The Football Association of Ireland chief executive, John Delaney, has confirmed that the body accepted a payment from Fifa after Thierry Henry’s handball in the 2010 World Cup qualifying play-offs ended their hopes of qualifying for the tournament in South Africa. The FAI later confirmed that the payment amounted to €5m (£3.67m) and Delaney claimed it was made so the organisation would not pursue legal action against Fifa.

However, Fifa later released a statement stating that the money was in fact a loan in order to help construct a stadium that was later written off and actually amounted to $5m (£3.26m).

Speaking to RTE, Delaney claimed the payment was “a very good and legitimate deal” for the FAI but that it included a confidentiality agreement.

read more: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/04/fifa-paid-fai-after-thierry-henry-handball-john-delaney

It's only a game... with a round ball, of all things...

Washington Politicizes Football

By Paul Craig Roberts

03 June, 2015
Countercurrents.org

Washington’s attack on world soccer is following the script of Washington’s attack on the Russian-hosted Sochi Olympics. The difference is that Washington couldn’t stop the Olympics from being held in Sochi, and was limited to scaring off westerners with lies and propaganda. In the current scandal orchestrated by Washington, Washington intends to use its takeover of FIFA to renege on FIFA’s decision that Russia host the next World Cup.

This is part of Washington’s agenda of isolating Russia from the World.

This Washington-orchestrated scandal stinks to high heaven. It seems obvious that the FIFA officials have been arrested for political reasons and that the recently overwhelmingly-reelected FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, was forced to resign by Washington’s threats to indict him as well. This can happen because Washington no longer is subject to the rule of law. In Washington’s hands, law is a weapon that is used against everyone, every organization, and every country that takes a position independent of Washington.

This clears the deck for Washington and its British lapdog to take over FIFA, which henceforth will be used to reward countries that comply with Washington’s foreign policy and to punish those who pursue an independent foreign policy.

The only hope for South America, Asia, and Russia is to form their own World Cup and turn their backs on the corrupt West.

It is astonishing that Russia, Asia, and South America so much desire to be part of the corrupt and immoral Western world. Why do countries wish to be associated with evil? Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and perhaps Argentina and Brazil have learned that being in the Western orbit means putting their country under Washington’s control.

http://www.countercurrents.org/roberts030615.htm

Trying to take control of FIFA, the US is showing it wants to run the entire world and tackle every alleged crime, said Lew Rockwell, of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. It proves there is nothing Washington will not interfere in, he added.

Newly reelected FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down. He has called an extraordinary FIFA congress to elect a successor.

RT: This story has generated a huge amount of interest around the world. From an economic point of view, there is also a lot at stake, isn’t there?

Lew Rockwell: Well, there certainly is, but I think the political angle is more important. We’ve had this act of imperialism. Who put the US in charge of international football? They’re able to because FIFA made a mistake of having an office in New York. Probably that is a warning to anybody else: Don’t have an office on US soil because then they can use that to take control.

Maybe the corruption charges are true, I don’t know, but again: Why is it the business of the US? I think that’s entirely because FIFA gave the World Cup in 2018 to Russia. This is just another anti-Russian move, and the US wanting to run the entire world, be in charge of every crime or alleged crime every place on the globe.

RT: But doesn’t it have a case there, because there are allegations of $150 million being misappropriated? A lot of this money apparently went through American banks, so part of it happened on American soil. So do they have the right to investigate it?

LR: They can investigate what happens on American soil, but they don’t have the right to go and arrest people in Switzerland or elsewhere. Would you say that England or Switzerland can go and arrest people in New York without the US government’s permission?

I have to tell you, there is corruption in the US too: there is corruption in US sports; there is corruption in the US government; there is corruption in every government. The problem the US has with this is not corruption, the problem it has got is with the results – Blatter wasn’t doing what he was told to do. And I guess now he has done what he was told to do. Obviously something happened to him. Maybe it was just the sponsors’ withdrawing; maybe it was the CIA. Who knows, maybe he was personally threatened or his family. This is the way governments operate there, sort of big-time mafias. We don’t know what happened. But as I said, this is not a good thing for football, not a good thing for the world. FIFA has got to change its name, it’s going to have to take out the “I” and put in an “A” for American.

read more: http://russia-insider.com/en/top-american-libertarian-slams-us-fifa-meddling-lew-rockwell/ri7733

This interview could be a fake but who knows...

 Russia and Qatar could lose the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively if evidence emerges of bribery, leading Fifa official Domenico Scala has said.

The countries deny wrongdoing in their bidding processes and Scala admits he has not seen evidence of corruption.

Scala is the head of Fifa's audit and compliance committee.

He said: "Should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled."

Speaking to Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung,  he added: "Until today, the respective evidence has not been provided."

Scala made similar comments at the end of 2013 but in light of events at Fifa in the past two weeks this will be viewed as a more serious warning.

Seven senior Fifa officials were arrested last month in high-profile dawn raids at a Zurich hotel, where they had been staying ahead of their presidential election.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/33041467 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2wYSW13xdQ

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0s7B7wZDoM

In what is becoming a regular pattern, Fifa has been forced to insist hurriedly that Sepp Blatter will not stand again for the presidency and will “lay down his mandate” as promised.

Blatter sparked a fresh wave of speculation when a Swiss newspaper reported him as saying: “I have not resigned, I put my mandate in the hands of an extraordinary congress.”

With a typically obtuse flourish, the 79-year-old added: “Only those who know the past can understand the present and shape the future. Or in other words: the ball is round – but only those who come from outer space know the actual dimensions of our sport … For me personally, the museum is a labour of love. But do not get me wrong: I’m not ready for the museum nor for a waxwork yet.”

Fifa said that his comments, at an event held at the Fifa museum in Zurich, were in line with his speech on 2 June when he did not mention resigning but did promise to lay down his mandate at an extraordinary congress between December and March.

In that same speech he said: “I shall not be a candidate,” and said the election, most likely in December, would be for his successor. Fifa insiders were quick to insist that he would not be standing again, despite the inevitable speculation that he might perform a U-turn given his history.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/26/sepp-blatter-i-did-not-resign-museum-waxwork

The old man is still dribbling the ball with the skill of a Beckham....

Former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss prosecutors after a six-year investigation into a controversial $2 million payment.

The 85-year-old Blatter and 66-year-old Platini now face a trial within months at federal criminal court in Bellinzona.

“This payment damaged FIFA’s assets and unlawfully enriched Platini,” Swiss federal prosecutors said on Tuesday .

The case from September 2015 ousted Blatter ahead of schedule as FIFApresident and ended then-UEFA president Platini’s campaign to succeed his former mentor.

Read more: https://thenewdaily.com.au/sport/football/2021/11/03/blatter-platini-indicted-fraud/?breaking_live_scroll=1

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