June 30, 2022 • 37 mins
In December 2010, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, surrounded by celebrities and politicians from around the globe, announced that Russia and Qatar would host the next two World Cup tournaments. The news shook the world. The choice of two authoritarian regimes, with troubling human rights records and little if any soccer infrastructure, set off alarm bells. How could this happen? Among those asking the question, federal agents in the United States who decided to take a closer look at soccer’s governing body.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We began with a bombshell in the world of soccer.
The morning of May two thousand and fifteen started badly
for FIFA officials, and it only got worse. The arrest
began early this morning at a luxury hotel in Zurich.
Switcher at last swooped shortly after dawn took several FIFA
high rollers away. Six soccer officials were taken into custody
(00:22):
at the Borlack hotel and readied for extradition to the
United States. The face charges that ranged from racketeering to
money laundry. Later that day, America's top law enforcement official,
Attorney General Lauretta Lynch, who had only been on the
job for a month, confirmed what so many soccer fans
had long suspected about FIFA. Many of the individuals and
(00:45):
organizations we will describe today were entrusted with keeping soccer
open and accessible to all. They held important responsibilities at
every level, from building soccer fields for children and developing
countries to Oregon rising the World Cup. Lynch said the
corruption within FIFA was rampant and systemic. They were expected
(01:07):
to uphold the rules that keeps soccer honest and to
protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the
business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to
enrich themselves. I'm Connor Powell. This is episode three the indictments.
(01:30):
The massive one hundred and sixty four page indictment, which
when printed out, was as thick as the legal books
behind Lynch at the press conference, describe the global soccer
business in language normally reserved for drug cartels and mafia organizations.
This is an investigation that, according to the Justice Department,
(01:50):
spans a couple of decades, and according to them, FIFA
was being run as a criminal enterprise. So that's not
something you usually hear about world soccer. According to the
bi charged fourteen people, nine current and former FIFA officials,
and five other sports marketing executives. In all, the Department
(02:11):
of Justice handed down forty seven separate criminal counts. The
indictment alleges a pattern of fraud, bribery, and kickbacks that
netted international soccer officials and marketing executives fifty million dollars
over the last twenty four years. Like their criminal cousins
and organized crime, FIFA officials used a long list of
(02:33):
methods to hide their illegal activities. And move money. They
created shell companies, forged fake business contracts, and paid bribes
with envelopes stuffed full of cash. Here's the FBI director
James Comey. The day the indictments dropped, the game, according
to the allegations in this indictment, was hijacked. That field
(02:54):
that is so famously flat was made tilted in favor
of those who are looking to gain at the expense
of countries and kids who were enjoying the game of soccer.
Among the indicted was the face of the new and
I'm doing air quotes here Corruption Free FIFA Vice President
(03:15):
Jeffrey Webb. A loyal FIFA man to the end, Webb
was among the soccer executive scene, rolling his suitcase emblazoned
with a FIFA logo through the Borlack Hotel as he
was taken out by police. Webb was accused of soliciting
and accepting at least six million dollars worth of bribes.
(03:36):
He won't be surprised to hear his predecessor, Jack Warner
was also indicted. Former President Warner accused of being especially greedy,
as he alone is alleged to have taken more than
ten million dollars in bribes over a nineteen year period
and amassed a personal fortune from his ill gotten gains.
Warner proudly and loudly declared himself an innocent man, and
(03:59):
after turning him off into authorities in Trinidad, he left
jail in an ambulance, claiming get this exhaustion. Hours after
he was released from jail, the former fee for executant
politician was defiant because he addressed a rally dressed in
a brightly colored, obnoxious lime green shirt and baseball cap.
(04:19):
The then seventy two year old Warner compared his few
hours in jail to Nelson Mandela's twenty seven years in prison.
It was even for him, nuts ever, the hustler. He
then gathered with his political supporters in dance to Bob
Marley's Three Little Birds with that well known refrain. The
(04:44):
scene was, as comedian John Oliver accurately pointed out, Bana's
that is cocky as songs go. That's a little on
the nose. I guess we're just lucky that he didn't go,
We've got your money by old dirty bastard. Which, come
to think about all three was that described Jack Warner perfectly,
(05:04):
but Warner's clowning wasn't over. A few days later, he
recorded an eight minute video for social media where he claimed,
the American indictments against FIFA and himself we're all part
of a grand conspiracy motivated by get this logic, a
US desire to host a World Cup tournament that very year,
that very month, that very night. As proof of his theory,
(05:28):
Warner held up an article that stated, FIFA frantically announces
two thousand fifteen Summer World Cup in United States. IFFA
so bad? Why is it the US? It wants to keep?
The only problem that article Warner defiantly waived was from
the satirical news website The Onion. The claim that the
(05:52):
matches of the hastily organized World Cup would start that
very day probably should have been an obvious clue that
it was a fake article home, But does Warner strike
you as a you know, read to the end of
the article type of guy? Me neither. His bizarre antics
received a good deal of attention and helped distract from
(06:12):
the long list of v I P soccer officials who
got indicted but who were far less entertaining. Seven other
officials or former officials from FIFA's body in North and
South America are charged. Executives from three sports marketing companies
are also accused of paying bribes and contracts for major tournaments.
(06:32):
As you heard, Lynch indicted nine former and current FIFA officials.
It's a long list that ranges from FIFA board members
like eduard O Lee from Costa Rica to former Commonbeat
president Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, and of course it included
Warner and Webb. But what about Chuck Blazer. He had
already played guilty to ten counts of racketeering, money laundering,
(06:56):
and wire fraud when he flipped. Oh, when the Feds
had already he charged Jack Warner's two sons, Darryl and
Darren Warner in two thousand thirteen. The Warner boys were
working as go between for their father and we're nailed
while visiting Miami for wire fraud in connection to selling
World Cup tickets. So everything really wasn't going to be
(07:17):
all right for Warner. Speaking of Miami, Jose Avila, the
godfather of Brazilian soccer, did like Blazer and played guilty.
Avila admitted to four counts of racketeering, wire fraud, and
obstruction of justice. He agreed to forfeit a staggering one
(07:37):
hundred and fifty one million dollars in illegal profits. The
indictments were, as the I R. S Is Richard Webber described, unprecedented.
This really is the World Cup of fraud, and today
we're issuing FIFA a red card. As thorough and detailed
as the US indictments were, they never explicitly said why
(08:00):
the U. S Department of Justice had decided to delve
into the culture of corruption at FIFA, which by all
accounts had been operating this way for years, probably decades.
So why now? While no U S officials said it
to anyone watching that day, it was perfectly clear. And
then there's the other investigation. The investigation began after the
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US narrowly lost the two thousand and twenty two World
Cup to the country of Cutter amid allegations of bribery.
