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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #480 on: October 08, 2015, 05:24:46 AM »
Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Jérôme Valcke suspended for 90 days
By Owen Gibson, The Guardian


• Swiss’s reign as president all but over after 17 years
• Michel Platini’s ambitions as good as ended after sanction


Sepp Blatter’s 17-year reign as the Fifa president is all but over after the ethics committee provisionally banned him for 90 days before the February election.

The Uefa president, Michel Platini, who was the favourite to succeed his mentor-turned-rival until he too become embroiled in corruption allegations, has been handed an identical sanction, as good as ending his Fifa presidential ambitions.

Both have been under extreme pressure since the Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber, opened a criminal investigation into allegations Blatter mis-sold a World Cup TV rights contract to the disgraced former Fifa official Jack Warner in 2006 and made a “disloyal payment” of £1.3m to Platini in 2011. Blatter and Platini deny any wrongdoing.

In addition, the Fifa secretary general Jérôme Valcke, who has already been put on leave for a duration of 90 days, has now been banned for 90 days. Fifa said in a statement: “The duration of the bans may be extended for an additional period not exceeding 45 days.”

The former Fifa vice-president Chung Mong-joon, who had threatened to sue Blatter while claiming that he was being targeted on spurious grounds by the ethics committee to force him out of the race to succeed the president, has been banned for six years and fined £67,000. “The bans come into force immediately,” said Fifa.

The move represents the latest stage in the slow-motion collapse of the Fifa house of cards since US prosecutors sent the organisation spiralling into crisis in May, though the extent to which Fifa remains mired in chaos is reflected in the fact that Issa Hayatou, the senior Fifa vice-president, is next in line to take over from Blatter.

Hayatou was once censured by the International Olympic Committee over bribery claims, which he denied, and recently changed the statutes of the Confederation of African Football to allow him to retain the presidency he has held since 1988.

At Uefa, the immediate replacement for Platini is likely to be the longstanding Spanish FA chief Ángel María Villar-Llona, who also remains under investigation by the Fifa ethics committee for failing to cooperate with Michael Garcia’s investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

Platini had earlier released a statement criticising an “unacceptable” leak of his probable suspension that he described as “essentially an attempt to damage my reputation”.

He added: “I have always acted and expressed myself with honesty, courage and candour, as I feel that this is my moral duty. If what is being reported regarding the intentions of the investigatory chamber of the Fifa ethics committee is indeed true, I will stop at nothing to ensure that the truth is known. Nobody should be in any doubt as to my determination to achieve that objective.”

Blatter was re-elected in May days after US prosecutors alleged a “World Cup of fraud” in a 164-page indictment and charged 14 individuals, including nine current or former Fifa executives, with a series of offences. Days later he promised to stand down in February 2016 and has repeatedly reiterated his desire to remain in post until then.

Blatter is technically free to return in January before the extraordinary congress he has called on 26 February to decide his successor.

Platini had submitted his papers early on Thursday morning to stand as a candidate for the Fifa presidency but his hopes of succeeding Blatter appear to have been dealt a terminal blow.


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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #481 on: October 08, 2015, 05:30:26 AM »
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The former Fifa vice-president Chung Mong-joon, who had threatened to sue Blatter while claiming that he was being targeted on spurious grounds by the ethics committee to force him out of the race to succeed the president, has been banned for six years and fined £67,000. “The bans come into force immediately,” said Fifa.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #482 on: October 14, 2015, 08:27:55 AM »
FIFA bans South African official for six years over match fixing
Deutsche Welle


FIFA has continued to ban former officials from all footballing activities, with Lindile Kika the next to be suspended. The former South African football association head was involved in match fixing five years ago.

The ethics committee for football's world governing body FIFA has banned South African official Lindile Kika from all footballing activity for six years.

"The proceedings against Lindile Kika were opened in November 2014 in relation to several international friendly matches played in South Africa in 2010," FIFA's ethics committee said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kika, an ex-member of the executive committee of the football association in South Africa, was involved in reports about Singapore-based convicted match fixer Wilson Perumal and his Football 4U organization linking up with officials in South Africa to fix matches before the country held the 2010 World Cup.

FIFA found the results of warm-up matches against Thailand, Bulgaria, Colombia and Guatemala were fixed by the South African official.
"The investigation was led by the chairman of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee, Dr Cornel Borbely, in collaboration with the FIFA security division," the statement continued.

FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert found Kika guilty of breaching five sections of the ethics code, which were detailed in the statement. "The decision was taken on the basis of art. 13 (General rules of conduct), art. 15 (Loyalty), art. 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting), art. 19 (Conflicts of interest) and art. 22 (Commission) of the FIFA Code of Ethics."

This comes just two days after Worawi Makudi, the head of the Thai Football Association, was handed a temporary ban.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #483 on: October 14, 2015, 08:32:44 AM »
FIFA Ethics Committee bans Thailand's Worawi Makudi
Deutsche Welle


Another former member of FIFA's Executive Committee has been handed a temporary ban from football. Worawi Makudi, the head of the Thai Football Association, is up for re-election to that post in the next few days.



FIFA's Ethics Committee announced in a statement posted on its website on Monday that it had handed the 63-year-old Makudi a 90-day ban from all activities related to national and international football - with immediate effect.

According to the statement, the decision to ban Makudi was based "on the grounds that a breach of the Code of Ethics appears to have been committed and a decision on the main issue may not be taken early enough."

"The case is now the subject of formal investigation proceedings," the statement concluded, without providing any details about the alleged breach.

Maukudi was on the Executive Committee in December 2010 when it voted to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

Switzerland's attorney-general has opened an investigation into the bidding process for the two tournaments, which was previously the subject of a FIFA ethics probe conducted by former chief ethics investigator Michael Garcia.

Speaking to the AFP news agency, Makudi denied any wrongdoing and said he was determined to run for re-election as the president of the Thai Football Association on Saturday, even though the FIFA ban would appear to preclude this. "I will stand, I have done nothing wrong but it depends on FIFA," he said.

Makudi also claimed that a Thai court had acted wrongly, when it handed him a suspended sentence for forgery back in July.
"I am not guilty of anything. Under Thai law I still have the right to appeal (the Thai court decision)," he insisted. "I did not falsify anything, what I did was absolutely legal."

Series of bans

Makudi is just the latest high-profile soccer executive to be banned by FIFA's Ethics Committee. Last week, it imposed a six-year ban on South Korean former FIFA Vice President Chung Mong-joon in connection with the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 bidding process. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In addition, FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini were handed provisional 90-day bans. Both have insisted that they are innocent and intend to appeal their suspensions.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #484 on: October 14, 2015, 10:29:47 AM »
Is it just me that will *not* be surprised if, as soon as Blatter's suspension is lifted, he finds a moral reason to run again in next year's election?

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #485 on: October 22, 2015, 04:50:32 AM »
Fifa confirms ethics investigations into Franz Beckenbauer and Ángel María Villar Llona
By Owen Gibson, The Guardian


• Fifa ends secrecy over names of executives being investigated
• Proceedings ongoing in case of suspended president Sepp Blatter


Fifa’s overworked ethics committee has confirmed for the first time that Franz Beckenbauer, the German football great, and Ángel María Villar Llona, the Spanish Fifa vice-president who is presiding over Uefa in the absence of the suspended Michel Platini, are among those under its investigation.

