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Post by Admin on May 28, 2015 20:41:51 GMT
Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States on Thursday, accusing it of meddling in global soccer amid an unprecedented corruption scandal. In televised comments, Putin called the U.S. involvement in the FIFA investigation "strange" and said the country was overstepping its power amid growing concerns, especially that of Russia's, that the scandal could affect that country's hosting of the 2018 World Cup.  Corruption charges were announced Wednesday in the U.S. against 14 FIFA officials and sports executives. Seven were arrested in Switzerland. The allegations include racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery, and relate to at least two generations of soccer officials who are accused of acquiring millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. Speaking to journalists Thursday, Putin called the probe "a clear attempt to keep Mr. (Sepp) Blatter from being re-elected as president of FIFA," according to an official statement on the Kremlin's website. Blatter is expected to win a fifth term Friday. "This is a blatant violation of the principle of how international organizations function," Putin said. "We are aware of the pressure that he was subjected to in relation to Russia holding the 2018 World Cup." Putin compared the United States' involvement in the case to the persecution of whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. He accused the U.S. of overstepping its "jurisdiction," saying it was "strange" that Washington had requested the arrests when the crimes did not involve U.S. citizens and did not happen in the country.  His comments were the latest example of growing tensions between the two nations, following Russia's annexation of Crimea last year and its backing of rebels in Ukraine. Putin's successes in securing Russia's bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup were seen as some of the top achievements of his administration among Russians. |
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2015 20:43:36 GMT
Sepp Blatter secured a new four-year term on Friday as president of FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, in a vote taken two days after American prosecutors unveiled sweeping corruption charges against his subordinates. "I like you. I like my job," Blatter told delegates after the vote at the FIFA annual meeting in Zurich. "I'm not perfect. Nobody is perfect. But we will do a good job together, I'm sure."  The delegates gave him a standing ovation. Blatter won a fifth term in office after his only challenger, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, stepped aside during the second round of voting. In the first round, Blatter had fallen just short of the two-thirds supermajority he needed to win. "I want to thank in particular all of you who were brave enough to support me," Ali told the delegates. Blatter, 79, had been widely expected to win. Most of the soccer associations from Africa, Asia and North and South America had declared their support for Blatter. He was not mentioned in the 165-page federal indictment announced by U.S. officials on Wednesday, alleging a years-long scheme in which executives received more than $150 million in kickbacks.  He has repeatedly denied knowledge of any wrongdoing, but said in his speech before the vote that he would "accept responsibility to fix FIFA together with you." Speaking to the congress before the vote, he said: "We don't need revolutions, but we always need evolutions. I am being held accountable for the current storm. OK, I will shoulder it." He told the audience: "You know me already. I don't need to introduce myself to you. You know who you're dealing with. I also know I can count on you. We need to recover our good name. We will start tomorrow morning with this goal in mind." |
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2015 20:43:33 GMT
Prince William has urged FIFA to reform and show "it can represent the interests of fair play" in a speech at the FA Cup final. FA president William asked sponsors to press for reform after a week which saw seven FIFA officials arrested and 18 people connected to football indicted on corruption charges by the US justice department.  Ahead of the match at Wembley, the Duke of Cambridge likened the corruption scandal engulfing football's world governing body to the Salt Lake City Olympics corruption crisis. That involved allegations of bribery used to win the rights to host the Winter Olympics in Utah in 2002. The Duke said: "The events in Zurich this week represent FIFA's Salt Lake City moment, when the International Olympic Committee went through a similar period of serious allegations. "FIFA, like the IOC, must now show that it can represent the interests of fair play and put the sport first." His comments come a day after Sepp Blatter was controversially re-elected as the FIFA president for a fifth time. Prince William also backed the decision by former Manchester United chief executive and newly elected FIFA vice-president David Gill to quit the position almost immediately in protest.  He said: "There seems to be a huge disconnect between the sense of fair play that guides those playing and supporting the game, and the allegations of corruption that have long lingered around the management of the sport internationally. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 2, 2015 20:35:19 GMT
Sepp Blatter sensationally announced his impending resignation as president of FIFA, soccer's world governing body, on Tuesday. Blatter, who has been in charge of the organization since 1998 and won re-election for a fifth term Friday despite allegations of mass corruption within FIFA, announced at a press conference in Zurich that he would step down after a special congress is called between December and March to appoint his replacement.  "FIFA needs a profound restructuring," said Blatter, who read a statement in French and did not take questions. "I will continue to exercise my function (until the new election)." The development came as a stunning turnaround, following the 79-year-old's triumphant response to his victory over Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan in the presidential race just four days earlier. At that stage, it appeared certain that he would remain in charge for another four years. Following years of allegations and rumors about financial misappropriation, FIFA faced the biggest crisis in its history last week, as the United States Department of Justice and Attorney General Loretta Lynch released details of a widespread indictment involving nine senior FIFA members, including vice president Jeffrey Webb.  On Wednesday, a federal law enforcement official told USA TODAY that Blatter has not been ruled out as part of the government's continuing investigation. The official is not authorized to comment publicly because the investigation is ongoing. The Swiss attorney general said Blatter was not under investigation in Switzerland, according to the Associated Press. |
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