But almost immediately there were questions about the wisdom of
holding the World Cup in the Arabian desert heat in
one of the hottest places on Earth. Listen, you already
know the selection of Russia and Qatar for the two thousand,
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eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups were
riddled with accusations of collusion. That knowledge colored every comment
and statement made by Lynch and the other d o
J officials that day the indictments were announced, Yet none
of the charges on fifteen were directly related to those
now discredited bids in Despite hours of secret recordings made
(09:06):
by Chuck Blazer and the inside information from Jose Avila,
none of the corruption outlined in the indictment directly implicated
FIFA presidents set Bladder. Bladder, who ran FIFA while all
these dirty deals took place, was curiously absent from the
charging papers. In nearly twenty years running football's governing body,
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billions have poured into FIFA's coffers from sponsors and broadcasters
and back out again to football administrators around the world.
FIFA has lurched from graft scandal to graft scandal, but
Blatter has always walked away unscathed. FIFA's presidents seemed to
be in the clear for now, but questions about Qatar
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and Russia lingered, and Lauretta Lynch hinted that Bladder could
still be a target. I'm not going to comment on
the stage at us of any individual who has isn't
named to date. The announcement today is about the charges
involving just these individuals, and I'm not able to comment
further on Mr bladders status. The message was obvious if
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you have any information about corruption inside FIVA, speak up
now or take your chances riding out. The storm was set.
Oh and it was also really clear the d o
J wasn't through with its work and the two thousand
twenty two World Cup bid rigging, well not in the indictment,
was at the heart of the investigation. So let's go
(10:34):
back and talk about what happened. It was snowing in
Zurich the night before FIFA's Executive Committee was set to
vote on which two countries would get the two thousand
and eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups.
The soft glow of the city's lights reflected off the
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fallen snow, illuminating the streets lined with a mix of
modern and medieval buildings. Zurich is the center of Switzerland's
secretive financial and banking industries and home to FIFA, and
on this night before the two thousand and ten vote,
the city was teaming with celebrities. Eleven countries had submitted
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nine bids to FIFA, two of them were joint proposals.
Each nation paraded a slew of a listeners to woo
the lords of soccer in the wood paneled bar of
the Bar Lack, Yes, the very same hotel that would
be rated five years later. Soccer icon David Beckham sipped
single malt whiskey and pressed England's case to host the
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two thousand and eighteen World Cup. Prince William chatted up
Trinidad's notorious dealmaker Jack Warner, who was still a few
months away from getting caught trying to rig the two
thousand and eleven presidential election. Australia dispatched the stunning L McPherson,
the supermodel known around the world as the Body, hoping
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she'd uh peel to FIFA's all male executive committee. Six
sounds well, it does. And let's be honest, when you're
sitting there considering who you're gonna vote for, and L
walks out there in a beenie, in a bikinie, that
will get your attention. Former President Bill Clinton with factor
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Morgan Freeman and tow shilled for the United States. Clinton
did what any good politician does, shake hands slapped backs
and stroked the sizeable egos of FIFA's voters. The US
had its eye on the two thousand twenty two bid.
I believe your commitment to make every World Cup something
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more than the contests of the game, to address the
larger challenges that all the players and their families and
their fellow countrymen and women faced back home, is one
of the defining characteristics of this great organization. Meanwhile, England
was feeling particularly plucky. There's a spring in Camp England's
(13:03):
step tonight and a sense that the three pronged attack
of the Prime Minister, Prince William and David Beckham is
paying dividends and the World Cup might just might be
within reach. When Russian Prime Minister of Vladimir Putin announced
he'd skip the proceedings in Zurich, it was taken as
a sign that Russia wasn't a true contender. In hindsight,
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when Putin mocked the entire process, saying he wanted FIFA's
voters to make their decision free of outside pressure. The
English really everyone probably should have realized the fix was in,
but the English were confident, and they weren't the only
ones feeling cocky in the weeks before the vote. As
you heard, the US was focused on the World Cup,
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and the American bid, like the English one, was rated
highly by FIFA. Both countries had modern stadiums, the ability
to accommodate large numbers of tourists, and the marketing opportunity, commercials, brandings.
All that corporate stuff were gold, which we know FIFA loves. Conversely,
Russia and Qatar scored poorly. They didn't have the modern
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FIFA style stadiums, ample hotel rooms and convenient transportation options
of the rivals, and in the case of Qatar, where
temperatures soar above a hundred and ten degrees fahrenheit, the
idea of a summer tournament seemed out of the question.
And Russia and Qatar's history of human rights abuses, while
frequently raised by Western media, they were less of a
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concern for FIFA. Despite all of the red flags, became
clear to everyone Russia and Qatar were serious contenders as
the soccer World gathered in Zurich that snowy evening in
December of two thousand and ten, especially since there was
a growing suspicion that FIFA's two voters were taking more
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than just the technical and commercial aspects of the bids
into account. It is indeed a great day today, on
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this second of December. If you're still skeptical about the
importance and power of FIFA, I want you to consider
the moment before the winning bids were announced in two
thousand and ten, hundreds of government leaders and celebrities had
flown in from around the world to crowd into the
Zurich Convention Center, every one of them forced to hand
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over their mobile phones to security. Hundreds of millions of
TVs around the world flipped on to watch FIFA's announcement,
and all of the wanna be host nations fans assembled
at watch parties, hand clinching, chewing their fingernails. Up on
the stage under the bright lights, stood set Bladder, FIFA's
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longtime president. Every so often, a camera cut to the crowd,
catching glimpses of the v I P s in the room,
Bill Clinton, L. McPherson, Prince William Morgan, Freeman, David Cameron,
David Beckham, zadan Za Dane. Normally these celebrities are the
center of their own universe, but now they just have
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to wait, like millions of fans around the world for
Bladder to open the envelopes set. Bladder is at this
moment the most important man in their world, and he
knows it. Like a symphony conductor. He's playing on the
crowd's emotions, cracking jokes, thanking people. As everyone waits, you
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can see it on their faces. Sep get to the announcement.
Andy will eventually, like a smiling next accutioner, he will
rip open the first envelope and rip out the hearts
of so many people with his announcement. There are no
happy faces in this crowd. Instead, they project a spectrum
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of pain, anxiety and fear. There's so much writing on
this moment. Bladder, an elderly swissman with an Elvish grin
at the corner of his mouth, is at this moment
the puppet master of global soccer, of global politics. Really,
finally he tears open the first envelope and so the
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FIFA Volt Cup ladies and gentlemen will be organized. In Russia,
the Russians celebrated the English delegation sits stone faced. I
couldn't believe what they had just heard. Prince William looked
on in disbelief. The head of the England bit just
stead into space. You can imagine what they're thinking. Russia,
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corrupt Russia, pudent's Russia. A few minutes later, as the
Americans are ready to jump up with chance of USA USA,
bladder opens the second envelope. The winner to organize the
two twenty two FIFA vote Cup is Ka. The ecstatic
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Qatari delegation jumps up in the air, hugging each other,
pumping their fists. The rest of the room sat in silence.