Following a rule change on Tuesday by its executive committee, Fifa’s ethics committee confirmed that investigations into the pair had been concluded and they were now awaiting the verdict of Hans-Joachim Eckert, the German judge who heads the adjudicatory division.

Ten of the 24 executive committee members originally eligible to vote for the contentious and chaotic decisions to take the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 have been suspended or banned by Fifa’s ethics committee.

The roll call released on Wednesday also included a new case against Amos Adamu, the Nigerian who served a three-year ban in 2010 after being caught by a newspaper investigation seeking almost $1m from undercover reporters. Details of the latest case against Adamu were not given.

The statement also confirmed continuing inquiries into Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands and Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo, both former Fifa vice‑presidents, and Nicolás Leoz, a former executive committee member from Paraguay. All three were indicted for bribery by the US Department of Justice in May. Ricardo Teixeira, the longtime Brazilian football leader and former Fifa executive committee member, is also under investigation, the ethics committee confirmed.

The investigations into Beckenbauer and Villar Llona had already been reported after both refused to cooperate with Michael Garcia’s inquiry into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Garcia later quit as Fifa’s independent ethics investigator in frustration at the publication by Eckert of what he saw as an incomplete summary of his 430-page report.

Beckenbauer, who captained and coached World Cup-winning West Germany teams, twice refused to meet with Garcia and was barred from travelling to the World Cup in Brazil by a provisional suspension. It was lifted during the tournament when he sent answers to Garcia.

More recently, he has also been under pressure following allegations in Germany that a £6.7m slush fund was created to buy votes to secure the 2006 World Cup. The allegations have been denied by the German FA and its president Wolfgang Niersbach.

Villar Llona, who chairs Fifa’s legal committee and headed Uefa’s crisis meeting in Nyon this week in the wake of the suspension of Platini as president over an alleged £1.35m “disloyal payment” that he accepted from Sepp Blatter in 2011, is also under investigation. At a heated Fifa executive committee meeting in March 2014, he is understood to have been among those who attempted to stop Garcia questioning Fifa officials and have him thrown off the case.

Blatter had previously accepted that “a bundle of votes” had been swapped between Spain and Qatar, in apparent contravention of the rules, but no official action was taken and Eckert made no mention of it in his final summary of Garcia’s report.

It was widely alleged at the time that a bloc of seven votes was traded between Spain and Qatar.

As previously revealed by the Guardian, the ethics committee confirmed that it aimed to judge Blatter and Platini during their 90 day suspensions. Platini still hopes to stand on February 26 for the Fifa presidency, despite the fact his suspension means he will miss the October 26 deadline to submit to an integrity check appearing to deal a killer blow to his hopes.

Blatter is also under criminal investigation by Swiss authorities over the £1.35m payment to Platini in February 2011, nine years after the pair claimed it was due under the Frenchman’s contract that ended in 2002. The head of Fifa’s audit committee, Domenico Scala, has called it a “classic conflict of interest” but both deny wrongdoing.

In a separate case, suspended Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke is accused of “misuse of expenses and other infringements of Fifa’s rules and regulations,” the ethics committee said.

Valcke was suspended on the same day as allegations emerged that he had planned to sell World Cup tickets above face value. He strongly denied the allegations.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #486 on: October 22, 2015, 04:57:09 AM »
Fifa urged to adopt rotating presidency in post-Blatter era
By Ralph Atkins and Malcolm Moore, The Financial Times




Fifa should move to an EU-style rotating presidency to avoid future corruption scandals and because there are so few credible candidates to replace Sepp Blatter, according to the head of the body’s audit committee.

Domenico Scala said the six football confederations, representing the main global geographical regions, could take turns to lead world football’s governing body, which is based in Zurich.

Such a move would “address a number of governance issues”, he told the Financial Times in an interview in which he set out his proposals to reform the scandal-hit institution. If implemented, the reform would prevent any one individual from controlling international football in the way Mr Blatter did for 17 years.

Mr Scala, who said he was setting out his reform ideas to set a “benchmark”, was speaking as Fifa confirmed an election to choose Mr Blatter’s successor would be held on February 26.

Mr Blatter and Michel Platini, Uefa president and originally the favourite to succeed him, were suspended for 90 days by Fifa’s ethics committee this month after the Swiss authorities opened a criminal investigation into a SFr2m payment from Fifa to Mr Platini in 2011. The move in effective ended Mr Blatter’s career at the top of world football, although Uefa declined to suspend Mr Platini.

Mr Scala said Mr Platini could enter the leadership race at a later date, subject to an integrity check. But, he said, the “very short list of candidates for the presidency” was a reason for reforming Fifa’s leadership.

In future, Fifa presidents could hold office for two to four years, he suggested: “Every system which diminishes the power of individuals, and creates checks and balances, reduces the risk of misconduct. It would help eliminate the ‘old boys’ network’ and better represent the diversity of football worldwide.”

Fifa was thrown into turmoil in May with the arrest of seven officials in Zurich and US allegations that executives took bribes of $150m in a culture of “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption.

With Quinn Emanuel, the US law firm, also conducting internal investigations into Fifa’s activities, Mr Scala warned that more revelations about misconduct were likely. “You cannot exclude that more things might be found,” said the former finance chief at Syngenta, the Swiss agribusiness group.

The Swiss authorities’ investigations have focused on a SFr2m payment made in 2011 by Mr Blatter to Mr Platini, allegedly for work performed between 1999 and 2002. Mr Scala said the agreement had not been recorded in Fifa’s accounts until the payment occurred.

“That is a serious omission, and both parties were members of Fifa’s executive committee and knowingly approved each year financial statements, which were incorrect by SFr2m. That could be seen as falsification of the accounts.”

As well as heading Fifa’s audit committee, Mr Scala is also chairman of its ad hoc election committee, which will decide on the eligibility of candidates for the presidency. No decision would be taken on Mr Platini while his suspension remained in place, he said. That meant Mr Platini could, in theory, still have time to secure the necessary approvals before the February 26 contest.

Mr Scala last month published a paper on possible Fifa reforms, which included limiting the time football officials could remain in office and steps to reduce the power of the confederations.

Fifa’s executive committee should also be overhauled to create a governing board and a management board, Mr Scala told the FT. “This would split oversight and strategy from commercial activities and day-to-day activities. Because Fifa officials today have two or three responsibilities, there are inevitably conflicts of interest,” he said.

“If we implemented my reform proposals, we would have a well-run institution,” he added. “Fifa is obliged to deliver. If it doesn’t, it has no chance of changing perceptions about the institution. Doing nothing is not an option.”

The official committee that is laying out Fifa reforms gave its preliminary findings on Tuesday, saying the organisation’s executive committee, its main decision-making body, should be stripped of executive power and instead “oversee strategic matters”.

It compared the future role of the Fifa president with that of a company chairman, while the organisation’s general secretary would be its chief executive in charge of day-to-day management.

The committee — headed by Francois Carrard, the former International Olympic Committee director-general, who helped steer that body through its own corruption scandal in 1998 — said Fifa should impose a 12-year term limit and an age limit of 74 on its president.

In addition, senior officials should disclose their remuneration, and grants for developing football, which have allegedly been used as bribes in the past, should be audited by three independent committee members, it said.

