FIFA Officials Arrested in Zurich

Fourteen officials of FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, have been arrested this morning in a sensational police operation in Zurich, Switzerland. The officials have been arrested on a US extradition warrant, where the US authorities hope to press charges to do with bribery and racketeering.

The officials arrested are:

• Alejandro Burzaco
• Aaron Davidson
• Rafael Esquivel
• Eugenio Figueredo
• Hugo Jinkis
• Mariano Jinkis
• Nicolás Leoz
• Eduardo Li
• José Margulies
• José Maria
• Julio Rocha
• Costas Takkas
• Jack Warner
• Jeffrey Webb

A cloud of suspicion has long existed over FIFA affairs, but the world is in shock at this morning’s arrests. Suspicion has recently centred around the awarding of the next two World Cups, to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, but the arrests concern events from many years before that.

A press conference in Brooklyn later this morning will detail the charges, which are understood to centre around corrupt practices to do with the awarding of media rights to tournaments in which CONCACAF, the FIFA subdivision that organises soccer in North America and the Caribbean, was involved. It’s the CONCACAF connection that gives the FBI jurisdiction to act in this matter.

How High Does This Go?

The timing of the arrests could not be worse for FIFA, who are gathered in Zurich to elect their President. The current President, Switzerland’s Sepp Blatter, is running for his fifth term and is expected to win easily.

Two celebrity candidates, former footballers David Ginola and Luis Figo, attempted challenges to Blatter, who has long been a source of controversy as FIFA President, but these quickly petered out. Sepp Blatter has been President of FIFA since 1998, but has been a top official since the mid-1970s. You don’t spend that long in the boardroom without making friends and influencing people.

Although he hasn’t been charged himself, these arrests are extremely bad news for Sepp Blatter. FIFA has long been extremely opaque in its financial details. The arrests mean it’s now open season on FIFA’s wheeling and dealing and, if even half the rumours are true, the entire organisation will have to be cleaned out and rebuilt.

Blatter’s only challenger on Friday for the FIFA Presidency will Ali bin Al Hussein, Prince of Jordan, but Blatter has had the election sewn up long ago. The real question now is how long can Blatter stay President, and just what more will be revealed as the FBI investigation runs its course.