What had just happened? Then the whispers began. The journalist
Grant Wall was in the room that day. He remembers
everyone around him looking at each other asking in disbelief Qatar, Russia,
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Russia and Qatar. Instantly there was like shaking of heads
of like something shady has happened here. Reporters and commentators
wondered aloud. How is it possible that these two countries,
the most ill suited and ill prepared nations, had won
over the United States, in England, over Australia, South Korea, Japan,
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the joint bids of Spain and Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
It's easy to point the finger at Russia and Qatar
to claim they rig the vote. But you see, they
simply played the dirty game that FIFA created. FIFA not
only encouraged, but designed an entire selection process that chose
World Cup hosts in that indirect light that set Bladder
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was so fond of. But when the process gets too dark,
too shady, too murky, people start asking questions, and for FIFA,
the answers to those questions would lead to an avalanche
of other questions, questions that couldn't be answered without doing
some significant damage to FIFA itself. That day, I think
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is probably the most important day in the history of
FIFA in the one century in terms of what it
set in motion. The losing bidders had plenty of reason
to ask what had happened with Russian Qatar. It wasn't
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just bruised national pride or first World privilege. Months before
a newspaper investigation raised serious concerns about vote rigging, Ronald
Tamari was relaxed, a native of the small island nation
of Tahiti, to marry. Often projected a cool, calm beachgoer vibe.
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On this fall day in two thousand and ten, just
a couple of months before the World Cup vote. The
top two buttons of his light blue dress shirt were open.
Why should a meeting with American lobbyists be so formal?
To Marry was the sole representative of FIFA's Pacific Island
Confederation a k OCEANA and on FIFA's Executive Committee. He
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was used to meeting with representatives of countries looking to
host the World Cup, so Mary knew why these lobbiests
had traveled such a long way to see him at
his office in Auckland, New Zealand. The only question was
how badly did they want to host the World Cup. Already,
two other bidders had offered a millions for his vote.
So when the lobbyists, who said they were from a
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consortium of American businesses hoping to bring the World Cup
to the US in two thousand and twenty two, offered
to pay to Marry for his support, he left at
the chance. He told his guests he was looking for
about two million dollars to build a sports academy. Is
it something safe, for example, that that our consortium might
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be able to Yes, distress on tape, you're here to
Marry tell the two visiting lobbyists he was open to
accepting money for a new sports academy. But the visitors
they weren't lobbyists, a big headline story for a British newspaper,
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a big headache for World football's governing body. They were
reporters for The Sunday Times, a major British newspaper, and
they had just filmed Tamari agreeing to sell his vote,
or at least suggesting he was open to selling it.
He wasn't the only one the Sunday Times caught on tape.
Nigeria's FIFA executive committee member was filmed agreeing to sell
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his vote and asked that the money be sent directly
to him instead of his federation. FIFA acted quickly when
the news broke. The two men were suspended from voting
in the upcoming selection process. But what shady dealings hadn't
been caught on tape. The magnitude of the decision to
select Qatar and Russia unleashed a tidal wave of accusations
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about bribes and vote trading. Millions of pounds and knighthood
and a brand new sports facility just some of the
backhanders which football officials have allegedly demanded in exchange for
backing World Cup bids. Some people actually think this is
a genuine competition. It's not. It's about deals and double
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deals and counter deals. That's Bonita Mercades. She's a long
time sports marketing executive in Australia and she was part
of the team back in her country's two thousand and
twenty two bid. After spending some fifty million dollars of
taxpayer money on flashy videos and lobbyists, Australia's World Cup
bid failed spectacularly. Australia has bid to host the two
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World Cup has come to a crushing end. It's got
just one vote from the twenty two FIFA executive members.
For two years before the vote tanked. In Zurich, Mercats
saw firsthand just how dodgy the entire World Cup selection
process was. Her Australian boss has fired her in two
thousand and ten. She says for raising concerns about FIFA's
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bidding process, and it sounds terrible to say so, but
you only had to meet some of these people to
think that these people don't do business the same way
as other people do business. FIFA's process has been criticized
for years, not only for the clear cut cases of
bribery and vote buying, but also for the vast gray
areas that invite corruption, guidelines that say don't do this,
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but at the same time say absolutely do this. So,
for example, running the two bids together two. On the
one hand, the bidding guideline said, don't collude with another bidder,
but on the other hand, we were running two bids
at the same time, the FIFA was running two bids
at the same time. The obvious thing when you're strategizing
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a campaign to win something, and that's what it's all about,
was that you would find other bidding nations who, for instance,
may have wanted while you were content to go for two,
and talk about how you could collude. FIVA's rules are
clear bribery and vote buying are prohibited, but they also
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encourage bidders to leave a quote legacy, a sort of
FIFA gift to the voting association that isn't supposed to
be interpreted as a bribe, but in reality pretty much
looks like a bribe. We had to leave a legacy
from the bid, not a legacy from the World Cup itself,
because that came later, but a legacy from running the bid,
which is just a ridiculous notion. So if you've got
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to have a legacy from running the bid and there
are only twenty four voters, what do you do? You
asked those twenty four voter as well, what would you
like that we can help you in terms of legacy
from our bid? Once the what would you like question
is asked, it's only a matter of time before demands
are made. Remember that sports academy that Ronald Simari asked for,
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and then there were the demands of Jack Warner, King
of the Grift. But first a point of clarification. You
heard her say twenty four voters, but there were only
two voters in zero in two thousand and ten. That's
because Tamari and the Nigerian executive were booted off after
the Sunday Times investigation. When it came to Jack Warner
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over it doesn't even begin to describe it. There was
no subtlety about his requests, whether it be a piece
of jewelry, whether it be paying for travel and accommodation
related to a Trinidad and Tobago under twenty team, whether
it be for funds to supposedly upgrade a stadium in
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Trinidad and Tobago, it didn't matter what it was, there
was nothing overt about it. Among Jack Warner's mini requests
in two thousand and ten, he wanted five thousand dollars
to upgrade soccer fields at conker Caalfs Center of Excellence,
which didn't actually belong to FIFA, but instead to Warner himself.
Long after Mercy Adez was fired, Australia paid the money
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directly to Warner. They insisted it wasn't a bribe. Why
was Australia even thinking it was appropriate to be contributing
US five hundred thousand dollars to upgrade a stadium in
in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. And this is
part of the absurdity. Why would we do that? And
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the only reason we did it is because Jack Warner
asked for it. True to his reputation, Warner made multiple requests.
According to Lord David Treesman, who ran England's bid for
the two thousand and eighteen World Cup, Warner hit them
up for roughly three million dollars. Treesman said Warner had
told him he wanted to leave his home of Trinidad's
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a legacy. The English officials refused, you must be joking, Jack,
You're talking about probably two and a half million pounds. Jack.
Warner nodded at that and sat back. You didn't say anything.
He nodded, douchet, but then said that the funds could
be channeled through here and he would guarantee that they
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were appropriately spent. But Warner, he wasn't the only one
looking for a payday. Nicolas Laos, the Paraguayan, told Lord
Treesman a knighthood would be appropriate, and the Tide delegate
Worri Mkudi wanted lucrative TV rights for a planned international friendly.