“It is abundantly clear that football fans and our commercial partners will no longer accept anything short of full transparency in how football is governed,” a statement from the reform committee said.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #487 on: October 22, 2015, 05:02:00 AM »
FIFA ExCo confirms February election, approves more transparency for ethics proceedings
FIFA.com


At its extraordinary session in Zurich today (October 20), the FIFA Executive Committee approved a set of important measures to further strengthen its governance and increase the transparency of Ethics Committee proceedings while reiterating its commitment to necessary reforms already underway. The Executive Committee also confirmed 26 February 2016 as the date for the elective extraordinary congress.

The committee agreed to an important change to the rules governing investigations and decisions made by the independent Ethics Committee. Article 36 of FIFA’s Code of Ethics will be amended to allow the Ethics Committee, at its discretion, to publish more information about its ongoing proceedings. The independent chairmen of the committee’s two chambers, Hans-Joachim Eckert and Cornel Borbély, had strongly advocated such an amendment, which will increase the transparency and understanding of their work.

Domenico Scala, in his capacity as chairman of the FIFA Ad-hoc Electoral Committee, provided information to the Executive Committee regarding the ongoing process for the FIFA presidential election. He explained that candidacies for the FIFA Presidency that are submitted in due time and form, but which relate to candidates who are subject to a (provisional or definite) ban from taking part in any football-related activity, will not be processed by the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee as long as such ban is valid and in force. The chairman also told the Executive Committee that, should such a ban be lifted or expire before the FIFA presidential election, scheduled for 26 February 2016, the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee would decide, depending on the respective exact point in time, on how to proceed with the candidacy concerned. Furthermore, Domenico Scala explained that the Appeal Committee Chairman Larry Mussenden has withdrawn from his position on the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee to avoid any appearance of a potential conflict of interest. Larry Mussenden’s deputy, Fernando Mitjans, will assume the role.

The Executive Committee also welcomed the preliminary recommendations developed by the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee and presented by its chairman, François Carrard, in an interim report. The Reform Committee will submit the final set of reform proposals to the FIFA Executive Committee at its next session in December 2015. The final proposals will be submitted to the FIFA Congress for consideration at the extraordinary congress in February 2016.

The Executive Committee stated its commitment to working on a roadmap to rebuild FIFA’s reputation and trust with a key focus on implementing the reforms. “I was pleased to see unity among the Executive Committee members during our discussions of reform and its critical importance to our organisation and world football. Increasing the transparency of ethics investigations is just one example of our firm commitment to change,” said Acting FIFA President Issa Hayatou. “It was also significant that we set the course for the upcoming presidential election.”

Other decisions taken by the Executive Committee included the following:


- Ángel María Villar Llona has been appointed as acting chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup.

- Acting President Issa Hayatou has assumed the position of acting chairman of the FIFA Emergency Committee while Ángel María Villar Llona has been appointed as the UEFA representative and Hany Abo Rida as the CAF representative on the committee

- Due to the frequency and the high volume of qualifying matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup (851), the committee agreed to establish a specific bureau and an emergency bureau for the preliminary competition. The bureaus will be chaired by Sheik Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

- The Executive Committee ratified the decision of the FIFA Emergency Commitee to set up a normalisation committee for the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) with functions which will include revising the FAT electoral code and conducting the election of a new FAT executive committee by 15 February 2016 at the latest.

- The next meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee will be on 2/3 December in Zurich.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #488 on: October 22, 2015, 05:06:38 AM »
Human rights group wants Sheikh Salman barred from Fifa presidency bid
By Owen Gibson, The Guardian


• Sheikh Salman accused of crackdown against pro-democracy athletes
• Bahraini Fifa executive committee member has not yet said he will stand


Human rights campaigners have called on the acting Fifa president, Issa Hayatou, to bar the Asian Football Confederation president, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, from standing in February’s presidential election, accusing him of taking part in a crackdown against pro-democracy athletes in Bahrain in 2011.

The Guardian last week revealed that human rights organisations had serious concerns over Sheikh Salman’s likely candidacy, accusing him of being part of a committee that identified athletes and footballers who took part in pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011 and were later imprisoned and tortured. Sheikh Salman has denied the allegations.

Fifa on Tuesday reiterated there would be no delay to the 26 February Congress to decide Blatter’s successor, with applications due in by next Monday, 26 October. Sheikh Salman, who previously supported Michel Platini before he too was suspended, is believed to have received backing from across the world.

In a letter sent by the Bahraini Fifa executive committee member to his AFC colleagues this week, he said that he was not yet a candidate and criticised the English media for suggesting he was on the verge of standing. However, he went on to say that he had been urged by a number of senior figures to stand and was on the verge of formalising his candidacy. He wrote: “Before I submit my name to Fifa and formalise my candidacy – if I do – and as your president it is my obligation and duty to seek your advice and opinion.”

In the letter to Hayatou, who chaired Tuesday’s executive committee meeting in place of the suspended Sepp Blatter, the Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain organisation calls for Sheikh Salman to be barred. The letter, from the ADHRB executive director, Husain Abdulla, said: “In 2013, our organisation wrote to Fifa president, Mr Joseph Blatter, expressing our deep concern over allegations of unethical behaviour conducted by Fifa committee member and president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim [sic] al-Khalifa. Sheikh al-Khalifa is a member of the Bahraini royal family and previously served as president of the Bahrain Football Association (BFA).

“As we explained in our previous communications, there is credible evidence that Sheikh al-Khalifa aided and abetted crimes against humanity while he was president of the BFA. In light of news that Sheikh al-Khalifa is seeking election as president of Fifa, we write now to urge you to terminate Sheikh al-Khalifa’s candidacy for this position in the emergency meeting of the Fifa executive committee.”

The letter, which has been seen by the Guardian, claimed: “The government of Bahrain established a committee, through the country’s Olympic Committee, to punish more than 150 members of the sporting community who participated in the protests.” The letter referred to claims that Sheikh Salman examined photographs of protesters and identified Bahraini athletesgovernment. “Security forces used this information to arrest, detain, torture, and publicly defame these athletes,” it added. “Although Fifa initiated an investigation in 2011 into the attacks against the players, the investigation was ostensibly dropped after many of the players were released from prison. Despite the releases, some players remain in detention today. Additionally, many other players are suspended from their club teams and are therefore ineligible to be considered for a spot on the national team.”

In 2014, another human rights group, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, wrote to the then head of the investigatory arm of the Fifa ethics committee, Michael Garcia, to ask it to again look into the issue with specific regard to Sheikh Salman’s role. Garcia responded that it was beyond the remit of the ethics committee, though the institute disputed this. Now, it has been reported in Germany that the Fifa ethics committee is set to examine the claims. Each electoral candidate must also undergo a so-called integrity check after 26 October.

After the executive committee approved a change to the rules, the Fifa ethics committee will on Wednesday confirm for the first time the names of all of those under investigation.

Asked about his role in the 2011 crackdown while standing for the presidency of the AFC, backed by Blatter and Platini, in 2013 Sheikh Salman said: “I would like to reiterate that in my capacity as the president of the Bahrain Football Association, I have always been committed to manage, control and develop our game independently and autonomously without any kind of outside interference.

“I can assure anyone that the BFA is being guided according to the highest possible governance standards of integrity and transparency – fully in line with the AFC and Fifa statutes; and no action has been taken under my direction against any member of the football community.”

