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Chris Marsden Correspondent
Soccer is hardly a major sporting institution in the US, and the money allegedly involved — $150 million over a 24 year period — is, at least in comparison to the daily corruption of the US financial system, chicken feed. Yet the FBI has devoted massive resources and stretched its authority far beyond what can be legally justified.
After days of official hyperbole expressing heartfelt concern for the tarnished reputation of the “beautiful game”, the central aim of the United States in launching a criminal investigation into FIFA, world soccer’s ruling body, is all too clear.
On Wednesday, the FBI stated that its investigation now encompasses allegations of corruption, bribery, and vote-rigging related to FIFA awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
This is a political move against the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is conceived of as a vital propaganda adjunct of the ongoing US-led NATO encirclement of Russia.
The events leading up to the May 27 arrest of nine top FIFA officials and five corporate executives by the US Department of Justice on a 47-count indictment under the RICO Act, on charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering, are extraordinary.
They point to the fact that no aspect of life is exempt from the impact of mounting economic, political and military antagonisms — and no limit to what Washington is prepared to do to impose its will.
Soccer is hardly a major sporting institution in the US, and the money allegedly involved — $150 million over a 24 year period—is, at least in comparison to the daily corruption of the US financial system, chicken feed. Yet the FBI has devoted massive resources and stretched its authority far beyond what can be legally justified.
According to official accounts, an investigation into FIFA was first launched in 2009, but this initially focused on corruption allegations emerging in the aftermath of the collapse of FIFA’s marketing partner International Sports Leisure and involved the association football bodies CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (Caribbean, Central and North America).
Most of those arrested last month in Switzerland were also associated with the two bodies, accused of taking bribes paid prior to the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
However, the arrests at the Baur au Lac hotel in Switzerland were not the prize the FBI was seeking.
Indeed, it worked together with Swiss authorities, who had launched a nominally separate criminal investigation into how, in 2010, FIFA awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Those arrested were in Switzerland to attend the 65th FIFA Congress on May 29, at which Sepp Blatter, the figure most closely associated with the Moscow and Qatar decisions, was to be re-elected for a fifth time.
The campaign against Blatter and the holding of the World Cup in Russia had begun prior to the arrests.
On May 26, one day before the raid in Switzerland, Senator Robert Menendez, who in April was indicted on federal corruption charges, and Senator John McCain, jointly authored a letter to FIFA urging that Blatter be removed over his “continued support for Russia hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup—despite Russia’s ongoing violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and other challenges to the post-WWII security architecture.”
This campaign was intensified after the FBI action.
In the UK, Prince William, leaders of the Football Association, Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, and the frontrunner for the post of new Labour Party leader, Andy Burnham, all came out against Blatter and/or in opposition to Moscow and Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup.
The crosshairs were turned increasingly on Blatter himself.
On June 1, the New York Times reported that a hitherto anonymous “high-ranking FIFA official” implicated in an alleged $10 million bribe had been identified as Blatter’s top lieutenant, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.
Sony, Emirates, Castrol, Continental and Johnson & Johnson all withdrew as sponsors of FIFA.
Then, on June 2, Blatter announced that he would resign as FIFA president in December. But this did not stop the FBI from stating that he was also under investigation, while an anonymous source told Reuters that the investigation had widened to include the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
On cue, UK Culture Secretary John Whittingdale told parliament that England was potentially ready to host the 2022 World Cup. Linking this proposal to Russia, he noted, “we have the facilities in this country and of course we did mount a very impressive, if unsuccessful, bid to host the 2018 World Cup.” — Wsws.org
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter