FIFA Corruption

[rdroze]

Probably won't be hard to fill up a whole thread on general corruption within FIFA.

In today's news, our buddy Jack continues to reap it in:

World Cup bid team compensated boss's wife with pearl pendant

Excerpt:

"AUSTRALIA'S World Cup bid team gave the wife of FIFA vice-president Jack Warner a pearl necklace last year after a complaint from Mr Warner that she had missed out on pearl jewellery given 14 months before to the wives of other FIFA officials.

The gift was given after the formal World Cup bidding period had begun and when the Football Federation of Australia was seeking support for its bid from Mr Warner, who is on the FIFA executive committee that will decide later this year on who will host the 2018 and 2022 soccer World Cup.

The FFA said the gift - with an estimated value of $2000 - complied with FIFA rules, which specify that gifts must be incidental or symbolic in value.

The Age yesterday revealed how the FFA paid tens of thousands of dollars for the Trinidad and Tobago under-20 soccer team to travel to Cyprus last year in a gesture warmly received by Mr Warner."

[Cooks]

"AUSTRALIA'S World Cup bid team gave the wife of FIFA vice-president Jack Warner a pearl necklace last year

Too many inappropriate images popped into my head after reading that sentence.

[Trillium]

Of course ... the wrong started with the Australians who ... fell into the trap of playing a crooks game, you dont give gifts or respond to inappropriate demands.... thats almost worse then asking for the bung.

[Trillium]

Fernado Sarney VP of the CBF, son of former president Jose Sarney ( the honable bandidto ) brother of Roseanna Sarney currently the unelected Governor of the state of Maranhao, and princessa of black magic ... has the Brasilian Federal Police asking the Swiss government to bring back 13 million USD in money he has in bank accounts in Switzerland.

Fernado ... the unsuccessfull son of Jose Sarney ( former president after the military government in Brasil was ended ) has apparently squirreled away money from various pots of federal and state money.

There is no indication any of the money was paid to Fernando to influence location of World Cup 2014 games, but his home city of Sao Luis and government of the Maranhao was under a anti-Sarney coalition ... and did not get any games for 2014 despite having a stadia of 80k capacity and significant hotel infrastructure equal to other citys that did reciieve games.

The papers here have not said if any of the money comes from payments ... that were destined for other football associations to help get votes for the 2014 games, and may have been diverted by Fernando Sarney to his personal accounts.

It is not clear to me from the stories in local papers if the Swiss banking authoritys are going to aid Brasil in getting its money back, there is no statement of FIFA supporting Fernando Sarney at this time.

Jack Warner from Trinidad and Tobago has been known to spend time with Fernando Sarney at FIFA conventions which is understandable ... and from what i can tell Jack has visted Amapa... a state close to the Concacaf members in South American ( Surinam, Guyana, Guyana Francaise ). Amapa interesting is represented at this time in the Federal Senate by ... Jose Sarney ... father of Fernando who after making his daughter a state senator in the Maranhao ... got himself elected in Amapa in the extreme north east of Brasil as a Senator.

Both Jose Sarney and his daughter Roseanna have alliances with President Lulu... who has used his influence to proctect the Sarney family compact in defending them during various scandals... i.e. the ambulance scam in the North East states.

It should be noted FIFA strongly objects to the influence by government ministers of sport or presidents of countrys in any FIFA governance activity.

[rdroze]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9099326.stm

Two Fifa officials have offered to sell their votes in the contest to host the 2018 World Cup, according to a Sunday Times report.

The newspaper has video footage in which Nigerian Amos Adamu, a Fifa executive committee member, appears to ask for £500,000.

This is completely against Fifa rules.

And Oceania Football Confederation president Reynald Temarii, wanted money for a sports academy for his vote, the newspaper alleged.

England are competing to host the tournament in eight years time, as well as Russia and joint bids from Spain and Portugal and Holland and Belgium.

A 24-strong committee will decide by secret ballot on 2 December who should host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The footage, filmed by undercover Sunday Times journalists, shows Adamu wanting money to be paid to him directly for endorsing a bid.

The reporters had posed as lobbyists for a United States bid. The US decided on Friday to withdraw from the running for the 2018 World Cup and instead concentrate on the 2022 competition.

In the video, Adamu was asked whether the money for a "private project" would have an effect on the way he voted, he replied: "Obviously, it will have an effect. Of course it will. Because certainly if you are to invest in that, that means you also want the vote."

Fifa has so far not responded to the allegations.

[foreverthursday]

Too many inappropriate images popped into my head after reading that sentence.

You are a good man Charlie Brown.

[rdroze]

Via the 24th minute, there's a good FT article by Simon Kuper on some of the mindset that goes on behind the WC bid voting this week.

Three years ago, when the bidding to host the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 was just getting going, a lobbyist explained to me how the decisions would be made. Over lunch at the International Football Arena in Zurich – a cosy annual gathering of the game’s power brokers – he led me on to the terrace for a quiet word. There, he emphasised that what “the world” thought about the various bidding countries wouldn’t matter much. Instead, the only voters were “24 old men”. He meant the members of Fifa’s executive committee (Exco), who will choose the hosts for 2018 and 2022 in Zurich this Thursday. The lobbyist and his partner, he added, “know those 24 men better than anyone. We know their strengths, we know their weaknesses.” ...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/947b1958-f...44feab49a.html

[CanadianSoccerFan]

More Jack Warner corruption news

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...cup?intcmp=239

[CoachRich]

Here are You Tube links to the Panorama episode on FIFA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjlZw9NGSlU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQy4eT4M9I

oophs had to correct the last 1 links now it's right

[rdroze]

Here's how bad it's getting for FIFA: the IOC is now starting to look like a beacon of integrity in sport:

IOC asks BBC to give evidence to authorities

By Karolos Grohmann

BERLIN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged the BBC on Tuesday to give any evidence of alleged bribes taken by FIFA executives to the proper authorities after the screening of its Panorama programme.

It also said it would refer the matter to its Ethics Commission as one of the executives involved, Issa Hayatou, was an IOC member.

“The IOC has taken note of the allegations made by BBC Panorama and will ask the programme makers to pass on any evidence they may have to the appropriate authorities,” it said.

“The IOC has a zero tolerance against corruption and will refer the matter to the IOC Ethics Commission.”

The television programme broadcast on Monday said FIFA executive committee members Ricardo Teixeira of Brazil, hosts of the next soccer World Cup, Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief Hayatou and South American (CONMEBOL) head Nicolas Leoz took bribes from a marketing company to help it win a lucrative contract.

Hayatou, from Cameroon, has been an IOC member since 2001 and sits on its Women and Sport commission. He was also a member of the coordination commission that monitored preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The IOC is sensitive to corruption allegations after its reputation was severely damaged following the bribery scandal of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games where gifts were exchanged for votes in favour of the U.S. city.

Several IOC members were expelled and others reprimanded, and the organisation has banned travel by its members to candidate cities since then.

The Panorama programme was broadcast three days before FIFA elects the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

England, Russia, Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands are bidding for 2018, with United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and Qatar the candidates for 2022.

FIFA’s executive committee, which holds exclusive voting rights in the contest, has already lost two of its 24 members after they were suspended earlier this month for offering to sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters from Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper.


http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=reu-worldioc