FIFA officials arrested in Switzerland on corruption charges

[Razgovory]

Is anyone genuinely surprised by the corruption.  To me the only surprise is that there is real desire to do something about it.

[Liep]

[Valmy]

Oh dear we export Mike & Molly? 

[Eddie Teach]

I've never seen it but Roseanne was tolerable. 

[Caliga]

I love Roseanne.  Hilarious.

She's going blind these days though.

[crazy canuck]

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/watch-john-olivers-message-to-jack-warner-that-aired-on-1710240005

Watch John Oliver's Message To Jack Warner That Aired On Trinidad TV

fifa scandal

6/09/15 9:11pm

Comedian and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver responded to ex-FIFA official and wanted man Jack Warner's wild "The Gloves Are Off" paid political program by buying his own airtime on Trinidad television and airing a parody titled "The Mittens Of Disapproval Are On." We recorded it, and you can watch it above.

Oliver's program was recorded from his Last Week Tonight studio, with the usual studio audience. He used the airtime to beg Jack Warner to "release everything" because "I've been looking through the indictment and... good luck with that."

The four-minute segment aired directly after an episode of 24 and pre-empted the first few minutes of Mike & Molly. TV6 is Trinidad's largest private television broadcaster.

That was great

[Duque de Bragança]

Fifa communications head Walter De Gregorio resigns after police joke

Too funny for FIFA? He seemed somewhat competent at his post.

Walter De Gregorio has left his post as Fifa's head of communications days after making a joke on television about the world governing body, despite having defended it and been its most prominent public face throughout the recent crisis which led the president, Sepp Blatter, to announce his resignation although he currently remains at the helm.

Appearing on Swiss TV on Monday De Gregorio said: "The Fifa president, secretary general and communications director are in a car. Who's driving? The police."

A statement from Fifa said De Gregorio had decided to step down with immediate effect. It marks the latest twist in the crisis engulfing Fifa, which began two and a half weeks ago when the FBI and Swiss authorities arrested numerous officials following a dawn raid in Zurich amid allegations of endemic corruption.

Fifa confirmed on Thursday that the extraordinary executive committee meeting to decide the date for the presidential election will take place on 20 July in Zurich, with a statement saying the extraordinary elective congress will be held between December and February.

De Gregorio was present at Blatter's resignation speech before a sparse media contingent. The Swiss has been one of Blatter's most senior aides since joining Fifa in September 2011, and strongly defended it after the arrests.

Only hours after US and Swiss officials raided the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich – amid the news that several senior Fifa officials faced extradition to the US on federal corruption charges – De Gregorio attempted to quell the growing storm at a press conference by describing the incident as good for Fifa.

He said: "This for Fifa is good. It is not good in terms of image or reputation but in terms of cleaning up, this is good. It is not a nice day but it is also a good day. The process goes on and we are looking forward."

However, De Gregorio's joke on Swiss TV appears to have proved pivotal for the former journalist, with Fifa releasing a statement on Thursday which said: "Walter De Gregorio has decided to relinquish his office with immediate effect as director of communications and public affairs. Mr De Gregorio joined Fifa on 14 September 2011 and will serve Fifa on a consultancy basis until the end of this year. His deputy Nicolas Maingot will resume the role ad interim."

The Fifa general secretary, Jérôme Valcke – who has come under pressure for his involvement regarding a $10m payment made by Fifa in relation to the 2010 South Africa World Cup – said: "Walter has worked incredibly hard for the past four years and we are immensely grateful for all he has done. I am glad we will be able to continue to draw on his expertise until the end of the year."

The FBI said last week it was extending its investigation into corruption at Fifa into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar. The head of the organising committee for Russia 2018, Alexei Sorokin, stated that neither the US nor Swiss investigators had contacted Russia and criticised the "hysteria" surrounding Fifa's current plight.

"We just need to ponder in whose interest it is to draw up the bridge between us and our partners in Fifa," Sorokin said. "Strangely this comes when a sizeable Fifa delegation is in Samara, where we're trying to prepare the World Cup together. It's not necessary to put yourselves into some sort of hysteria or trance about all this. The organisation has the capability to self-regulate and possibly fix incorrect decisions made in the past. The participation of law enforcement organs isn't necessary."