Challenged after his election victory, he said: “I just have one question: You talk about allegations but the question is, do you have the proof? Somebody talks about the government, I don’t think this is our business in football. If anybody has the proof that the Bahrain Football Association has violated the statutes of Fifa or AFC, then present it. Otherwise we move on.”

Asked to comment on the situation last week by the Guardian, the AFC and Sheikh Salman’s office failed to respond.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #489 on: October 22, 2015, 05:38:47 AM »
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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #490 on: October 24, 2015, 12:14:04 PM »
French diplomat Champagne enters race for FIFA presidency
Deutsche Welle


Once a member of France's diplomatic corps, Jerome Champagne now wants to lead FIFA. Champagne has spoken critically of giving the 2022 World Cup to Qatar and of inequality in world football.



Former diplomat-turned-football executive Jerome Champagne officially announced his candidacy to become the next president of FIFA on Friday. The 57-year-old Frenchman is the fourth official candidate to seek the top job at world football's scandal-hit governing body.

Champagne is set to face UEFA head Michel Platini, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, and former Trinidad and Tobago national captain David Nahkid. All are vying to replace outgoing chief Sepp Blatter, who has led FIFA since 1998 and is stepping down at a time of crisis for the organization.

Prosecutors are investigating both Blatter and Platini among wider probes into corruption and bribery within FIFA that have seen many executives arrested in separate US and Swiss inquiries into tournament-buying and distribution of marketing rights.

Champagne highlights inequality in world soccer


Speaking of his candidacy, Champagne, who has helped create a mediation mechanism between the Palestinian and Israeli national football teams, seemed far away from the legal trouble plaguing other parts of the organization.

Champagne talked instead of the need for strong governance through FIFA and its five continental associate organizations in order to spread the wealth of a multi-billion dollar sport.

"The 20 wealthiest clubs in the world have a cumulative turnover of 6.2 billion euros ($6.90 billion) per year, but more than half the 209 national football federations survive with less than 2 million euros a year (each)," he told Reuters news agency.

"The national team of Papua New Guinea plays only two matches a year because they cannot afford the plane tickets. The annual budget is not even half a million euros."

The ex-diplomat also pointed in his Reuters interview out the disparity between the surroundings of FIFA's headquarters in Zurich and some of the conditions national leagues are forced to play in.

"Near my flat in Zurich is a park; there are six football pitches, five natural and one artificial; this suburb of Zurich has more good quality pitches than the whole of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 70 million inhabitants," he said.

Champagne has also spoken of his intention to reconsider the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar if he is elected. This tournament, along with the one in Russia in 2018, is part of the corruption investigation led by Swiss prosecutors.

The FIFA presidential election will take place in Zurich next February.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #491 on: October 24, 2015, 12:17:47 PM »
Zwanziger: 'There was a slush fund'
Deutsche Welle


Theo Zwanziger has accused his successor as German FA president, Wolfgang Niersbach, of lying about a slush fund allegedly used for Germany's 2006 World Cup bid. FIFA confirmed it would launch an investigation.



 Theo Zwanziger, former president of the German FA (DFB), has told "Spiegel" that Germany's World Cup 2006 Organizing Committee had access to a slush fund.

"It is obvious that there was a slush fund within the German World Cup bid," said the 70-year-old. "And it is also clear that the current DFB president hasn't only known about it for a few weeks, as he claims, but rather since 2005 at the latest. The way I see it, Niersbach is lying."

Zwanziger's comments followed a day after current DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach rejected allegations of buying votes to secure the hosting rights to the 2006 World Cup, while confirming the reported 10.3 million Swiss (6.7 million euros, $7.6 million) francs payment to FIFA to secure extra financial support.

"The awarding of the 2006 World Cup was completely above board," Niersbach said at the launch of the new German Football Museum. "There were no slush funds; there was no vote-buying."

When asked, he could not answer why the deposit was necessary to secure more funds.

German news magazine "Spiegel" reported earlier this week that money was paid into a slush fund by then-Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus, which was to be used to buy the votes of four Asian members of FIFA's Executive Committee when it voted on the matter in mid-2000. "We don't know what FIFA did with the 10 million francs," Niersbach had said on Thursday.

FIFA said this week it would launch its own investigation into the allegations.


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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #492 on: October 28, 2015, 06:33:16 AM »
Forumites, FIFA announced the candidates for the presidency job and David name is not there. Did he dropped out?

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #493 on: October 28, 2015, 06:47:41 AM »
He didn't drop it out. It sound like FIFA drop him out.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline Deeks

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #494 on: October 28, 2015, 12:12:46 PM »
Blatter now saying that they had decided give Russia the WC before the vote.  BBc

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/

Suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter has suggested there was an agreement in place for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup - before the vote took place.

The 79-year-old told Russian news agency Tass of a "discussion" in 2010 about future World Cups.

He added a late swing in voting that gave Qatar the 2022 World Cup undid a similar agreement to hand it to the US.

The Swiss is serving a 90-day ban alongside Uefa chief Michel Platini and both deny any wrongdoing.

Asked whether it was a mistake to hold voting for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments simultaneously, Blatter replied that before the ballot: "It was agreed inside the group that we go to Russia because it has never been to eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America.

"And so we would have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers."

But he added that four votes from Europe later switched from the USA to Qatar.

The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is the subject of an ongoing Swiss criminal investigation. It was begun alongside a US inquiry following the arrest and indictment of several top executives by the US Department of Justice on corruption charges.

What else did Blatter reveal?
In a wide-ranging interview, Blatter, who will be replaced as head of world football's governing body at an election on 26 February, also said:

•Russia will "never" lose the 2018 World Cup
•England are "bad losers" over perceived media criticism of the 2018 and 2022 Word Cup bidding process
•Most national football associations "don't like" Uefa-backed Fifa presidential candidate Gianni Infantino
•His own current suspension is a "total nonsense" and the Fifa ethics committee has failed him
English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke says the governing body will investigate Blatter's revelation that there was a pre-vote agreement to hand the 2018 World Cup to Russia.

The FA spent £21m, including £2.5m of public money from local authorities, on England's failed bid to host the 2018 tournament.

Dyke, giving evidence to the UK Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said it would be "very nice" to get that money back.

Blatter said it was "his dream" for his ban to end in time to conduct the February congress when the election to replace him with one of seven candidates will take place.

Blatter on 'jealous' Platini
He also admitted he should have stood down after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but stayed because of concerns that Uefa, European football's governing body, would become too dominant within Fifa.

"The other confederations were afraid that Uefa would take over everything because they have the money and the players," said Blatter.

"Uefa has an anti-Fifa virus."

Uefa president Platini was the target for most of Blatter's criticism, with the Frenchman accused of being motivated by "envy and jealousy".

The two are currently suspended while Fifa investigates a £1.35m payment made to Platini in 2011, which the pair say was for work he did as Blatter's adviser.

"At the beginning it was only a personal attack - it was Platini against me," said Blatter.

"He started it, but then it became politics and when it is in politics, it is not any longer Platini against me.

"It is then those who have lost the World Cup - England against Russia. They lost the World Cup and the USA lost the World Cup against Qatar.

He added: "Platini wanted to be Fifa president but he did not have the courage to go as the president and now we are in such a situation in football."

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #495 on: October 28, 2015, 02:44:34 PM »

Despite the photo, Romario was not his biggest fan.