What shady games Russia might have engaged in, it isn't
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clear because Moscow destroyed all of its emails and files
connected to its winning bid. There are rumors that Vladimir
Putin offered a Picasso painting to Michelle Platini, then the
president of UEFA, the European Football Association. The rumors about
the Picasso were never proven, but Russia did give an
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unnamed painting of a landscape to a different FIFA executive
committee member, though Viva says the unnamed painting had no
significant monetary value. Mean, you just can't make this stuff up.
And then there's Qatar, the unlikeliest of World Cup hosts.
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The decision to award the tournament to Cutter was highly controversial.
Now millions of secret documents leaked to The Sunday Times
raised new questions over how Kata won the vote. At
the center of the new allegations is this man, Mohammed
bin Hammam. The key to Qatar's victory appears to have
been Mohammed bin Hammam, or, to be more specific, his money.
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Email after email appears to show he was not only
backing Kata, but controlling a covert fund of five million
dollars to buy support and influence. As you recall, Bin
Hamma would later go on to challenge that ladder for
the FIFA presidency with some help from Jack Warner, which
would then send Chuck Blazer into a tail span and
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inadvertently into the arms of the i r S. Bin
Hammam was not officially part of katar his bid team
in two thousand and ten, but he seems to have
bankrolled it and spread the money around been her mom,
paid bribes and operated slush funds to pay people who
had an influence on the vote. Former FIFA Vice president
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Mohammed bin har Mom paid three point seven million euros
to delegates in return for their support for Qatar's World
Cup bid. Qatar defeated the US fourteen votes to AID
in the final round, and it's believed that many, maybe
even all, of Qatar's votes were bought in some form
or another. FIFA executive members Isa Hayatu of Cameroon and
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Jack and Amo of the Ivory Coast each pocketed one
and a half million dollars to support Qatar, saying with
Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, whose name you might remember from
the two thousand and fifteen indictment. It's also alleged Ronald
Tamari and Amos Adamu, the Nigerian delegate, were offered money
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by on one representing Qatar, with a million dollars just
turning up in a bank account belonging to a Damu's son.
The only FIFA Executive Committee member that bin ha Mom
and Qatar didn't try to bribe appears to have been
Chuck Blazer, who had the US one the two thousand
and twenty two tournament, would have become the King of
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US soccer. Blazer often joked with his girlfriend that he
felt slighted he wasn't at least approached with cash. But
perhaps the most interesting Qatari deal is the one France made.
Ever since Qatar was awarded the two world cut back
in two thousand and ten has been this shadow of
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alleged corruption, But there's always been a lot of intrigue
over Platini's choice to vote for Katar. Michelle Platini, the
former French soccer star, and you if a president at
the time, had, like Sep Ladder, been a supporter of
America's two thousand and need to bid. The two, according
to Bladder, had a gentleman's agreement to return the World
(32:05):
Cup to the US and tap into its massive media market.
But nine days before that fateful two thousand and ten
vote was set to take place, Platini was invited to
lunch within French President Nicolas Sarkozzi. The meeting was held
in secret in Paris just before that vote. Also at
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the table Qatar's Prime minister Shaike Hammad bin Jessum and
the son of Qatar's ruler, Tomim al Thani. Platini denies
he was told who to vote for, but whatever was
said at the meeting, it had an impact on him.
Platini then rode back on that promise he switched to
support the Middle Eastern country. Platini acknowledged it was crystal
(32:48):
clear who Sarkozy supported, but insisted that he himself didn't
bow to any political pressure. Speaking to Sky News several
years later, Platini tried to defend his decision. He's a
chance for here's a chance for a part of this
part of the world to receive the World Cups. Instead,
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we're asked to believe Plantiny, once the best player in
the world, decided to stage the World Cup in a
scorching hot desert country with no soccer history and no
soccer stadiums. Critics suggest the decision to bought Qatar was
made because of politics and trade, not for football reasons.
Not long after Platini switched his support, a new economic
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relationship blossom between Qatar and France. Qatar bought fifty French
made Airbus A three twenty jumbo jets in French firms
have won lucrative construction contracts to build the required World
Cup infrastructure in Qatar. Oh and Sarkozy's favorite soccer team,
Paris Saint Germain, which had a famed history but no
(33:54):
money or recent success was bought by Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund.
So yeah, you might conclude that lunch was a lot
more consequential than Platini was willing to admit. Let's review.
The U s Department of Justice had just indicted fourteen
high ranking soccer officials and what was the largest global
(34:17):
corruption case in the history of the world, and it
was happening to FIFA, an organization that says its entire
purpose is to spread fair play and inclusiveness by making
soccer a global sport. One name conspicuously left off the
list Sep Ladder, the godfather of soccer. In our next episode,
(34:41):
Ladder struggles to hold onto the reins of power. And
for those of you still listening, here's the rest of
the officials who were indicted. In addition to Warner and Web,
there were Eduardo Lee, a Costa Rican soccer official and
FIFA executive board member, Julio Rocha Lopez, a Nicaraguan who
(35:01):
oversaw FIFA's development projects in Central America, Costas Takas, a
British accountant and senior advisor with Conka calf Eugenio Figuretto,
a Uruguayan FIFA vice president, and past president of Commy Ball,
Raphael Equivil, a Venezuelan and executive with Commy Ball. Jose
(35:22):
Maria Morin, a Brazilian and chair of the two thousand
and fourteen Brazil World Cup. Nicholas Leo's a Paraguayan who
was a former Commy Ball president and who also sat
on FIFA's executive committee. That's a lot of names, and wait,
there's more. In addition to the FIFA officials, five high
powered sports executives who did business with FIFA were also charged.
(35:46):
Alejandro Brazaco, the director of an Argentine sports marketing firm,
Aaron Davidson, the North American president of Traffic Group, Jose
Marghali's a Brazilian broadcaster who facilitated million in bribes. And
there was Hugo and Mariano Yankis in Argentine father and
son duo who ran the sports marketing company Full Play Group.
(36:18):
The Lords of Soccer Al FIFA Stole The Beautiful Game
is an Inside Voices media production in conjunction with I
Heart Radio. The series was written and executive produced by
Gary Scott and me Connor Powell, Logan Heftel and Katie
mcmurran provided the sound design with assistance from j. C.
Swaddick and Jake Blue Note. Alec Cowen is our associate
(36:41):
producer and Jeffrey Katz was our story editor. Our fact
checker is Alexa O'Brien, and thanks to Miles Gray, who
produced the series for I Heart Radio. If you have
any comments or questions, please reach out. You can find
us on Twitter. I'm at Connor M. Powell and Gary
is at Gary Robert Scott and if you have any
(37:03):
stories about FIFA, let us know. If you like what
you hear, please give us a shout out at the
hashtag Lords of Soccer
We began with a bombshell in the world of soccer.
The morning of May two thousand and fifteen started badly
for FIFA officials, and it only got worse. The arrest
began early this morning at a luxury hotel in Zurich.
