6 wanted in soccer probe
Two former FIFA officials among those sought by Interpol.
LONDON — The international police agency Interpol issued wanted-person alerts Wednesday for two former senior officials of the world soccer governing body and four corporate executives, one day after Sepp Blatter’s announcement that he would resign as the organization’s head.
Broader questions about corruption at the International Federation of Association Football — known by its French acronym, FIFA — drew renewed scrutiny Wednesday for the winning World Cup bids of Russia and Qatar. But officials from both countries insisted that their right to host the games was not under threat.
Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years and was seen as an influential figure in global sports, resigned Tuesday. He made the announcement just four days after he was re-elected as FIFA president, as law enforcement officials in the United States confirmed that he was a subject of the federal corruption investigation that has ensnared the organization.
The Interpol alerts, socalled red notices, include former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who is from Trinidad and Tobago and is accused of accepting bribes in connection with the awarding of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa; Nicolas Leoz, a Paraguayan citizen and former FIFA executive committee member; Alejandro Burzaco, an Argentine who controls a sports-marketing business based in Argentina; Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, Argentines who own a sports-marketing business; and Jose Margulies, a Brazilian citizen who owns broadcasting businesses.
Interpol said they were wanted “for charges including racketeering, conspiracy and corruption.”
Red notices are issued by Interpol to inform member nations that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual, and that Interpol is seeking “the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.” But Interpol does not have the power to compel other countries to arrest the subject of a red notice.
Russia, which will host the World Cup in 2018, and Qatar, the site of the 2022 event, made clear that they would fiercely object to any effort to strip them of the tournament.
After Blatter’s announcement Tuesday, Greg Dyke, the chairman of the Football Association in England, angered Qatar by suggesting the country should be nervous about its plans to host the World Cup.
“We would urge Mr. Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,” Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed alThani, president of the Qatar Football Association, said in a statement.
He said the country had been cleared of any wrongdoing, and welcomed an investigation by the Swiss authorities into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Qatar also sought to rebut a blog post on the website of The Washington Post alleging that 1,200 foreign workers were estimated to have died while working in construction for the 2022 World Cup.
“This is completely untrue. In fact, after almost five million work-hours on World Cup construction sites, not a single worker’s life has been lost,” the Government Communications Office was quoted as saying by the state-run Qatar News Agency.
Qatar has faced widespread criticism for the safety and treatment of workers building the stadiums needed for the tournament. The decision to award the World Cup to a country with a sweltering climate that is inhospitable for soccer also has been questioned.
Blatter said Tuesday that he would resign, although that process will take months. He showed up for work Wednesday at FIFA headquarters, and a briefing was held for 350 staff members, a BBC reporter said on Twitter.
On Wednesday, Blatter’s daughter, Corinne Blatter-Andenmatten, told the Swiss daily newspaper Blick that her father’s resignation was not prompted by the corruption accusations. “His decision has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the allegations going around,” she said.
The Union of European Football Associations, European soccer’s governing body, has postponed a meeting in Berlin that was set for this weekend that was originally intended to discuss how to respond to Blatter’s re-election as president of FIFA.
The organization’s president, Michel Platini, said in a statement that the investigation underway in the United States was “unpredictable” and that it was better to wait and assess the situation after Blatter’s announcement that he would resign.