In much of the world, most of the world for all I know, use of bribery (or call it what you will) is the normal way of doing business. Gifts, inducements, rewards, bribes. All major european and american companies who sell abroad have slush funds.
Fifa's scale, reach and monopoly just magnifies it. And they are more shameless (and apparently less secretive) than most.
We don't like Blatter because he won't do what we want, and we can't control him.
Blatter has stepped down. When interviewed on the BBC Greg Dyke reckoned it had more to do with the FBI investigation than any change of heart, and Channel 4 News reported that it coincided with S. Africa's alleged bribe being traced to Blatter's deputy.
Quote:
Sepp Blatter says he will resign as president of football's governing body Fifa amid a corruption scandal.
In announcing his exit, the 79-year-old Swiss has called an extraordinary Fifa congress "as soon as possible" to elect a new president.
Blatter was re-elected last week, despite seven top Fifa officials being arrested two days before the vote as part of a US prosecution.
But he said: "My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody
Blatter, who has been Fifa president since 1998, said: "The next ordinary Fifa congress will take place on 13 May, 2016 in Mexico City.
"This would create unnecessary delay and I will urge the executive committee to organise an extraordinary congress for the election of my successor at the earliest opportunity.
"This will need to be done in line with Fifa's statutes and we must allow enough time for the best candidates to present themselves and to campaign."
The extraordinary congress is expected to take place between December 2015 and March 2016.
I think another factor which is relevant is that societies hold athletes up to a standard of conduct based upon their status as role models. FIFA has not simply been soliciting baksheesh--this is not giving the camel driver a few more pieces of silver to assure the camels don't run off in the nighttime. FIFA has been plundering wholesale a multi-billion dollar industry on a scale to make the ancient Caesars blush. In the United States, doing these things will at least lose you your place, if not actually send you to prison. Despite what idiots like Whackeye say, these laws and their application are neither unusual nor unreasonable. The FBI has simply applied to FIFA the same standard they apply to the NBA, MLB, NFL, the NHL, etc. As i've already mentioned, other nations have such laws, and law enforcement agencies as competent as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They just haven't done f***-all. This corruption and grafting aren't news to anyone who doesn't live in a cave.
Here is an interesting BBC Radio 2 conversation with Jeffery Robinson in the USA, where he explains some ins and outs, plus whys and wherefores of the FBI investigation.
I echo the sentiments of this thread title, and take my hat off to the no nonsense FBI.
This will mushroom into a fully blown investigation involving highly organised crime, which will make the Mafia stuff seem like peanuts. It will also range right across the world, and involve highly influential men from many, many countries. The FBI is the only organisation big enough and specialised enough to see through such an endeavour.
My only hope now is that Fraud Squads from as many countries as possible now assist the FBI in any way they can, and open up all files, sharing evidence and leads wherever possible.
Personally I would love to see a queue of these corrupt FIFA bastards going off to jail.
Fifa has been corrupt since votes were bought in order to oust Stanley Rous in 1974. Close the whole organisation and open up all the files, and then somehow start again.
The FBI are well known for being humorless bastards who will not be swayed off course. Exactly what is needed at this moment in time.
great line on the BBC's Friday Night Comedy Podcast, one of the panellists commented that Sepp Blatter sounded like a German urinary tract infection
0 Replies
Lordyaswas
1
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Tue 2 Jun, 2015 03:00 pm
Blatter should not be underestimated. He is an expert at manipulation, and has been doing this stuff brilliantly for years.
He has now basically given himself about a year in office to make sure that everything with his name on it is shredded and that his successor is quietly chosen behind doors, and groomed sufficiently so that any future investigation will be swayed away from Blatter.
Whether he is successful in this has yet to be seen, and it may be that his house of cards has indeed collapsed, but until they have something concrete against this slipperyist of eels, I will not take it for granted that justice will ever catch up with him.
If slipperyist is not a word, I think it should be voted in immediately.
"Mr Blatter had woken up to the news that the New York Times had uncovered evidence that his deputy, Jerome Valcke, was the man behind a $10m bank transfer from Fifa accounts to accounts controlled by Jack Warner, a former Fifa vice-president now accused of taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa to win the right to host the 2010 World Cup.
Fifa issued a strong denial of Mr Valcke's involvement, saying the official involved was in fact Julio Grondona, an Argentinian official who died last year.
Just an hour later a leaked letter to Mr Valcke from the South African FA was published online which appeared to show that Fifa had lied.
Senior football sources speculated last night that the speed with which the letter had been published may have unnerved Mr Blatter because is suggested that a cache of Fifa's internal documents had been accessed by someone who was leaking them to the media.
Swiss investigators are known to have gained access to electronic data and documents from Fifa's head office in Zurich, which they have made available to the FBI, an organisation that made clear that last week's arrests were only the beginning...."
"Some of the seven Fifa figures arrested last week had started to turn on Mr Blatter, including Trinidadian Mr Warner, who openly asked why Mr Blatter had not also been arrested.>
He said: "How come he is not charged? Why only persons from Third World countries have been charged?"...."
The FBI are well known for being humorless bastards who will not be swayed off course. Exactly what is needed at this moment in time.
Well done
Having had the pleasure of assisting in a few joint task forces, not only are they humorless bastards, they also don't like to share with the intel community. I think I get it though, they build cases for prosecution, my unit's job was intel
gathering. But they are relentless, I admired their drive.
0 Replies
motorace
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Tue 2 Jun, 2015 11:49 pm
@Kolyo,
OK, in gunga's absence, I'll take a shot...
I'm sure the FBI got this one right, but if you know anything about the murder of Vince Foster, you'll never fully trust the FBI again...
Really Dude, I didn't realize he isn't here so now you want to bring up mr happy. Sheeesh.
0 Replies
izzythepush
0
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Wed 3 Jun, 2015 01:45 am
@motorace,
Can we keep this about football please. Gunga's upset because Russia's bid for the World Cup is under scrutiny. And we really don't need his paranoid nonsense.
If you want to talk about Vince Foster start another thread.
0 Replies
Ionus
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Wed 3 Jun, 2015 02:43 am
Do you lot really think by invoking his name he will overwhelm this thread ? I thought you didn't believe in Gods ?
0 Replies
McTag
1
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Wed 3 Jun, 2015 03:10 am
@Lordyaswas,
"When thieves fall out...."
0 Replies
lmur
1
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Wed 3 Jun, 2015 04:49 am
@engineer,
Well, just as long as it's about regime change....
0 Replies
Lordyaswas
1
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Wed 3 Jun, 2015 04:59 am
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
There are calls for Dick Pound (who cleaned up the Olympics) to be brought in asap to turn FIFA upside down.
Dick Pound?
Down by Southampton Docks, that used to cost me a quid back in 1973.