Brazil's Marin agrees to US extradition in FIFA corruption case
Deutsche Welle


Jose Maria Marin, who led the organizing committee for World Cup 2014 in Brazil, has agreed to relocation to the US pending trial. He's wanted on racketeering charges and could face up to 20 years.

Switzerland's justice ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the 83-year-old Marin "must be placed in the custody of a US police escort and taken to the USA within 10 days." The ministry did not provide further details of the handover.

Marin was among the FIFA officials arrested on May 27 in the FBI's dawn raids that were the precursor to Sepp Blatter's re-election as president, and then his announcement that he would step aside days later.

The former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, who coordinated the country's 2014 World Cup preparations, is accused of taking "bribes worth millions of dollars from sports marketing companies" in connection with four Copa America tournaments and the Copa do Brasil from 2013 through 2022. Marin agreed to extradition at a judicial hearing in Geneva on Wednesday.

He is alleged to have shared these bribes with other football officials," according to the Swiss justice ministry. Marin could face up to 20 years if convicted.

Of the seven officials arrested in May at FIFA's annual conference, Marin was the last to decide whether or not to fight the US extradition order. Cayman Islands banker Jeffrey Webb agreed to cooperate in May, and pleaded not guilty in July; the remaining five all intend to challenge extradition in Swiss courts.

Marin succeeded Ricardo Teixera, himself implicated in a previous FIFA scandal concerning kickbacks on World Cup broadcasting deals, as the president of Brazil's CBF in 2012. He also took over the World Cup 2014 committee as Teixera resigned. He's one of 14 football and marketing officials indicted by US officials in one of the major investigations into FIFA currently underway. Most suspects in the FBI probe - which began with a focus purely on FIFA dealings in the US - hail from either North or South America.

At the time of his arrest, Marin was working on preparations for the football tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 03:16:37 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline Bourbon

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #496 on: October 28, 2015, 04:05:23 PM »
Nakhid get shaft. USVI president nominate him and somebody else and you can only nominate one person so he didn't get the required nominations. Sounds like treachery.
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus ;with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #497 on: October 28, 2015, 04:49:36 PM »
Nakhid get shaft. USVI president nominate him and somebody else and you can only nominate one person so he didn't get the required nominations. Sounds like treachery.

The nomination deadline was October 26. I gather that Nakhid's application indicating support was submitted to FIFA on or about at least 10 days prior to the deadline.

Relevant question: Was the other application submitted prior to this? Even if so, another stout example of FIFA lacking moral authority. The process here raises red flags.

Second, the party who submitted dual support should be/have been brought to task etc.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2015, 04:52:15 PM by asylumseeker »

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #498 on: October 29, 2015, 07:34:44 AM »
African Confederation Declines to Back Sexwale for FIFA Presidency
worldfootballinsider.com


(WFI) Acting FIFA president and African football chief Issa Hayatou has dealt a blow to Tokyo Sexwale’s hopes of securing CAF support for his campaign.

Hayatou chaired a CAF Executive Committee this week, which reviewed the seven presidential candidates for the FIFA election on Feb. 26.

CAF “granted audiences” with four of the candidates at the Cairo meetings – Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Gianni Infantino and Tokyo Sexwale.

Sheikh Salman is understood to enjoy very strong support from the Asian Football Confederation of which he is president, while Infantino can count on significant European backing.

South African Sexwale, an apartheid-era political prisoner who currently chairs FIFA's Israel-Palestine task force, had been hoping to receive a signal of African support for his bid early in the four-month contest. He is being touted as a 'clean' candidate by some.

Liberian FA president Musa Hassan Bility also said he had considerable African backing before submitting his presidential bid to FIFA a few days ago. However, he is not a realistic prospect for the FIFA presidency.

But CAF, largest of the football confederations with 54 voting members, has decided to leave its options open – at least for the time being. With two African candidates, Hayatou and CAF's ruling body have chosen diplomacy over favouring either of the bids.

“After discussions with them, the CAF Executive Committee unanimously decided to leave the administrative procedures for the registration of candidates take its course, while giving plenty of time to decide, with the interest of the continent the primary objective,” CAF said in a statement.

Suspended UEFA president Michel Platini and Jérôme Champagne are the other two candidates vying to replace Sepp Blatter in the election.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #499 on: October 29, 2015, 08:06:23 AM »
If Uefa had any moral backbone it would consider withdrawing from Fifa
By Marina Hyde, The Guardian


The only way these seven Fifa presidential candidates could be considered new brooms is if they were placed next to a recently unearthed fossilised sweeping implement believed to date back to the early Iron Age

“I cannot deny something that I haven’t done,” declares the Fifa presidential frontrunner Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, a statement which suggests he can only deny something he has done. He certainly denies having headed up a committee which identified dissident athletes during the 2011 Bahrain pro-democracy uprisings (many of whom were imprisoned and tortured), despite an announcement at the time by Bahrain’s official government news agency that he was to take this post, and an Associated Press report from the same era which also described him as the committee’s chair.

“It’s not just damaging me,” he frets to the BBC of these mysterious contemporaneous documents, “it’s damaging the people and the country.”

And I’ve no doubt the sensitivities of the Bahraini people are always his primary concern. Still, I hope no one ever tells Sheikh Salman that his country is consistently ranked near the very bottom of any index that measures freedom, his family’s regime considered among the most authoritarian on the planet. The shock of it could give him a fit of the vapours.

Yet for a man who has not clocked up a whole lot of hours inside the democracy simulator, his grasp of electoral politics is strong. Given that the vast majority of Fifa’s member associations have about as much interest in the organisation being cleaned up as they have in football, Sheikh Salman has moved quickly to dismiss the mad idea that what Fifa actually needs is a genuine outsider to begin the mammoth task of reform. As he told the BBC: “You wouldn’t put a baker in charge of a bank.” Debatable. What if it was 2006 and Mr Kipling expressed an interest in running Lehman Brothers?

It looks like we’ll never know, because the list of runners and riders for the Fifa presidential election is finally in – and it does not make an exceedingly good read. Behold, seven good men and true. Well, seven men, anyway. To the untrained eye, the headshots of the candidates could easily be mistaken for one of those increasingly familiar galleries of Fifa executives who are wanted or already charged by prosecutors.

Indeed, Michel Platini occupies the intersection of the Venn diagram, being both under investigation for corruption and a candidate in the great anti-corruption election. I assume he is deluded enough to imagine himself the Aung San Suu Kyi of this process – under the equivalent of house arrest, yet still standing on heroic principle.

Back in the real world, meanwhile, the only way these men could be considered new brooms is if they were placed next to a recently unearthed fossilised sweeping implement believed to date back to the early Iron Age.

Almost the most excruciating entrant of all is the 11th-hour candidate, Uefa’s Swiss general secretary Gianni Infantino, who was clearly pushed forward by a European governing body devoid of anything approaching serious quality, but desperate to have someone to vote for that wasn’t Sheikh Salman. A Platini lieutenant who indicates wanly that he’d stand aside should his suspended boss somehow manage to get rid of the allegations against him, his last-minute candidacy only serves to underscore the moral inadequacy of the various Uefa members, who can see that the sheikh will likely be the winner but reckon they can just about cover their arses politically back home if they vote for someone else.

What Uefa should really be considering, now they have surveyed the field and the way in which the wind is blowing, is the possibility of withdrawing from Fifa. Nuclear options increasingly feel like the only way to force the radical change the world governing body needs, and if Europe truly was the moral beacon it likes to fancy itself within the game, then this secession would be starting to feel inevitable. When you consider the financial allegations against Blatter are actually less morally repugnant than the human rights ones against Sheikh Salman … well, what are you really saving your depth charge for? Megatron to get through to the second round on a bye?