On Thursday the European parliament called on Blatter to stand down with immediate effect, urging its member states to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigations into corruption.

Only two hours after De Gregorio's departure was announced, an extract from the Fifa Weekly magazine was publicised in which Blatter wrote: "Fifa is going through difficult times. This makes me all the more proud that our organisation runs smoothly in a crisis." It is thought he was referring to the Women's and Under-20 World Cups when describing the smooth running of Fifa.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/11/fifa-communications-head-walter-de-gregorio-resigns

[DGuller]

 

[jimmy olsen]

Sepp is considering withdrawing his resignation 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/14/fifa_s_sepp_blatter_reportedly_reconsidering_decision_to_resign.html

[Syt]

I can understand that African/Asian federations would want to keep the system in place, because for many of them FIFA is the main source of income. For a reform of FIFA you have to come up with a system that will keep both the major federations happy, as well as the small ones.

[Syt]

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/majority-see-fifa-scandal-as-attack-on-russia/523833.html

Majority See FIFA Scandal as Attack on Russia

Most Russians think that corruption allegations against officials at FIFA, football's governing body, leveled by U.S. investigators last month are an attempt to prevent Russia from hosting the 2018 World Cup, according to a survey published Wednesday by state-run pollster VTsIOM.

A total of 65 percent of respondents said that the work of the FBI was an "attempt to pressure Russia and obstruct the World Cup in Russia," according to VTsIOM.

Seven FIFA officials were arrested in Switzerland last month as the organization gathered to elect a new president as a result of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. Another seven defendants have been indicted in the case.

A popular perception that politics is the reason for the U.S. probe chimes with statements made by President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, who accuse the United States of trying to dominate the world. Anti-U.S. rhetoric from officials, and in state-controlled media, has intensified as ties between Russia and the West have deteriorated over the Ukraine crisis, which began in early 2014.

"The arrests look, to say the very least, really strange. ... It is clearly yet another attempt [by the U.S.] to spread its jurisdiction to other states," Putin said in an interview on May 28.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who is also on FIFA's executive committee, echoed Putin's criticism of the United States' role in the arrests. "For some reason they come to Europe to arrest people," he said last month.

He noted that FIFA's continental federation in the United States is headquartered in Miami. "They could have arrested them there," Mutko said.

Moscow officials have tended to avoid mentioning a parallel probe into FIFA officials launched by Swiss investigators last month looking at possible wrongdoing in the allocation of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to the oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar.

The U.S. investigation is not explicitly looking at the voting procedure for the allocation of the World Cup.

In their questions to respondents, VTsIOM elided the U.S. and Swiss investigations, stating that the FBI had accused the detained FIFA officials of vote-buying to rig the awarding of the World Cup to Russia.

Both Russia and FIFA have said that the criminal inquiries against FIFA will not have any impact on Russia's status as the host of the tournament, which is set to take place between June 14 and July 15.

The survey, which involved 1,600 people and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent, also showed that 65 percent of Russians think the World Cup was awarded fairly and honestly to Russia while just 13 percent believed the voting procedure was likely tainted by violations.

U.S. investigators said this week that they have been eyeing corruption at FIFA since as early as 2011, when they signed an agreement with senior FIFA official Chuck Blazer, who pleaded guilty to bribery and money laundering charges, to pass on information about FIFA, the BBC Sport news site reported Tuesday.

Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup in 2010 after a bidding campaign marred by allegations of bribe-taking, spying and vote-rigging. An investigation was carried out for FIFA by former U.S. Federal Prosecutor Michael Garcia into allegations of wrongdoing, but FIFA refused to publish Garcia's report, citing legal concerns. Garcia rejected the ruling and resigned.

Swiss prosecutors, who have seized around nine terabytes of data so far in connection with the case, said Wednesday that their investigation was independent of the U.S. probe and they were unconcerned about any impact their work might have on Russia's hosting of the 2018 tournament, the Reuters news agency reported.

[Valmy]

If we can just get the people of the world to identify Russia with FIFA we will have won. Surely that would even get the Germans to up defense spending.

[derspiess]

Damn it they figured it out.

[Admiral Yi]

Russia is small potatoes compared to Trinidad and Tobago.

[Liep]

"Fifa president Sepp Blatter breaks his silence: "I did not resign, I put myself and my office in the hands of the FIFA congress.""