Surprise surprise. FIFA linked with claims of corruption. Never saw that coming!
Three senior Fifa officials who will vote on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids took bribes in the 1990s, according to the BBC’s Panorama.
Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou and Ricardo Teixeira took the money from a sport marketing firm awarded lucrative World Cup rights, the programme alleges.
The alleged bribes are included in a confidential document listing 175 payments totalling about $100m (£64m).
The three men did not respond to Panorama’s allegations.
Fifa, world football’s governing body, also declined interview requests to address the allegations.
Panorama, to be broadcast later, also reports on evidence of a fourth senior Fifa executive’s continued involvement in the resale of World Cup tickets to touts.
The BBC has received criticism over the timing of the programme, which comes ahead of Thursday’s vote by Fifa’s executive committee on who will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals.
England is competing with Russia, Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium to host the 2018 tournament.
The BBC has defended the timing of Panorama, saying the programme is in the public interest. (BBC Sport)
The BBC has taken a fair bit of criticism over their airing of a Panorama programme, which is being shown later tonight, and this report on the findings will surely anger FIFA but isn’t it time people turned their attentions away from how the broadcasting network chooses to handle the vexed issue of the corruption within the football governing body and start dealing with the manner in which Sepp Blatter and co are handling the game.
Clearly the BBC is in the business of trying to increase viewership so will plan programming accordingly and it seems to me that those who feel that the Beeb is acting against the interest of the England 2018 bid would be better served wondering why such programmes should affect the decision making process which is supposed to be based solely on the suitability of a nation to host the showpiece event.
If England do not win the bid then people should not lay their anger at the BBC’s door but should instead pile the pressure on FIFA and look to force the organization into change.
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anonymous - November 29th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
When one considers the amount of money involved at the International and National levels in world Football, it is not too surprising to see some form of Corruption and bribery infest FIFA. Here are a few other reasons why FIFA and its current Board are probably enrolled in this kind of criminality:
1) Sepp Blatter and Platini are neanderthals…Blatter’s control of FIFA and the Board is absolute and he is so revisionist that, while he may not be accepting bribes, he does know who is and chooses to try and hide, rather than address this issue.
2) As a former National referee I heard many stories from reputable FIFA officials with whom i worked, who were approached by sleasy national team ¨reps¨ to accept bribes or other ¨gifts¨if they’d favour the home side (or the away side for that matter). If it happens regularly on the pitch, it happens even more so off of it.
3) With hundred of millions of Euros in play from media rights, national government funds for their associations and FIFA funding, being in the CL, in the WC or even in the Europa cup has a tremendous impact on a national team’s bottom line or a club sides reputation and solvency. Therefore a few well-placed thousand Euro can help ¨grease ¨the wheels so to speak.
4) Third party checks and balances rarely exist in Football as FIFA, EUFA, the leagues and the teams aren’t really accountable to anyone outside their own domaine….so the mice are watching the cheese so to speak. National governments are very loath to interfere or intervene in their national/league team(s) as FIFA and EUFA expressly forbid such interventions.
5) Finally, the people who are really affected by this monopolistic hegemony on corruption , the supporters and fans, have almost no say beyond a club level and very little there as well. Do you think Real or Barca give a damn what their fans think about these clubs’ practices if they are winning? Do you think the FA cares a whit about what some slobs in Devonshire think about England’s management and ¨politics¨?
Football is a money culture and will continue to grow ever more pecuniary and corrupt, at least as long as they are aided and abetted by the governing bodies, team management, players and their agents and ultimately the fans.
anonymous - November 29th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Programme designed to ensure England does not hold the World Cup any time in the not too distant future. Clearly some high up people wanted to derail the bid process.
anonymous - November 29th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Pointless asking our government to look into the matter of Fifa corruption! Back handers all the way. We the tax payers are giving these leaches our money. Hope we lose the bid, we should withdraw with heads held high. But I guess the govnt are getting back handers themselves
anonymous - November 30th, 2010 at 10:22 am
fifa are definitly corrupt they have never made the right decision on anything they say that it is not always the best vote that gets the world cup why isnt it shouldnt the best country get it that seems right not corrupt people vote for the country that gives them the most money to them or promises to vote for them
FIFA IS CORRUPT they gave out to england for finding out that some off them are corrupt they said it might ruin your chances that is so stupid no one is allowed to touch fifa is that right in fear that they will not get the world cup or something like that
anonymous - November 30th, 2010 at 11:53 am
You cannot say that Fifa is corrupt just from this programme, nor can you say that they don’t do good things too (which they do).
However, you can say that there is a massive amount of evidence suggesting corruption, way more than enough to indicate that Sepp Blatter has been actively complicit in bribe taking in the past, and by extension you have to ask whether given that he is now in the top position he doesn’t take some of the ‘benefits’ himself. At the very least it’s obvious that some Fifa officials have taken bribes and that should be enough cause to start a full scale investigation.
It’s not a coincidence either that Fifa is based in a country that has harboured dirty money for generations.
It’s about time something was done about this. Bottom line is that national governments need to step in and do something about this on an international level. It’s a joke. What other sport gets away with this? None.
anonymous - December 2nd, 2010 at 10:30 pm
BBC are a total disgrace. Why not wait a week? Utterly unfathomable. We pay our license fee for such sabotage?
anonymous - December 9th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
We here that Fifa are to launch an investigation into the bribery allegations. That’s a bit like asking Enron to audit their own accounts. Where are the Swiss police in all of this? I am sure taking bribes is just as illegal in Switzerland as it is here in the UK and the police should be all over them like a rash. Why aren’t they?