish,loads of money flying about,hopefully they do not return the money

[marjamlew]

Great article on the saga and I learned a new word :curmudgeonly - so well worth a read. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morn ... p-blatter/

[wazza]

This sums it up for me.

Crying foul

[Zidane]

Slightly off topic but now ther are claims that Sepp Blatter had an affair with Cristiano Ronaldo's ex girlfriend,Irina Shayk. a midget 79 year old man with a beautiful 30 something women.....should give hope to all us ageing farangs in Thailand !

Sepp Blatter and Irina Shayk.PNG (163.2 KiB) Viewed 756 times

FIFA scandal: Sepp Blatter was 'former lover of Cristiano Ronaldo's model ex-girlfriend Irina Shayk'
08:58, 5 JUNE 2015
BY GERARD COUZENS
Respected Spanish daily El Mundo made the sensational claim about the roving-eyed football chief and Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning ex in a piece published yesterday.
Under-fire FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been named as a former lover of model Irina Shayk.
Respected Spanish daily El Mundo made the sensational claim about the roving-eyed football chief and Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning ex in a piece published yesterday titled “All the women in Blatter’s life.”
It declared the 79-year-old “had a relationship” with the Russian beauty - currently seeing American Sniper actor Bradley Cooper - after dating tennis player Ilona Boguska but before meeting glamorous Linda Barras, 50.
Blatter began seeing Polish-born Ilona, a friend of his daughter Corinne, in 1995 and they separated in 2002.
They dated again after Blatter’s short 2002 marriage to Graziella Bianca, a dolphin trainer who was also a friend of his daughter.
Blatter is understood to have become close to Swiss socialite Linda at the beginning of 2014 and has been described as her boyfriend by Swiss and other international press even though her husband Christian insists they are just “close friends.”
El Mundo’s claims about Blatter and Shayk, a guest of Prince Charles at a recent Buckingham Palace party, were being echoed across the world today.
The controversial soccer boss was described by one paper last week as a a “short, bald despot with a leering eye for women half his age”.
He announced his resignation on Tuesday just three days after winning a fifth term as president amid a corruption scandal that continues to rock world football.
Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney revealed yesterday he told Blatter to ‘move on’ after the outgoing FIFA president eyed his partner Emma English before saying he ‘approved’ of her.
Mr Delaney told RTE Radio One during an interview: “He met Emma, my partner, in Vienna recently.
“He stared at her for seven or eight seconds and he said, ‘I approve of your new girlfriend.’
“I asked him to move on, move on please.
“She is a great girl. I love her very much. It was an extraordinary moment. If she was here she would tell you herself.
“He stared at her and I said ‘move on’ and he did.”
Ms Shayk's representative has been contacted for a comment.

[DRILLER]

south africa has been the country mentioned in the media about being the wick that was lit but qatar is where the money is going on documentaries about this saga.

[GT93]

[quote="Zidane"] Slightly off topic [GT93: as are often the best posts] ...The controversial soccer boss was described by one paper last week as a a “short, bald despot with a leering eye for women half his age”.

I'm surprised he never had the gall to headquarter FIFA in Bangkok. Gentlemen with similar interests are all over Bangkok. One or two are known to reside in Udonthani.

OT seems to have gone missing recently. I hope he hasn't been nabbed in Switzerland. He did inadvertently let slip to some howls of disbelief that he was in the first class lounge at Doha a month or two ago. A FIFA salary would easily explain that. I hope some jail bars aren't between him and a very pleasant red.

[wazza]

I think the lies of Qatar are falling through the cracks big time.

The local Prince in charge FIFA World Cup has said no one has died there !

But the Bangladeshi and Nepalese Governments have each confirmed over 200 of their citizens have died in Qatar since the construction commenced.

For me, I believe the governments figures, just as the Human Rights issues havent changed since FIFA visited last despite a yellow card being issued.

[mathusalah80]

[quote="Zidane"]Slightly off topic but now there are claims that Sepp Blatter had an affair with Cristiano Ronaldo's ex girlfriend, Irina Shayk. a midget 79 year old man with a beautiful 30 something women.....should give hope to all us ageing farangs in Thailand !


Well that might just be truet; but only to those of you who have even a miniscule of the amount of money Blatter has in his muiltitudiness bank accounts. It has ever been thus, since time immemorial.