As we discussed earlier, FIFA has responded to the arrests of soccer officials in its latest corruption scandal with open contempt for the public and prosecutors. Sepp Blatter, 79, was reelected as FIFA’s president for a fifth term by the world governing body’s 209 member associations. FIFA officials were still be processed as arrestees in the corruption investigation in the United States, but Blatter was reelected by a group that seems little more than made men in an international criminal organization. Now, Blatter has gone public with a mocking public rebuke of everyone who has tried to reform his organization and fight corruption.
Swiss authorities swooped into a hotel Wednesday and arrested some of the top soccer officers on corruption charges in the United States. The police notably went to one of the most expensive hotels in the world where these officials were treating themselves to another gold-plated over-the-top meeting with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They were led from the five-star hotel in an early morning raid, but many will be disappointed that one official remained in his luxury hotel room untouched: Sepp Blatter.
After securing his reelection in a secret ballot, Blatter lashed out at U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and the Justice Department for daring to hold him or his associates accountably under bribery and corruption laws. Lynch correctly described FIFA as an organization run to enrich Blatter and his cronies. Blatter suggested that it was just sour grapes by the U.S. after its failed bid to for the 2022 World Cup — ignoring decades of criticism of Blatter in running one of the world’s most openly corrupt organizations. He absurdly suggested that all of the corruption allegations were just the work of American and English media: “The Americans were the candidates for the World Cup of 2022 and they lost. The English were the candidates for 2018 and they lost, so it was really with the English media and the American movement that came down.”
Blatter’s comments mirrored the comments of that other corrupt and authoritarian figure, Vladimir Putin, in denouncing the U.S. investigation as meddling in FIFA. The successful Russian bid for a future World Cup is being criticized as a highly suspect effort by anti-corruption advocates.
Blatter and FIFA are clearly committed to continuing their corrupt legacy. This leaves little choice for countries who value not just soccer but the rule of law. The United States must withdraw from FIFA — hopefully with England and other countries. FIFA has thrown down the gauntlet and it must be picked up. My expectation is that other nations will follow and either FIFA will collapse or it will finally yield to global public demand. If that happens, the entirety of the leadership and the governing rules must be tossed. Only then will this self-evident criminal enterprise be put down by those who reject corruption as an inherent part of international sports.
Football has been berry berry good to him.
“Sepp Blatter resigned as FIFA president on Tuesday, four days after being re-elected to a fifth term.
Blatter, 79, announced the decision at a news conference in Zurich, six days after the FBI raided a hotel in Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials.
“He was re-elected after his only rival, Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, withdrew after losing heavily in the first round of voting.
” ‘FIFA has been my life … what counts most for me is FIFA and football around the world,’ Blatter said.
” ‘An extraordinary congress is to be called to elect my successor as soon as possible.’ ”
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/sepp-blatter-resigns-fifa/2015/06/02/id/648238/
Is Rubio from Cuba? If so, did he or parents come from the Batista era?
Karen
Or Dick Cheney, or any other Republican candidate or representative. Google Rubio for some really enlightened entertainment.
He sounds like Hillary Clinton.
I’ll sat it again, you have street Rico thugs take care of this elitist Albanian thug. Albanians are just Italian wannabe’s.
The bankers and Wall Street brokers may be laughing as the pressure is being removed from them and focused on soccer. JT, try American football, Hockey, Baseball, Basketball, etc. Better still focus your attention on the truly perverse corruption: the Congress, the Senate, elected judges, etc.
So FIFA is corrupt. Who cares? They don’t control either government resources or public companies. I’ve seen no allegations that FIFA is killing people or taking their retirement funds or any such thing. This would seem to be a civil matter between FIFA and its member organizations.
We waste prosecutorial resources on things in which we have no interest, and let IRS and NSA officials off the hook after they clearly betrayed the public trust and abused toe power of their offices. Ridiculous.
Can’t decide whether it’s sad or hilarious to read an article by a respected attorney in which he rails emotionally about the obvious guilt of someone not (yet) (even) charged with a crime.
At what point does JT switch between an angry citizen (or fan) and a thoughtful scholar? When “IMO” appears in an article? Or JT appears before Congress?
I think I just decided: sad.
Unless that player happens to be a lawyer.
I do believe the FIFA is a corrupt, criminal organization that propably could be brought down using RICO laws. Just to make it more fun we could say that no defendant could have a lawyer defend him, he must have the highest paid soccer player from his country defend him.
“After all, how is it that not one bankster has been brought to justice, even though their corrupt and criminal enterprises continue to flout the law and scoff at the ‘punishment’ doled out.”
Lloyd,
LAWYERS! LAWYERS! LAWYERS!
In every case of corruption you will find lawyers that have been advising them; that is if they have been successful evading the law.
I would like to see just one of the lawyers here defend their own profession for once. Silence doesn’t count.
It’s disturbingly funny, honestly. After seeing the force of US enforcement agencies such as DOJ, Treasury, and SEC, shredded by US and foreign banksters over the past decades, it’s no wonder a corrupt organizations scoffs at actions against them. What will happen tot hem? Nothing. A couple of US FIFA members will be brought in front of a kangaroo court and ‘punished’ with fines and then let off for cooperating with authorities.
The DOJ, SEC, etc. have been bought by corporate cronies who ‘sacrifice’ a couple years of corporate pay to volunteer to go to these agencies to make sure they comply with corporate demands. The revolving door as they say. It’s a farce. And do you honestly think DOJ would have brought these actions if FIFA chose the US for the world cup instead of Russia and Qatar? Absolutely not.
The hypocrisy is astounding. US gets all legal and tough because so many international workers in Qatar work under deplorable, slave like conditions, but it is ready to sign a huge TPP, jobs killing, corporate crony trade deal with Malaysia which is noted for being a human trafficking hub.
The only people that need fear the law are the little guys. These large criminal and corrupt organizations and nations are given a slap on the wrist and allowed to continue their criminal ways. After all, how is it that not one bankster has been brought to justice, even though their corrupt and criminal enterprises continue to flout the law and scoff at the ‘punishment’ doled out.
The Friggin Idiot From Albania needs to go.
Blatter must go – if he does not know what has been going on for 19 years then he is an incompetent, useless man who should not be running ANY organization! To see what has been going on and to ignor the corrupt dealings of FIFA is as guilty as one can be. The UEFA and all others should leave FIFA and start their own World Cup. Because the corrupt officials voted Blatter in – in another 4 years they will just vote another clone of Blatter in as President. Better to get rid of him now and let corrupt Russia and Quatar sink in their own corruption.
Reblogged this on 1EarthUnited and commented:
On the surface, a case of sour grapes. Digging deeper, actions from the US Justice Dept:
“The USA definitely (has) nothing to do with this,” the Russian President said of FIFA, which is based in Switzerland. “This is yet another obvious attempt to spread their jurisdiction to other (countries).”