As for whether such a game-changer is even remotely on the cards, the smoke signals are not encouraging at present. It doesn’t help that our own emissaries to European HQ are the FA chairman Greg Dyke and his vice-chairman David Gill, who have reportedly told the FA council “the only people they could really trust within Fifa and Uefa are each other”. I don’t want to dampen any flicker of optimism but it might help to think of them as Bob Hope and No Hope. These are the men who precipitously declared their support for Platini, only to see him engulfed in scandal. Yet instead of appearing remotely chastened by a turn of events that could only have been predicted by a few million casual observers of the situation, they had the FA issue a bizarre and wholly reprehensible statement in which they wished Platini “every success” in getting off the hook.

So no one in their right mind can expect the English component of Uefa to show any real backbone. But if only the other, more serious nations would consider it. There really is nothing so terminally craven as forever waiting for the likes of McDonald’s or Coca-Cola to take the decisive “moral” stand, or imagining that it will be enough to have one of your own suits lose honourably to a man whose family regime stand accused of torturing footballers.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #500 on: October 29, 2015, 08:10:41 AM »
England 2018 World Cup bid chief slams Fifa ‘fix’ as an absolute scandal
By Louise Taylor, The Guardian


• Simon Johnson insists FA should take legal action against Fifa
• ‘The process was corrupt and unfair,’ says bid chief operating officer


A leading figure behind England’s 2018 World Cup bid has described Sepp Blatter’s statement that the tournament was always destined for Russia as an “absolute scandal”.

“It’s an absolute scandal,” Johnson said. “I no longer work for the FA but I personally think they should bring an action to recover the costs of a bidding process which was neither fair nor transparent and we’ve now discovered was rigged.

“I think the FA has an obligation to bring an action against Fifa to recover not just their own costs but those incurred by the 12 host cities who were part of the bid, our sponsors, contractors and the government.

“The FA entered into a contract with Fifa to run a bid in accordance with certain rules – each bidder had to sign a bidding agreement – and, in my view, that contract has been invalidated. Fifa didn’t keep their side of the bargain. I think the bid’s sponsors are entitled to say to the FA: ‘You have a duty to recover the money we’ve spent.’”

Previously a leading sports and media lawyer and senior FA official, Johnson is now chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council but he retains an acute interest in the next step taken by his former employers. England spent £21m on its bid, including £2.5m of public money.

“The FA would have to bring an action under arbitration at the court of arbitration for sport,” he says. “I’m sure the football associations from all the countries bidding for 2018 will be digging up their individual costs and I think Fifa have been a bit nervous about individual FAs bringing actions against them.”

Accordingly the possibility of the world governing body attempting to reach out of court settlements has been raised in the light of a precedent involving the Irish FA being paid, it said, €5m as compensation for the refereeing error – namely the Thierry Henry handball incident during a play-off against France – which denied them the chance to participate in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Whichever way the matter is eventually settled, Johnson feels those involved in the England 2018 campaign are effective fraud victims and should be recompensed for what has proved a considerable waste of time and money, effort and energy.

“It was a bid which united the entire country and was a source of considerable civic pride,” he said. “A region like the north-east would have benefited hugely from England hosting the World Cup. We’re grown-ups and we could accept losing after a fair and transparent process but we’ve now learnt that process was corrupt and unfair and apparently fixed.”

Greg Dyke, the FA chairman, told the culture, media and sport select committee on Wednesday that “it would be very nice to get taxpayers’ money back”.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #501 on: November 02, 2015, 04:15:46 AM »
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss: how Fifa’s seven candidates rate
The Guardian


Prince Ali bin al-Hussein

Jordan, 39. Odds 4-6 fav

Fifa’s version of a clean break, fresh-start, man of the people candidate. The Jordanian prince and long-term Fifa insider – who said in 2012 he had “definitely … absolutely no ambitions” to be president – remains the bookies’ choice, though insiders aren’t so convinced. He took Sepp Blatter to the second round in May.

Links to old regime: Anti-Blatter, but heavily embedded in Fifa’s football family. Served as an FA president since 1999 and a Fifa vice-president since 2011. When he announced his candidacy he looked to reassure Fifa colleagues: “I am one of you, and I know how hard you strive to define football.”

Fresh start rating: About as fresh as it gets, by Fifa standards. Was one of only three Fifa executives – out of 26 – to turn down a free luxury Parmigiani watch in a gift bag in 2014. “I’m new and young,” he says. 4/10

Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa

Bahrain, 49. Odds 4-1

Even Blatter was never accused of being complicit in the torture of footballers. That’s what Sheikh Salman brings to the table – an allegation, related to Bahrain’s 2011 crackdown on pro-democracy protestors, which he vehemently denies. He says human rights groups are spreading “false, nasty lies … some people have an agenda on their table”.

Links to old regime: An FA head since 2002 and a long-time passionate Blatter man. Hailed the “Dear President” in a speech to his corruption-mired Asian Football Confederation in April.

Fresh start rating: Backs Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, but reckons he’ll “turn Fifa round really quickly”. 0/10

Gianni Infantino

Switzerland, 45. Odds 6-1

Uefa’s general secretary and genial televised-draw compere stepped in to the contest as a hedging strategy when Michel Platini was suspended. As it stands, a credible candidate with Uefa’s total backing – but expect him to step out again if his boss is cleared.

Links to old regime: A lawyer and administrator now in his 15th year at Uefa. General secretary since 2009.

Fresh start rating: See above. 2/10

Michel Platini

France, 60. Odds 10-1

Suspended, but still ahead of three other candidates in the odds. Retains his trademark self-belief. “I am, in all humility, the most able.” Platini says Fifa’s ethics committee are trying to sabotage him, and compares himself to a knight trying to enter a castle of injustice “while having boiling oil poured on my head”.

Links to old regime: Used to be Blatter’s best friend. Not so much now.

Fresh start rating: 0/10

Jérôme Champagne

France, 57. Odds 16-1

Having a second run at the job, the French diplomat promises to “restore credibility” through transparent radical reform. He even produced a manifesto – unusual in Fifa world.

Links to old regime: Blatter’s 2002 election campaign manager and confidant for 11 years. Said this week: “Mr Blatter has football and Fifa at heart. History will judge what he achieved for the globalisation of football.”

Fresh start rating: Decent vision; tricky CV. 1/10

Musa Bility

Liberia, 48. Odds 16-1

Liberia’s FA head since 2010, Bility says it’s Africa’s – meaning his – time to lead. “Football is facing a difficult moment, but it is in difficult moments that great leaders emerge.”

Links to old regime: Opposed Blatter in 2011, backing the much-missed Mohamed bin Hammam instead. Was briefly banned by Africa’s confederation in 2013, and denied he won his 2010 FA election by paying $500 gifts to voters.

Fresh start rating: 0/10

Tokyo Sexwale

South Africa, 62. Odds 20-1

Social media’s favourite, and the bookies’ outsider. Ignore the odds: Sexwale (seh-wa-le) is a proper contender. A multi-millionaire (tick) mining tycoon (tick) and Fifa insider (tick), he has charisma and real life experience – including years of anti-apartheid activism as a former political prisoner, and being the host of South Africa’s version of The Apprentice. Less helpfully, he was also a key member of the nation’s 2010 World Cup bid team, which is now under serious scrutiny. He denies wrongdoing.