Switcher at last swooped shortly after dawn took several FIFA
high rollers away. Six soccer officials were taken into custody
(00:22):
at the Borlack hotel and readied for extradition to the
United States. The face charges that ranged from racketeering to
money laundry. Later that day, America's top law enforcement official,
Attorney General Lauretta Lynch, who had only been on the
job for a month, confirmed what so many soccer fans
had long suspected about FIFA. Many of the individuals and
(00:45):
organizations we will describe today were entrusted with keeping soccer
open and accessible to all. They held important responsibilities at
every level, from building soccer fields for children and developing
countries to Oregon rising the World Cup. Lynch said the
corruption within FIFA was rampant and systemic. They were expected
(01:07):
to uphold the rules that keeps soccer honest and to
protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the
business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to
enrich themselves. I'm Connor Powell. This is episode three the indictments.
(01:30):
The massive one hundred and sixty four page indictment, which
when printed out, was as thick as the legal books
behind Lynch at the press conference, describe the global soccer
business in language normally reserved for drug cartels and mafia organizations.
This is an investigation that, according to the Justice Department,
(01:50):
spans a couple of decades, and according to them, FIFA
was being run as a criminal enterprise. So that's not
something you usually hear about world soccer. According to the
bi charged fourteen people, nine current and former FIFA officials,
and five other sports marketing executives. In all, the Department
(02:11):
of Justice handed down forty seven separate criminal counts. The
indictment alleges a pattern of fraud, bribery, and kickbacks that
netted international soccer officials and marketing executives fifty million dollars
over the last twenty four years. Like their criminal cousins
and organized crime, FIFA officials used a long list of
(02:33):
methods to hide their illegal activities. And move money. They
created shell companies, forged fake business contracts, and paid bribes
with envelopes stuffed full of cash. Here's the FBI director
James Comey. The day the indictments dropped, the game, according
to the allegations in this indictment, was hijacked. That field
(02:54):
that is so famously flat was made tilted in favor
of those who are looking to gain at the expense
of countries and kids who were enjoying the game of soccer.
Among the indicted was the face of the new and
I'm doing air quotes here Corruption Free FIFA Vice President
(03:15):
Jeffrey Webb. A loyal FIFA man to the end, Webb
was among the soccer executive scene, rolling his suitcase emblazoned
with a FIFA logo through the Borlack Hotel as he
was taken out by police. Webb was accused of soliciting
and accepting at least six million dollars worth of bribes.
(03:36):
He won't be surprised to hear his predecessor, Jack Warner
was also indicted. Former President Warner accused of being especially greedy,
as he alone is alleged to have taken more than
ten million dollars in bribes over a nineteen year period
and amassed a personal fortune from his ill gotten gains.
Warner proudly and loudly declared himself an innocent man, and
(03:59):
after turning him off into authorities in Trinidad, he left
jail in an ambulance, claiming get this exhaustion. Hours after
he was released from jail, the former fee for executant
politician was defiant because he addressed a rally dressed in
a brightly colored, obnoxious lime green shirt and baseball cap.
(04:19):
The then seventy two year old Warner compared his few
hours in jail to Nelson Mandela's twenty seven years in prison.
It was even for him, nuts ever, the hustler. He
then gathered with his political supporters in dance to Bob
Marley's Three Little Birds with that well known refrain. The
(04:44):
scene was, as comedian John Oliver accurately pointed out, Bana's
that is cocky as songs go. That's a little on
the nose. I guess we're just lucky that he didn't go,
We've got your money by old dirty bastard. Which, come
to think about all three was that described Jack Warner perfectly,
(05:04):
but Warner's clowning wasn't over. A few days later, he
recorded an eight minute video for social media where he claimed,
the American indictments against FIFA and himself we're all part
of a grand conspiracy motivated by get this logic, a
US desire to host a World Cup tournament that very year,
that very month, that very night. As proof of his theory,
(05:28):
Warner held up an article that stated, FIFA frantically announces
two thousand fifteen Summer World Cup in United States. IFFA
so bad? Why is it the US? It wants to keep?
The only problem that article Warner defiantly waived was from
the satirical news website The Onion. The claim that the
(05:52):
matches of the hastily organized World Cup would start that
very day probably should have been an obvious clue that
it was a fake article home, But does Warner strike
you as a you know, read to the end of
the article type of guy? Me neither. His bizarre antics
received a good deal of attention and helped distract from
(06:12):
the long list of v I P soccer officials who
got indicted but who were far less entertaining. Seven other
officials or former officials from FIFA's body in North and
South America are charged. Executives from three sports marketing companies
are also accused of paying bribes and contracts for major tournaments.
(06:32):
As you heard, Lynch indicted nine former and current FIFA officials.
It's a long list that ranges from FIFA board members
like eduard O Lee from Costa Rica to former Commonbeat
president Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, and of course it included
Warner and Webb. But what about Chuck Blazer. He had
already played guilty to ten counts of racketeering, money laundering,
(06:56):
and wire fraud when he flipped. Oh, when the Feds
had already he charged Jack Warner's two sons, Darryl and
Darren Warner in two thousand thirteen. The Warner boys were
working as go between for their father and we're nailed
while visiting Miami for wire fraud in connection to selling
World Cup tickets. So everything really wasn't going to be
(07:17):
all right for Warner. Speaking of Miami, Jose Avila, the
godfather of Brazilian soccer, did like Blazer and played guilty.
Avila admitted to four counts of racketeering, wire fraud, and
obstruction of justice. He agreed to forfeit a staggering one
(07:37):
hundred and fifty one million dollars in illegal profits. The
indictments were, as the I R. S Is Richard Webber described, unprecedented.
This really is the World Cup of fraud, and today
we're issuing FIFA a red card. As thorough and detailed
as the US indictments were, they never explicitly said why
(08:00):
the U. S Department of Justice had decided to delve
into the culture of corruption at FIFA, which by all
accounts had been operating this way for years, probably decades.
So why now? While no U S officials said it
to anyone watching that day, it was perfectly clear. And
then there's the other investigation. The investigation began after the
(08:22):
US narrowly lost the two thousand and twenty two World
Cup to the country of Cutter amid allegations of bribery.
But almost immediately there were questions about the wisdom of
holding the World Cup in the Arabian desert heat in
one of the hottest places on Earth. Listen, you already
know the selection of Russia and Qatar for the two thousand,
(08:42):
eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups were
riddled with accusations of collusion. That knowledge colored every comment
and statement made by Lynch and the other d o
J officials that day the indictments were announced, Yet none
of the charges on fifteen were directly related to those
now discredited bids in Despite hours of secret recordings made
(09:06):
by Chuck Blazer and the inside information from Jose Avila,
none of the corruption outlined in the indictment directly implicated
FIFA presidents set Bladder. Bladder, who ran FIFA while all
these dirty deals took place, was curiously absent from the
charging papers. In nearly twenty years running football's governing body,
(09:29):
billions have poured into FIFA's coffers from sponsors and broadcasters
and back out again to football administrators around the world.
