France 98 caught up in FIFA bribery scandal
Blazer admits he’s been taking cash since 1998 ballot
FIFA whistleblower Chuck Blazer has admitted taking bribes to vote for both the 1998 and 2010 World Cups. The American also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and accepting bribes and kickbacks connected to five Gold Cups — the North and Central American confederation’s flagship tournament.
This damning admission of criminal activity on FIFA’s executive was contained in Blazer’s plea-bargain testimony given to the FBI in November 2013 but made public for the first time last night.
It came just 24 hours after the resignation of FIFA president Sepp Blatter amid criminal investigations in America and Switzerland. The 2018 World Cup in Russia has also come under threat as the FBI are now investigating how the country was awarded the tournament, along with Qatar in 2022.
His admission means not only are the next two World Cup bids being probed but bribes definitely were involved in the bidding for the 1998 and 2010 tournaments.
No wonder Richard Weber, of the US Internal Revenue Service call it the ‘World Cup of fraud’, while England 2018 ambassador David Beckham said: ‘Some of the things that we now know happened were despicable, unacceptable and awful for the game we love so much.’
Part of Blazer’s evidence is redacted, no doubt hiding further explosive evidence involving the FIFA hierarchy.
But what the 70-year-old, who is seriously ill in a New York hospital suffering from cancer and pneumonia, does disclose confirms beyond doubt FIFA’s institutionalised culture of corruption on Blatter’s watch.
He writes: ‘During my association with FIFA and CONCACAF, among other things I and others agreed that I or a co- conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity.
‘I agreed with others in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.
‘I and others, while acting in our official capacities, agreed to participate in a scheme to defraud FIFA and CONCACAF of the right to honest services by taking undisclosed bribes.’
It was Morocco, rather than winners France, who reportedly bribed Blazer with $ 1m (£650,000) for his 1998 vote and the US Department of Justice indictments record Morocco offering him $1m for 2010. But instead he and fellow CONCACAF villain Jack Warner took the $10m on offer from the South African government.
While the Qatar decision has been the subject of huge controversy since the ballot in 2010, Russia, who will welcome world football to St Petersburg for the qualifying draw on July 25, has largely escaped suspicion. But an FBI official has told Reuters that the World Cup bids would be part of the probe that is now going beyond the alleged $100million worth of fraudulent activity by FIFA officials.
Russia 2018 World Cup chief Alex Sorokin said last week: ‘We did everything the process wanted us to do. We are not concerned with any investigation.’ And a statement from their organising committee said yesterday: ‘The 2018 World Cup will be held for the first time in the territory of the world’s largest country. We will continue to work closely with FIFA towards this goal on a daily basis.’
The timescale makes it unlikely that Russia will lose the tournament. And England, who bid for the 2018 showcase and could put on such an event at short notice, are giving no indication of wanting to do so.
FA chairman Greg Dyke has already ruled out any England bid were there to be a revote of the Qatar tournament. The 2022 World Cup hosts had taken offence at Dyke suggesting they wouldn’t be sleeping well in the wake of Blatter’s resignation.
Qatar FA president Sheik Hamad told Dyke he should let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the World Cup by then.
Dyke responded: ‘It’s pathetic. They would say that, wouldn’t they. There is an email out there from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke saying the Qataris “bought the World Cup”. They denied it, but it is out there. Now that the Swiss authorities are investigating the process, we must wait and see what happens.
‘If in the end they say it was a fair process then, yes, it should go ahead. But if they say, as I suspect, that an awful lot of money was thrown at this and some of it went to people it shouldn’t have gone to, then I think there should be a re-bid.’
Australia’s 2022 World Cup bid chief Frank Lowy said: ‘We ran a clean bid. I know that others did not and I have shared what I know with the authorities.’
But Qatar’s foreign minister Khalid Al Attiyah countered:
‘No way can Qatar be stripped. It is because of prejudice and racism that we have this campaign against Qatar.’
Meanwhile, South Africa’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula reacted angrily to allegations that his government had paid a $10m (£6.5m) bribe via FIFA to arch crook Warner for his 2010 vote. Mbalula said: ‘It was an above-board payment.’
Interpol, who are helping the US agencies, yesterday put six men linked to FIFA on their most wanted list.
The ‘Red Notices’ were issued for former FIFA vice-president Warner and Nicolas Leoz. Others listed are Argentinians Alejandro Burzaco and brothers Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who are accused of paying more than £65m in bribes for media and commercial rights to tournaments, as well as Jose Margulies, a Brazilian broadcast executive.