U.S court records unsealed Wednesday reveal a former executive committee member of football’s (soccer) global governing body FIFA admitted to accepting bribes in connection with the 1998 and 2010 World Cups in November 2013.
Charles Blazer, a U.S. citizen who spent two decades as one of the world’s most powerful sports officials, secretly pleaded guilty to 10 criminal counts in New York as part of an agreement with U.S. prosecutors, according to the partially redacted transcript of the hearing.
Blazer told a U.S. judge that he and others on FIFA’s executive committee accepted bribes in conjunction with the choice of France as the host of the 1998 World Cup host.
The American said he also accepted bribes over the 2010 event awarded to South Africa.
Another ex-FIFA official charged in the scandal, Jack Warner of Trinidad and Tobago, claimed Wednesday during a television address that he had proof of financial dealings involving FIFA’s governing body and the Caribbean island’s general elections in 2010.
The former FIFA vice president is one of six people, including a second FIFA official and four executives, who have been placed under a “red notice” by the international law enforcement agency, Interpol, on charges including corruption and racketeering, meaning they risk arrest anywhere in the world if they travel.
The group are among 14 people who were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department last week on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme that prosecutors say involved sports media executives paying or agreeing to pay more than $150 million in exchange for marketing rights to tournaments.
Federation president Sepp Blatter is reportedly the target of probes by federal prosecutors and the FBI. He abruptly resigned his post during a news conference in Zurich Tuesday.
Blatter, 79, who was just re-elected to a fifth term as FIFA president last Friday, acknowledged that he did not “have a mandate from the entire world of football – the fans, the players, the clubs, the people who live, breathe and love football as much as we all do at FIFA.”
He admitted that “FIFA needs a profound restructuring,” and pledged his commitment to that goal.
Many of FIFA’s multimillion-dollar sponsors praised Blatter’s decision to step down. U.S. soft-drink maker Coca-Cola said it was “a positive step for the good of sport, football and its fans.”
Chung Mong-joon, the billionaire heir of South Korea’s Hyundai conglomerate and a former member of FIFA’s executive board, announced Wednesday in Seoul he is considering running for the FIFA presidency.
The Jordanian government announced Prince Ali bin al-Hussein is also considering a run for FIFA’s top job.
Prince Ali, who is the president of the Jordanian Football Association, lost to Blatter in the FIFA presidential election Friday.
Blatter has ordered an extraordinary congress of the football federation to choose a new president, and said he will retain his presidential powers until then.
Election of a new FIFA president is expected to take months. Experts say a vote could take place between December of this year and March 2016.
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