FIFA has lurched from graft scandal to graft scandal, but
Blatter has always walked away unscathed. FIFA's presidents seemed to
be in the clear for now, but questions about Qatar
(09:52):
and Russia lingered, and Lauretta Lynch hinted that Bladder could
still be a target. I'm not going to comment on
the stage at us of any individual who has isn't
named to date. The announcement today is about the charges
involving just these individuals, and I'm not able to comment
further on Mr bladders status. The message was obvious if
(10:12):
you have any information about corruption inside FIVA, speak up
now or take your chances riding out. The storm was set.
Oh and it was also really clear the d o
J wasn't through with its work and the two thousand
twenty two World Cup bid rigging, well not in the indictment,
was at the heart of the investigation. So let's go
(10:34):
back and talk about what happened. It was snowing in
Zurich the night before FIFA's Executive Committee was set to
vote on which two countries would get the two thousand
and eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups.
The soft glow of the city's lights reflected off the
(10:55):
fallen snow, illuminating the streets lined with a mix of
modern and medieval buildings. Zurich is the center of Switzerland's
secretive financial and banking industries and home to FIFA, and
on this night before the two thousand and ten vote,
the city was teaming with celebrities. Eleven countries had submitted
(11:16):
nine bids to FIFA, two of them were joint proposals.
Each nation paraded a slew of a listeners to woo
the lords of soccer in the wood paneled bar of
the Bar Lack, Yes, the very same hotel that would
be rated five years later. Soccer icon David Beckham sipped
single malt whiskey and pressed England's case to host the
(11:39):
two thousand and eighteen World Cup. Prince William chatted up
Trinidad's notorious dealmaker Jack Warner, who was still a few
months away from getting caught trying to rig the two
thousand and eleven presidential election. Australia dispatched the stunning L McPherson,
the supermodel known around the world as the Body, hoping
(11:59):
she'd uh peel to FIFA's all male executive committee. Six
sounds well, it does. And let's be honest, when you're
sitting there considering who you're gonna vote for, and L
walks out there in a beenie, in a bikinie, that
will get your attention. Former President Bill Clinton with factor
(12:19):
Morgan Freeman and tow shilled for the United States. Clinton
did what any good politician does, shake hands slapped backs
and stroked the sizeable egos of FIFA's voters. The US
had its eye on the two thousand twenty two bid.
I believe your commitment to make every World Cup something
(12:42):
more than the contests of the game, to address the
larger challenges that all the players and their families and
their fellow countrymen and women faced back home, is one
of the defining characteristics of this great organization. Meanwhile, England
was feeling particularly plucky. There's a spring in Camp England's
(13:03):
step tonight and a sense that the three pronged attack
of the Prime Minister, Prince William and David Beckham is
paying dividends and the World Cup might just might be
within reach. When Russian Prime Minister of Vladimir Putin announced
he'd skip the proceedings in Zurich, it was taken as
a sign that Russia wasn't a true contender. In hindsight,
(13:24):
when Putin mocked the entire process, saying he wanted FIFA's
voters to make their decision free of outside pressure. The
English really everyone probably should have realized the fix was in,
but the English were confident, and they weren't the only
ones feeling cocky in the weeks before the vote. As
you heard, the US was focused on the World Cup,
(13:48):
and the American bid, like the English one, was rated
highly by FIFA. Both countries had modern stadiums, the ability
to accommodate large numbers of tourists, and the marketing opportunity, commercials, brandings.
All that corporate stuff were gold, which we know FIFA loves. Conversely,
Russia and Qatar scored poorly. They didn't have the modern
(14:11):
FIFA style stadiums, ample hotel rooms and convenient transportation options
of the rivals, and in the case of Qatar, where
temperatures soar above a hundred and ten degrees fahrenheit, the
idea of a summer tournament seemed out of the question.
And Russia and Qatar's history of human rights abuses, while
frequently raised by Western media, they were less of a
(14:33):
concern for FIFA. Despite all of the red flags, became
clear to everyone Russia and Qatar were serious contenders as
the soccer World gathered in Zurich that snowy evening in
December of two thousand and ten, especially since there was
a growing suspicion that FIFA's two voters were taking more
(14:55):
than just the technical and commercial aspects of the bids
into account. It is indeed a great day today, on
(15:24):
this second of December. If you're still skeptical about the
importance and power of FIFA, I want you to consider
the moment before the winning bids were announced in two
thousand and ten, hundreds of government leaders and celebrities had
flown in from around the world to crowd into the
Zurich Convention Center, every one of them forced to hand
(15:46):
over their mobile phones to security. Hundreds of millions of
TVs around the world flipped on to watch FIFA's announcement,
and all of the wanna be host nations fans assembled
at watch parties, hand clinching, chewing their fingernails. Up on
the stage under the bright lights, stood set Bladder, FIFA's
(16:08):
longtime president. Every so often, a camera cut to the crowd,
catching glimpses of the v I P s in the room,
Bill Clinton, L. McPherson, Prince William Morgan, Freeman, David Cameron,
David Beckham, zadan Za Dane. Normally these celebrities are the
center of their own universe, but now they just have
(16:31):
to wait, like millions of fans around the world for
Bladder to open the envelopes set. Bladder is at this
moment the most important man in their world, and he
knows it. Like a symphony conductor. He's playing on the
crowd's emotions, cracking jokes, thanking people. As everyone waits, you
(16:51):
can see it on their faces. Sep get to the announcement.
Andy will eventually, like a smiling next accutioner, he will
rip open the first envelope and rip out the hearts
of so many people with his announcement. There are no
happy faces in this crowd. Instead, they project a spectrum
(17:11):
of pain, anxiety and fear. There's so much writing on
this moment. Bladder, an elderly swissman with an Elvish grin
at the corner of his mouth, is at this moment
the puppet master of global soccer, of global politics. Really,
finally he tears open the first envelope and so the
(17:36):
FIFA Volt Cup ladies and gentlemen will be organized. In Russia,
the Russians celebrated the English delegation sits stone faced. I
couldn't believe what they had just heard. Prince William looked
on in disbelief. The head of the England bit just
stead into space. You can imagine what they're thinking. Russia,
(18:02):
corrupt Russia, pudent's Russia. A few minutes later, as the
Americans are ready to jump up with chance of USA USA,
bladder opens the second envelope. The winner to organize the
two twenty two FIFA vote Cup is Ka. The ecstatic
(18:27):
Qatari delegation jumps up in the air, hugging each other,
pumping their fists. The rest of the room sat in silence.