Links to old regime: See picture.

Fresh start rating: For all his promises of a “shake up”, 1/10
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 04:17:58 AM by asylumseeker »

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #502 on: November 03, 2015, 12:26:48 PM »
German FA headquarters raided over 2006 World Cup
By Martyn Ziegler, The Independent


The corruption crisis surrounding Germany's 2006 World Cup has intensified after tax authorities launched raids on the country's football federation (DFB) and private residences.

Documents and hard drives were seized from the DFB's headquarters in Frankfurt and the homes of DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach, a Uefa and Fifa executive committee member, and his predecessor Theo Zwanziger, were searched.

It follows the disclosure that the DFB made a secret payment of 6.7million euro (£4.6million) to FIFA in 2005. An internal audit has failed to find any trace of the 6.7million euros in the DFB's tax documents.

Frankfurt's senior public prosecutor Nadja Niesen said in a statement: "Fifty officials from the Frankfurt tax investigators as well as the prosecuting authorities carried out searches of the offices of the DFB as well as the homes of suspects.

Prosecutors in Frankfurt have started an investigation on suspicion of serious tax evasion connected to the awarding of the 2006 World Cup and the transfer of 6.7million euros from the DFB to Fifa."

The 6.7million euro payment was revealed by German news weekly Der Spiegel last month. Der Spiegel alleged the money had originally been loaned by former Adidas chief executive Robert Louis-Dreyfus, acting in a private capacity, to set up a slush fund to buy FIFA votes for the 2006 World Cup.

It claimed the money was later re-paid to Dreyfus in 2005 using Fifa as cover - the German World Cup organising committee made a 6.7million euro contribution for a gala opening ceremony at Berlin's Olympic Stadium which was later cancelled. Der Spiegel said the money was paid into a FIFA bank account in Geneva and from there transferred to a Zurich account belonging to Louis-Dreyfus, who has since died.

The Frankfurt prosecutor's statement added: "The defendants are accused of causing the submission of inaccurate tax returns as part of their former responsibilities."

Frank Beckenbauer, who lives in Austria, was president of the 2006 World Cup bid and last week admitted the DFB had made a "mistake" in paying the 6.7million euros, but denied that the money was used to buy votes.

He said: "In order to obtain financial support from Fifa, a suggestion by Fifa's finance commission was followed which, in hindsight, should have been rejected.

"No votes were bought in order to win the right to stage the 2006 World Cup."
« Last Edit: November 03, 2015, 12:28:45 PM by asylumseeker »

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #503 on: November 03, 2015, 12:32:12 PM »
Swiss bank UBS cooperating with FIFA investigation
ESPNFC


Swiss bank UBS says it is "cooperating with authorities" who are investigating financial corruption linked to FIFA.

UBS says in its quarterly report published on Tuesday it was contacted about "accounts relating to [FIFA] and other constituent soccer associations and related persons and entities."

Switzerland attorney general Michael Lauber said in September he had reports of 121 accounts suspected of links to money laundering.

The Swiss case relates to criminal mismanagement at FIFA and money laundering linked to the 2018-2022 World Cup bidding contests.

An American federal case has convicted and indicted football and marketing officials on charges of bribery linked to the World Cup and continental tournaments in North and South America.

UBS joins Credit Suisse and Julius Baer among banks in Switzerland to acknowledge they are helping prosecutors.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #504 on: November 03, 2015, 12:36:10 PM »
FIFA reform will be limited, says head of panel proposing changes
Reuters




The Swiss lawyer heading up a committee charged with reforming the structure and management of world football body FIFA says major changes to the organisation's voting structure and imposing term limits on executive committee members will be difficult to achieve in the short term.

Francois Carrard, a former International Olympic Committee (IOC) director general, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that his committee supports a 12-year term limit for FIFA's president, but such limits on executive committee members may not be the best course of action.

"There are situations in some countries where you have wise leaders who could be useful for more than eight or 12 years," Carrard said before speaking at an international conference on sport security in New York.

Carrard did say his committee supports an age limit of 74 years old for FIFA executive committee officials.

FIFA has been criticized for not having term limits for its leadership, allowing Sepp Blatter of Switzerland to head the organisation for nearly three decades. Swiss authorities opened a criminal investigation into Blatter in September and FIFA's ethics committee suspended him from office for 90 days.

Blatter denies any wrongdoing. The Swiss probe added to FIFA's troubles months after U.S. prosecutors announced indictments of nine high-level football officials and five marketing and broadcasting company executives. They were accused of orchestrating multi-million dollar bribery schemes over 24 years.

Carrard was appointed to head the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee in August. He was IOC's director general for 14 years until 2003 and led the organisation through its own crisis following the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics vote scandal.

Carrard told Reuters that none of his committee's proposals have been finalized yet but they should be by December. These proposals would be presented to the FIFA congress for a vote on Feb. 26, the same day the body will elect a new president.

"We have to be very careful and refrain from over simplistic, Western ideas about corporate governance," he said, stressing that FIFA is an international association not a company with shareholders.

He said his committee would be recommending significant changes to foster greater "financial transparency" in FIFA's activities, notably including new rules to require public disclosure of the salaries of top FIFA officials, which have been considered secret. Later at the event, Carrard also said he would support increasing the number of women on FIFA's executive committee.

Carrard said any proposals would require a three-quarters majority vote by FIFA's 209 member nations. Carrard said it might be difficult to convince FIFA delegates to support radical reform proposals to the voting structure of the organisation, which would significantly water down their influence.

Under the current system, tiny nations such as Liechtenstein and San Marino have the same voting power on major issues as large countries such as Russia and the United States do.

Carrard, noting that he had just a few months to draft and present initial proposals, said he believes that offering limited reforms first with an eye to presenting deeper changes down the line is the practical way forward. He said any more fundamental revisions to FIFA's voting structure would still likely be "one to two years" away.

Carrard said that challenge "requires absolutely new leadership" at the top of FIFA.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #505 on: November 03, 2015, 12:39:28 PM »
Fifa ethics team continues to probe FAI payment
By Paul Kelly, Irish Examiner


FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee is continuing to study the secret €5m agreement between FIFA and the FAI, and could yet open a formal investigation into the affair.

Details of the January 2010 deal, reached after Ireland’s controversial World Cup play-off defeat by France two months earlier, were published in full in June this year.

The independent Ethics Committee, which recently imposed provisional 90-day bans on FIFA president Sepp Blatter, vice-president Michel Platini and general-secretary Jérôme Valcke, is currently examining documents relating to the confidential agreement.

These are believed to include the statement posted by the FAI on its website on June 6 detailing the “exact timelines” around the €5m payment, and revealing that a further $400,000 was paid for “FAI Regional Centres”.

Andreas Bantel, the spokesman of the Investigatory Chamber of the independent Ethics Committee of FIFA, told the Irish Examiner yesterday:“It is a fundamental part of our work to carefully analyse any facts on the table, be this media reports, information from whistle-blowers or any results of pre-investigations. If this analysis leads to an initial suspect, the Investigatory Chamber of the Ethics Committee will open a formal investigation into the respective matter.”

