[Among issues the FBI is examining is the stewardship of FIFA by its longtime president Sepp Blatter, who unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement.]
By Mark Hosenball and
Katharina Bart
New York/Zurich
The FBI's investigation
of alleged corruption at FIFA includes scrutiny of how soccer's governing body
awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and
the 2022 competition to Qatar, a U.S. law enforcement official said.
The review would be part
of a probe that goes beyond the allegations of bribery in a U.S. indictment of
FIFA officials announced a week ago, the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, told Reuters.
U.S. authorities said at
the time they were investigating a $150 million bribery case while Swiss
prosecutors announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids.
Russia and Qatar
have denied wrongdoing in the conduct of their bids. In the case of Qatar,
there was some surprise that the tournament was awarded to a small desert
country with no real soccer tradition and where daytime summer temperatures can
top 40 degrees Celsius (104F).
Qatar's Foreign Minister
Khaled al-Attiyah said there was no way Qatar would be stripped of its right to
host the cup because it had had the best bid.
"It is very
difficult for some to digest that an Arab Islamic country has this tournament, as
if this right can't be for an Arab state," he told Reuters in an interview
in Paris. "I believe it is because of prejudice and racism that we have
this bashing campaign against Qatar."
For its part, Russia dismissed
concerns it might lose the right to host the cup. "Cooperation with FIFA
is going on and, most importantly, Russia is continuing preparations
for the 2018 World Cup," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry
Peskov, said.
Among issues the FBI is
examining is the stewardship of FIFA by its longtime president Sepp Blatter,
who unexpectedly announced on Tuesday he was resigning shortly before it
emerged that he too was under investigation by U.S. law enforcement.
U.S. authorities said
last week that their investigation would continue.
Attorney General Loretta
Lynch said when she announced the indictments that the Department of Justice
looked forward to continuing to work with other countries, while the case
prosecutor Kelly Currie said the indictment was not the final chapter in their
investigation.
A source close to FIFA
said it was Blatter's advisers who had told him he must quit. Critics pointed
to the widening criminal probe, disquiet among sponsors, and pressure from
European soccer body UEFA as possible reasons.
Earlier, the
international police organization Interpol put two former top FIFA officials on
its wanted list at the request of U.S. authorities.
Interpol issued wanted
person alerts for Jack Warner, a former president of CONCACAF, which governs
soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and Nicolas Leoz, the
ex-head of South America's soccer federation.
The others subject to the
"red notices" - which are not arrest warrants - are Alejandro
Burzaco, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, and Jose Margulies, a Brazilian who headed
two companies involved in broadcasting soccer matches.
They are among FIFA
officials and sports media and promotion executives named in the U.S.
indictment. www.interpol.int
BRIBE DENIED
FIFA has denied that
another senior official, Secretary General Jerome Valcke, was involved in a $10
million payment approved by the South African Football Association that lies at
the heart of the U.S. investigation.
At a news conference in
Johannesburg, sports minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed the payment to Warner
during South Africa's successful bid for the 2010 World Cup but denied it was a
bribe. Mbalula said the cash was intended for football development in the
Caribbean, Warner's home region.
Valcke said on Wednesday
he was not guilty of corrupt practice relating to the payment and he saw no
reason to resign.
U.S. legal authorities
announced last week they are investigating alleged bribery and corruption at
FIFA going back 24 years at the same time as Swiss prosecutors revealed their
probe into the award of the next two World Cups.
Blatter announced his
decision to step down on Tuesday - six days after police raided a hotel in
Zurich and arrested several FIFA officials, and four days after he was
re-elected to a fifth term as president.
Blatter has not been
charged and FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on his being under
investigation.
An election to choose a
new president will probably not take place until at least December. Blatter,
meanwhile, remains in his position.
FIFA executive committee
member Kozo Tashima of Japan told Japanese media that Blatter
should go at once.
LEADERSHIP CANDIDATES
Among potential
candidates to lead FIFA, UEFA chief Michel Platini, a former French international
soccer star, is the favorite.
Jordan's Prince Ali Bin
Al Hussein, who withdrew from last week's presidential election after winning
73 votes to Blatter's 133 in the first round, stopped short of confirming he
would run again. Asked if there should be a fresh start at FIFA, he told
Britain's Channel 4 News: "I'm willing to help."
Chung Mong-joon,
billionaire scion of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate, said he would consider
running.
Possible candidates also
include Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance
committee.
Others could include
former Brazil international Zico, Argentine
soccer legend Diego Maradona, Jerome Champagne, a former French diplomat and
FIFA deputy secretary general, and German Wolfgang Niersbach, an ex-media chief
at FIFA.
(Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Peter Millership)
@ Reuters