What had just happened? Then the whispers began. The journalist
Grant Wall was in the room that day. He remembers
everyone around him looking at each other asking in disbelief Qatar, Russia,
(18:53):
Russia and Qatar. Instantly there was like shaking of heads
of like something shady has happened here. Reporters and commentators
wondered aloud. How is it possible that these two countries,
the most ill suited and ill prepared nations, had won
over the United States, in England, over Australia, South Korea, Japan,
(19:16):
the joint bids of Spain and Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
It's easy to point the finger at Russia and Qatar
to claim they rig the vote. But you see, they
simply played the dirty game that FIFA created. FIFA not
only encouraged, but designed an entire selection process that chose
World Cup hosts in that indirect light that set Bladder
(19:40):
was so fond of. But when the process gets too dark,
too shady, too murky, people start asking questions, and for FIFA,
the answers to those questions would lead to an avalanche
of other questions, questions that couldn't be answered without doing
some significant damage to FIFA itself. That day, I think
(20:03):
is probably the most important day in the history of
FIFA in the one century in terms of what it
set in motion. The losing bidders had plenty of reason
to ask what had happened with Russian Qatar. It wasn't
(20:24):
just bruised national pride or first World privilege. Months before
a newspaper investigation raised serious concerns about vote rigging, Ronald
Tamari was relaxed, a native of the small island nation
of Tahiti, to marry. Often projected a cool, calm beachgoer vibe.
(20:46):
On this fall day in two thousand and ten, just
a couple of months before the World Cup vote. The
top two buttons of his light blue dress shirt were open.
Why should a meeting with American lobbyists be so formal?
To Marry was the sole representative of FIFA's Pacific Island
Confederation a k OCEANA and on FIFA's Executive Committee. He
(21:08):
was used to meeting with representatives of countries looking to
host the World Cup, so Mary knew why these lobbiests
had traveled such a long way to see him at
his office in Auckland, New Zealand. The only question was
how badly did they want to host the World Cup. Already,
two other bidders had offered a millions for his vote.
So when the lobbyists, who said they were from a
(21:29):
consortium of American businesses hoping to bring the World Cup
to the US in two thousand and twenty two, offered
to pay to Marry for his support, he left at
the chance. He told his guests he was looking for
about two million dollars to build a sports academy. Is
it something safe, for example, that that our consortium might
(21:49):
be able to Yes, distress on tape, you're here to
Marry tell the two visiting lobbyists he was open to
accepting money for a new sports academy. But the visitors
they weren't lobbyists, a big headline story for a British newspaper,
(22:10):
a big headache for World football's governing body. They were
reporters for The Sunday Times, a major British newspaper, and
they had just filmed Tamari agreeing to sell his vote,
or at least suggesting he was open to selling it.
He wasn't the only one the Sunday Times caught on tape.
Nigeria's FIFA executive committee member was filmed agreeing to sell
(22:32):
his vote and asked that the money be sent directly
to him instead of his federation. FIFA acted quickly when
the news broke. The two men were suspended from voting
in the upcoming selection process. But what shady dealings hadn't
been caught on tape. The magnitude of the decision to
select Qatar and Russia unleashed a tidal wave of accusations
(22:56):
about bribes and vote trading. Millions of pounds and knighthood
and a brand new sports facility just some of the
backhanders which football officials have allegedly demanded in exchange for
backing World Cup bids. Some people actually think this is
a genuine competition. It's not. It's about deals and double
(23:18):
deals and counter deals. That's Bonita Mercades. She's a long
time sports marketing executive in Australia and she was part
of the team back in her country's two thousand and
twenty two bid. After spending some fifty million dollars of
taxpayer money on flashy videos and lobbyists, Australia's World Cup
bid failed spectacularly. Australia has bid to host the two
(23:42):
World Cup has come to a crushing end. It's got
just one vote from the twenty two FIFA executive members.
For two years before the vote tanked. In Zurich, Mercats
saw firsthand just how dodgy the entire World Cup selection
process was. Her Australian boss has fired her in two
thousand and ten. She says for raising concerns about FIFA's
(24:05):
bidding process, and it sounds terrible to say so, but
you only had to meet some of these people to
think that these people don't do business the same way
as other people do business. FIFA's process has been criticized
for years, not only for the clear cut cases of
bribery and vote buying, but also for the vast gray
areas that invite corruption, guidelines that say don't do this,
(24:29):
but at the same time say absolutely do this. So,
for example, running the two bids together two. On the
one hand, the bidding guideline said, don't collude with another bidder,
but on the other hand, we were running two bids
at the same time, the FIFA was running two bids
at the same time. The obvious thing when you're strategizing
(24:51):
a campaign to win something, and that's what it's all about,
was that you would find other bidding nations who, for instance,
may have wanted while you were content to go for two,
and talk about how you could collude. FIVA's rules are
clear bribery and vote buying are prohibited, but they also
(25:11):
encourage bidders to leave a quote legacy, a sort of
FIFA gift to the voting association that isn't supposed to
be interpreted as a bribe, but in reality pretty much
looks like a bribe. We had to leave a legacy
from the bid, not a legacy from the World Cup itself,
because that came later, but a legacy from running the bid,
which is just a ridiculous notion. So if you've got
(25:34):
to have a legacy from running the bid and there
are only twenty four voters, what do you do? You
asked those twenty four voter as well, what would you
like that we can help you in terms of legacy
from our bid? Once the what would you like question
is asked, it's only a matter of time before demands
are made. Remember that sports academy that Ronald Simari asked for,
(25:57):
and then there were the demands of Jack Warner, King
of the Grift. But first a point of clarification. You
heard her say twenty four voters, but there were only
two voters in zero in two thousand and ten. That's
because Tamari and the Nigerian executive were booted off after
the Sunday Times investigation. When it came to Jack Warner
(26:19):
over it doesn't even begin to describe it. There was
no subtlety about his requests, whether it be a piece
of jewelry, whether it be paying for travel and accommodation
related to a Trinidad and Tobago under twenty team, whether
it be for funds to supposedly upgrade a stadium in
(26:41):
Trinidad and Tobago, it didn't matter what it was, there
was nothing overt about it. Among Jack Warner's mini requests
in two thousand and ten, he wanted five thousand dollars
to upgrade soccer fields at conker Caalfs Center of Excellence,
which didn't actually belong to FIFA, but instead to Warner himself.
Long after Mercy Adez was fired, Australia paid the money
(27:03):
directly to Warner. They insisted it wasn't a bribe. Why
was Australia even thinking it was appropriate to be contributing
US five hundred thousand dollars to upgrade a stadium in
in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. And this is
part of the absurdity. Why would we do that? And
(27:23):
the only reason we did it is because Jack Warner
asked for it. True to his reputation, Warner made multiple requests.
According to Lord David Treesman, who ran England's bid for
the two thousand and eighteen World Cup, Warner hit them
up for roughly three million dollars. Treesman said Warner had
told him he wanted to leave his home of Trinidad's
(27:44):
a legacy. The English officials refused, you must be joking, Jack,
You're talking about probably two and a half million pounds. Jack.
Warner nodded at that and sat back. You didn't say anything.
He nodded, douchet, but then said that the funds could
be channeled through here and he would guarantee that they
(28:07):
were appropriately spent. But Warner, he wasn't the only one
looking for a payday. Nicolas Laos, the Paraguayan, told Lord
Treesman a knighthood would be appropriate, and the Tide delegate
Worri Mkudi wanted lucrative TV rights for a planned international friendly.