While the Ethics Committee never states in advance whether a formal investigation is about to begin, the fact that its study of the €5m deal is now into a second week suggests the matter is being taken seriously. Any such investigation would centre on alleged breaches of the FIFA Code of Ethics by representatives of football’s world governing body.

The FAI has declined to comment on the continuing probe, or to respond to other questions about the financial agreement with FIFA.

If a formal investigation is launched, FAI Chief Executive John Delaney is likely to be called as a witness, having co-signed the agreement document with Valcke and FIFA then-deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner, who is currently acting as Secretary General during Valcke’s suspension.

FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee consists of two chambers. The Investigatory Chamber is chaired by Cornel Borbely, a Swiss barrister specialising in economic crime investigation.

Its five members include the Chief Justice of the Guam Supreme Court, Robert Torres, who is currently investigating Blatter for FIFA’s payment of 2m Swiss francs to Platini in February 2011.

The Adjucatory Chamber, which imposes penalties on FIFA representatives found guilty of breaching the Code of Ethics, is chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert, a presiding judge of the Munich Penal Court that deals with corruption, tax fraud and economic crime.

Formal investigation proceedings are currently in progress in relation to at least nine FIFA representatives. Proceedings regarding two other officials – Spanish football supremo Ángel María Villar Llona and German legend Franz Beckanbauer – have already been passed on to the Adjucatory Chamber.

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #506 on: November 03, 2015, 12:46:56 PM »
The following comes after Indonesia's disqualification the 2018 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifiers based on intervention by Indonesian government authorities into the affairs of Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI).

Statement of the joint FIFA/AFC delegation to Indonesia
FIFA.com


Today, 2 November 2015, the joint FIFA and AFC delegation led by Mr. Kohzo Tashima (FIFA Executive Committee member) and including HRH Prince Abdullah (FIFA Executive Committee member) and Mr. Mariano Araneta (AFC Executive Committee member) held a meeting with President of the Republic of Indonesia HE Joko Widodo in order to find a solution for Indonesian football following the suspension of PSSI by the FIFA Executive Committee on May 30, 2015 and the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee on September 25, 2015 to set up a high level delegation to go to Indonesia. Prior to this meeting, the delegation met with the PSSI President and other PSSI officials.

It was apparent that FIFA, AFC, PSSI and the Government are of the common view that Indonesia is a high potential football country and that reforms are needed to maximize their potential. The President of the Republic of Indonesia understood that any reform must occur under the auspices of the FIFA Statutes, but the Government is welcomed as a stakeholder in the reform. The President of the Republic of Indonesia expressed his sincere concern about the affairs of Indonesian football and reiterated his commitment to the development of the game. The delegation would like to express their sincere gratitude to all parties, including the President of the Republic for the productive meeting.

On 3 November 2015 the delegation will meet with other key Indonesian football stakeholders, including APPI (Indonesian Players’ Association) and Indonesian Super League. A final meeting will be held with PSSI.

Offline Mose

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #507 on: November 06, 2015, 11:41:24 AM »
Apparently Blatter's not feeling well.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/sepp-blatter-fifa-medical-incident-1.3307538

Quote
Sepp Blatter undergoing stress-related health checks
79-year-old being evaluated by doctors
Thomson Reuters Posted: Nov 06, 2015 12:08 PM ET
Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter is undergoing stress-related health checks but is not in hospital, a spokesman for the suspended FIFA president said on Friday.
 
"He is under medical evaluation, the doctors took him out for a few days, the doctors expect to him be back around Thursday or Friday of next week," Blatter spokesman Klaus Stoehlker told Reuters.
 
"He is under tremendous pressure from so many sides and perhaps this is a little bit difficult for a man who is not the youngest."
 
Blatter, 79, led soccer's governing body for 18 years and was provisionally suspended for 90 days in October amid the worst corruption scandal in FIFA's history.
Are you a match? It's too late for Emru, but maybe you can help save someone's life: http://www.healemru.com

Offline Soccer 19

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #508 on: November 06, 2015, 12:36:09 PM »
Apparently Blatter's not feeling well.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/sepp-blatter-fifa-medical-incident-1.3307538

Quote
Sepp Blatter undergoing stress-related health checks
79-year-old being evaluated by doctors
Thomson Reuters Posted: Nov 06, 2015 12:08 PM ET
Suspended FIFA President Sepp Blatter is undergoing stress-related health checks but is not in hospital, a spokesman for the suspended FIFA president said on Friday.
 
"He is under medical evaluation, the doctors took him out for a few days, the doctors expect to him be back around Thursday or Friday of next week," Blatter spokesman Klaus Stoehlker told Reuters.
 
"He is under tremendous pressure from so many sides and perhaps this is a little bit difficult for a man who is not the youngest."
 
Blatter, 79, led soccer's governing body for 18 years and was provisionally suspended for 90 days in October amid the worst corruption scandal in FIFA's history.

Well that's a shocker    :rotfl:
From all those years keeping things bottled up Mr. Blatters conscience is finally catching up with him. :cheers:

The human body always tells the truth at some point  :busshead:


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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: FIFA News Thread.
« Reply #509 on: November 07, 2015, 05:26:30 AM »
FIFA Puskás Award: Ten best goals of the year announced
FIFA.com


The race to determine the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for the “best goal of the year” has started today, 6 November 2015, on FIFA.com and francefootball.fr. Fans from across the world will decide which of the ten goals chosen by FIFA and selected Football Committee members will be the winner of this award.

The ten goals are (in alphabetical order of the scorer’s names):

David Ball - 29.03.2015, Fleetwood Town - Preston North End, League 1 (England)

Gonzalo Castro – 12.04.2015, Real Sociedad - Deportivo de la Coruña, Primera Division (Spain)

Alessandro Florenzi – 16.09.2015, AS Roma – FC Barcelona, UEFA Champions League

Wendell Lira – 11.03.2015, Atletico-GO – Goianesia, Campeonato Goiano (Brazil)

Carli Lloyd – 05.07.2015, USA – Japan, FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™

Lionel Messi – 30.05.2015, Athletic Bilbao  - FC Barcelona, Copa del Rey (Spain)

Philippe Mexes – 25.07.2015, AC Milan – Inter Milan, Friendly Match

Marcel Ndjeng – 13.07.2015, SC Paderborn – Bolton Wanderers, Friendly Match

Esteban Ramirez – 02.11.2014, Herediano - Deportivo Saprissa, Primera Division (Costa Rica)

Carlos Tevez – 09.11.2014,  Juventus – Parma Calcio, Serie A (Italy)

Videos of the ten goals, as well as the list of scorers and the voting tool, can be found here: http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/puskas-award/index.html and on FIFA on Youtube

Users of FIFA.com and francefootball.fr will be able to choose from the ten goals until 30 November, when the three goals with the most votes will be disclosed. Immediately after the announcement on 30 November, FIFA.com and francefootball.fr users will be able to vote again for their favorite from the three remaining goals. The winner will be revealed on the day of the FIFA Ballon d’Or on 11 January 2016. Voting will close during the show.

The FIFA Puskás Award, created in honor and in memory of Ferenc Puskás, the captain and star of the Hungarian national team during the 1950s, will be presented for the seventh year in a row at the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015, which will be held at the Kongresshaus in Zurich.

During a televised show, the winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player of 2015 as well as the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2015 will also be revealed. Meanwhile, the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award and the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football award will be presented for the sixth time.

 

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