(ATR) Seven FIFA officials were taken into custody Wednesday in Zurich, Switzerland as a result of corruption charges and an investigation conducted by the United States FBI.
The indictment against nine high-ranking FIFA officials and five corporate sponsors is making waves throughout the federation. Fallout from the indictments could be felt in FIFA’s presidential election Friday and eventually affect the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The arrests come two days before FIFA’s presidential election on Friday. The two remaining candidates are incumbent Sepp Blatter, seeking his fifth term, and challenger Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan. The BBC reports how challenger Prince Ali is using this latest scandal to demonstrate the federation’s need for new leadership.
"We cannot continue with the crisis in FIFA, a crisis that has been ongoing and is not just relevant to the events of today. FIFA needs leadership that governs, guides and protects our national associations; leadership that accepts responsibility for its actions and does not pass blame; leadership that restores confidence in the hundreds of millions of football fans around the world," Prince Ali said in a statement.
World Cup Implications
The indictments against the officials and sponsors are backed by evidence that U.S Department of Justice Attorney General Loretta Lynch says shows these officials taking bribes totaling an estimated $150 million over 24 years.
The prosecution used evidence collected from proceedings leading up to the 2010 World Cup being awarded to South Africa. Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner is said to have taken $10 million in bribes for the 2010 World Cup according to the indictment.
Following the arrest by Swiss authorities, the Swiss are launching a separate investigation into the bid selection for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, set to take place in Russia and Qatar. Swiss authorities will question 10 FIFA executive committee members that participated in each of the host city selection votes.
"This is the beginning, not the end, of the investigation," U.S Attorney Kelly Currie commented.
In light of the reports of a new investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup selections, the LA Times reports that 2018 host country Russia says they "have nothing to hide".
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko says they are prepared to offer full cooperation with the investigation and are willing to "show everything."
According to reporter Leslie Shaffer for CNBC, the presidential election Friday could have an effect on the 2022 World Cup.
A senior fellow studying Middle East issues at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies tells Shaffer that "any revisiting of the (Qatari) bid would have to be driven by the legal implications with what's going on in the U.S."
Sponsor Reaction
FIFA is backed by several high profile corporate sponsors such as McDonald's, Visa, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Kia Motors. According to Bloomberg Business writer Aaron Ricadela, several of these top sponsors are likely to evaluate their connection to FIFA in light of the indictment.
Adidas is urging FIFA to "establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do," according to a company spokeswoman. Adidas says they are "fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics."
In a statement sent to ATR, Coca-Cola said, "This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup, and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations. We expect FIFA to continue to address these issues thoroughly. FIFA has stated that it is responding to all requests for information and we are confident it will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities."
McDonald's has also expressed concern as a result of these allegations. The company says it has been in contact with FIFA and "takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the U.S. Department of Justice is extremely concerning."
The world’s largest brewery Anheuser-Busch InBev is set to be a sponsor for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. According to Ricadela, the company says it will "closely monitor" the situation with FIFA and expects full transparency and ethical standards to be maintained moving forward.
Hyundai, Kia and Visa have not commented on the indictments and their status of their sponsorship relationship with FIFA thus far.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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