What shady games Russia might have engaged in, it isn't
(28:28):
clear because Moscow destroyed all of its emails and files
connected to its winning bid. There are rumors that Vladimir
Putin offered a Picasso painting to Michelle Platini, then the
president of UEFA, the European Football Association. The rumors about
the Picasso were never proven, but Russia did give an
(28:49):
unnamed painting of a landscape to a different FIFA executive
committee member, though Viva says the unnamed painting had no
significant monetary value. Mean, you just can't make this stuff up.
And then there's Qatar, the unlikeliest of World Cup hosts.
(29:10):
The decision to award the tournament to Cutter was highly controversial.
Now millions of secret documents leaked to The Sunday Times
raised new questions over how Kata won the vote. At
the center of the new allegations is this man, Mohammed
bin Hammam. The key to Qatar's victory appears to have
been Mohammed bin Hammam, or, to be more specific, his money.
(29:33):
Email after email appears to show he was not only
backing Kata, but controlling a covert fund of five million
dollars to buy support and influence. As you recall, Bin
Hamma would later go on to challenge that ladder for
the FIFA presidency with some help from Jack Warner, which
would then send Chuck Blazer into a tail span and
(29:54):
inadvertently into the arms of the i r S. Bin
Hammam was not officially part of katar his bid team
in two thousand and ten, but he seems to have
bankrolled it and spread the money around been her mom,
paid bribes and operated slush funds to pay people who
had an influence on the vote. Former FIFA Vice president
(30:15):
Mohammed bin har Mom paid three point seven million euros
to delegates in return for their support for Qatar's World
Cup bid. Qatar defeated the US fourteen votes to AID
in the final round, and it's believed that many, maybe
even all, of Qatar's votes were bought in some form
or another. FIFA executive members Isa Hayatu of Cameroon and
(30:39):
Jack and Amo of the Ivory Coast each pocketed one
and a half million dollars to support Qatar, saying with
Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, whose name you might remember from
the two thousand and fifteen indictment. It's also alleged Ronald
Tamari and Amos Adamu, the Nigerian delegate, were offered money
(30:59):
by on one representing Qatar, with a million dollars just
turning up in a bank account belonging to a Damu's son.
The only FIFA Executive Committee member that bin ha Mom
and Qatar didn't try to bribe appears to have been
Chuck Blazer, who had the US one the two thousand
and twenty two tournament, would have become the King of
(31:21):
US soccer. Blazer often joked with his girlfriend that he
felt slighted he wasn't at least approached with cash. But
perhaps the most interesting Qatari deal is the one France made.
Ever since Qatar was awarded the two world cut back
in two thousand and ten has been this shadow of
(31:43):
alleged corruption, But there's always been a lot of intrigue
over Platini's choice to vote for Katar. Michelle Platini, the
former French soccer star, and you if a president at
the time, had, like Sep Ladder, been a supporter of
America's two thousand and need to bid. The two, according
to Bladder, had a gentleman's agreement to return the World
(32:05):
Cup to the US and tap into its massive media market.
But nine days before that fateful two thousand and ten
vote was set to take place, Platini was invited to
lunch within French President Nicolas Sarkozzi. The meeting was held
in secret in Paris just before that vote. Also at
(32:25):
the table Qatar's Prime minister Shaike Hammad bin Jessum and
the son of Qatar's ruler, Tomim al Thani. Platini denies
he was told who to vote for, but whatever was
said at the meeting, it had an impact on him.
Platini then rode back on that promise he switched to
support the Middle Eastern country. Platini acknowledged it was crystal
(32:48):
clear who Sarkozy supported, but insisted that he himself didn't
bow to any political pressure. Speaking to Sky News several
years later, Platini tried to defend his decision. He's a
chance for here's a chance for a part of this
part of the world to receive the World Cups. Instead,
(33:09):
we're asked to believe Plantiny, once the best player in
the world, decided to stage the World Cup in a
scorching hot desert country with no soccer history and no
soccer stadiums. Critics suggest the decision to bought Qatar was
made because of politics and trade, not for football reasons.
Not long after Platini switched his support, a new economic
(33:32):
relationship blossom between Qatar and France. Qatar bought fifty French
made Airbus A three twenty jumbo jets in French firms
have won lucrative construction contracts to build the required World
Cup infrastructure in Qatar. Oh and Sarkozy's favorite soccer team,
Paris Saint Germain, which had a famed history but no
(33:54):
money or recent success was bought by Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund.
So yeah, you might conclude that lunch was a lot
more consequential than Platini was willing to admit. Let's review.
The U s Department of Justice had just indicted fourteen
high ranking soccer officials and what was the largest global
(34:17):
corruption case in the history of the world, and it
was happening to FIFA, an organization that says its entire
purpose is to spread fair play and inclusiveness by making
soccer a global sport. One name conspicuously left off the
list Sep Ladder, the godfather of soccer. In our next episode,
(34:41):
Ladder struggles to hold onto the reins of power. And
for those of you still listening, here's the rest of
the officials who were indicted. In addition to Warner and Web,
there were Eduardo Lee, a Costa Rican soccer official and
FIFA executive board member, Julio Rocha Lopez, a Nicaraguan who
(35:01):
oversaw FIFA's development projects in Central America, Costas Takas, a
British accountant and senior advisor with Conka calf Eugenio Figuretto,
a Uruguayan FIFA vice president, and past president of Commy Ball,
Raphael Equivil, a Venezuelan and executive with Commy Ball. Jose
(35:22):
Maria Morin, a Brazilian and chair of the two thousand
and fourteen Brazil World Cup. Nicholas Leo's a Paraguayan who
was a former Commy Ball president and who also sat
on FIFA's executive committee. That's a lot of names, and wait,
there's more. In addition to the FIFA officials, five high
powered sports executives who did business with FIFA were also charged.
(35:46):
Alejandro Brazaco, the director of an Argentine sports marketing firm,
Aaron Davidson, the North American president of Traffic Group, Jose
Marghali's a Brazilian broadcaster who facilitated million in bribes. And
there was Hugo and Mariano Yankis in Argentine father and
son duo who ran the sports marketing company Full Play Group.
(36:18):
The Lords of Soccer Al FIFA Stole The Beautiful Game
is an Inside Voices media production in conjunction with I
Heart Radio. The series was written and executive produced by
Gary Scott and me Connor Powell, Logan Heftel and Katie
mcmurran provided the sound design with assistance from j. C.
Swaddick and Jake Blue Note. Alec Cowen is our associate
(36:41):
producer and Jeffrey Katz was our story editor. Our fact
checker is Alexa O'Brien, and thanks to Miles Gray, who
produced the series for I Heart Radio. If you have
any comments or questions, please reach out. You can find
us on Twitter. I'm at Connor M. Powell and Gary
is at Gary Robert Scott and if you have any
(37:03):
stories about FIFA, let us know. If you like what
you hear, please give us a shout out at the
hashtag Lords of Soccer
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