— Jack Warner among Fifa bosses held over ‘$150m corruption’
— Qatar and Russia could be stripped of 2018 and 2022 tournaments
— Fifa president Blatter ‘not dancing in his office’, spokesman says
FIFA’S former vice president is accused of taking bribes worth $10million (£6.5million) from the South African government to host the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA President, Sepp Blatter
Jack Warner was among seven high-ranking Fifa chiefs arrested this morning at a five-star hotel in Switzerland as football’s governing body faced a double corruption probe.
The FBI wants to quiz a total of 14 people over $150million (£98million) worth of alleged bribes while Swiss cops are probing the decisions to let Russia and Qatar host World Cups.
A total of nine Fifa officials and five business executives are accused of conspiracy and corruption.
US officials claim that Warner “diverted” some of these alleged bribes from the South African government for his own personal use.
When details of the indictment first emerged, Mr Warner said he was innocent and said “the actions of Fifa no longer concern me”.
Soon after the dawn raid in Zurich, Swiss authorities announced criminal proceedings over the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.
It comes just two days before members are expected to ignore outrage from the wider football world by voting in president Sepp Blatter for a fifth term.
US Attorney General Loretta E Lynch said: “The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States.”
And in a press conference this afternoon, Ms Lynch said: “They corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves.
“This Department of Justice is determined to end these practices to root out corruption and bring wrongdoers to justice.”
Former Fifa vice president Jack Warner
Richard Weber, chief of the US tax agency’s criminal investigation division, said: “It was a World Cup of fraud, and today we are issuing Fifa with the red card.”
Walter De Gregorio, Fifa’s Director of Communications & Public Affairs, admitted today: “It is once again unfortunately Fifa suffering. It is certainly a difficult point for us.”
He added Blatter was “not dancing in his office” and he is “very calm, he is fully co-operative with everything, he’s not a happy man, saying wow, wow”.
The Swiss Federal Office is due to question around ten members “on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money-laundering”.
The Swiss probe is separate to the FBI-led arrests of Sepp Blatter’s understudy Jeffrey Webb and controversial former Concacaf president Warner.
The arrests and seizure of documents were carried out simultaneously to “avoid any possible collusion”, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said.
A statement read: “The Swiss and US law enforcement authorities are not conducting any joint investigations, but are coordinating their respective criminal proceeding.”
Blatter is expected to retain his title because he has support from delegates in Africa and South America.
More than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss police officers arrived at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich at around 6am before storming the rooms where senior officials from the world football’s governing body were staying.
Members from Fifa’s executive committee were led away through the side exit of the hotel, with many using bedsheets to shield themselves.
According to one journalist, one official being arrested was heard in the lobby saying to a colleague: “Nervioso.”
The most significant arrest was that of Webb, who has previously been hailed by Blatter as a potential successor.
Other soccer officials due to be quizzed are Eugenio Figueredo, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz, according to US reports.
Charges were also expected against sports marketing executives Alejandro Burzaco, Aaron Davidson, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis.
José Margulies, an intermediary who facilitated illegal payments, will also be quizzed.
The raids took place as Fifa gathered for their annual meeting at the hotel with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich.
Officers went to the front desk to get keys before heading to the rooms.
Li, of Costa Rica, was seen being led by the authorities from his room to a side-door exit of the hotel. He was allowed to take his luggage, which was adorned with Fifa logos.
The charges allege widespread corruption in Fifa over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcasting deals.
The charges include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
“We’re struck by just how long this went on for and how it touched nearly every part of what Fifa did,” an FBI official told the New York Times.
“It just seemed to permeate every element of the federation and was just their way of doing business. It seems like this corruption was institutionalised.”
Law enforcement officials said much of the inquiry involves Concacaf, one of the six regional confederations that compose Fifa.
Concacaf — which stands for Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football — includes major countries such as the US and Mexico, and tiny ones like Barbados and Montserrat.
According to the indictment, several international soccer events were tainted by bribes and kickbacks involving media and marketing rights: World Cup qualifiers in the Concacaf region; the Gold Cup; the Concacaf Champions League; the Copa América; and the Copa Libertadores.
The indictment also claims that bribes and kickbacks were found in connection with the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup.
Concacaf was led from 1990 to 2011 by Warner, the long time head of Trinidad & Tobago’s federation.
A key powerbroker in Fifa’s governing executive committee, he had been dogged by accusations of corruption.
He was accused of illegally profiting from the resale of tickets to the 2006 World Cup, and of withholding the bonuses of the Trinidad players who participated in that tournament.
England are now 11/10 favourites to host the 2018 World Cup if Russia are stripped and the USA are a top-priced 3/1 to take over the 2022 tournament if Qatar are banned from hosting.
FA Chairman Greg Dyke said today: “We should stress this morning’s developments are very serious for FIFA and its current leadership.
“As one of the associations who nominated Prince Ali it will not surprise you to learn that if the election for president goes ahead The FA will be voting for him.
“However, there must be a question mark over whether the election should take place in these circumstances.
“Clearly things are changing very quickly and our delegation to the FIFA congress in Zurich, which I am leading, will discuss the position and what we should do about it with our colleagues in UEFA when we meet tomorrow morning.”
Multi-billion pound Fifa has been plagued by accusations of bribery for decades.
The FBI case is the most significant yet for US Attorney General Lynch, who took office last month.
Warner resigned as Concacaf chief in 2011 amid mounting evidence that he had been part of an attempt to buy the votes of Caribbean federation officials in the 2010 Fifa presidential election.
A 2013 Concacaf report also found that he had received tens of millions of dollars in misappropriated funds.
A statement by Fifa today read: “Fifa is fully cooperating as injured party in the actions by Swiss authorities.
“Fifa welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in football.
“We are pleased to see that the investigation is being energetically pursued for the good of football and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that Fifa has already taken.”
Warner has pleaded his innocence after being arrested on suspicion of racketeering, conspiracy and corruption.
He said: “I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter. I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges.
“I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.
“The actions of Fifa no longer concern me.
“I cannot help but note, however, that these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when Fifa is assembled for elections to select a president who is universally disliked by the international community.
“At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous international business.
“That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Fifa ex vice president ‘took $10m bribe for South Africa World Cup’
The NSC said in press statement yesterday, that government did not in anyway interfere in the process that brought down the NFF board and thus it was wrong for FIFA to assume such.