Tag Archives: bribery

Mohamed Bin Hammam has lifetime ban from FIFA annulled

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Embarrassment for FIFA as Bin Hammam has lifetime ban overturned by CAS

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UPDATED:

09:52 GMT, 19 July 2012

Mohamed Bin Hammam has had his lifetime FIFA ban annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Fantasy football 2012

The ruling by CAS will cause huge embarrassment to FIFA, whose ethics committee imposed the lifetime ban for bribery one year ago.

It is understood that while the Qatari has not been proven innocent by CAS the appeal has been upheld on the grounds of a lack of evidence.

FIFA can bring fresh proceedings against Bin Hammam if the revamped ethics committee has any new evidence.

Overturned: Mohamed bin Hammam has his ban annulled

Overturned: Mohamed bin Hammam has his ban annulled

Bin Hammam was found guilty by FIFA's ethics committee last year of paying bribes to Caribbean officials while campaigning against Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency.

Bin Hammam had been president of the Asian Football Confederation and he was provisionally suspended by that governing body earlier this week.

That followed an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers that centred on contract negotiations and payments to and from AFC bank accounts during Bin Hammam's presidency.

He was alleged to have breached a number of AFC regulations including relating to gifts and bribery. Sources close to Bin Hammam say the allegations are further attempts to tarnish his name.

Bin Hammam always claimed the FIFA action against him was retribution for having challenged Blatter for the presidency.

Election: Bin Hammam stood against Sepp Blatter

Election: Bin Hammam stood against Sepp Blatter

It is almost a year to the day since FIFA's ethics committee found 63-year-old Bin Hammam guilty of conspiring to pay bribes and issued the lifetime ban.

Bin Hammam had been a growing force in international football and displayed his power by being influential in Qatar's runaway victory in the contest to host the 2022 World Cup.

Some observers had believed he was on course to defeat Blatter until, less than a month before the election, he was accused of paying around 1million US dollars to officials from 25 Caribbean nations.

Witnesses testified that after being addressed by Bin Hammam at a specially-arranged meeting in Trinidad, officials were invited to pick up cash gifts of 40,000 US dollars per association contained in brown envelopes.

The witnesses stated that former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner had told officials the money had come from Bin Hammam. Warner resigned from FIFA a month later and refused to speak to investigators.

David Bernstein opposed to Sepp Blatter running for fifth term as FIFA president

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FA chief Bernstein opposed to Blatter running for fifth term

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UPDATED:

17:25 GMT, 17 July 2012

Football Association chairman David Bernstein insisted he would be against an attempt by Sepp Blatter to extend his reign as FIFA president.

Blatter's fourth term of office ends in 2015 but despite stipulating in 2011 he would not run for president again, he has suggested he may seek re-election once more.

The 76-year-old Swiss is currently the focus of a bribery investigation and has been advised to resign by German Football League president Dr Reinhard Rauball.

New term: Blatter could stand for re-election at the end of his current term

New deal: Blatter could stand for re-election at the end of his current term

Remarks made by Blatter at the weekend appeared to insinuate that Germany had only gained the 2006 World Cup due to malpractice – a suggestion which was angrily denied by Franz Beckenbauer, the head of the organising committee for that tournament.

'I would not support that (Blatter seeking re-election), but I'm not going to call for resignations,' said Bernstein, speaking before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's football governance follow-up.

'I stood up strongly last year in terms of the election itself and of proper governance and I think that's probably helped because I get a real feel of change and reform is taking place within FIFA.

'I'm genuinely encouraged with what I've seen over the past year. There's a real desire and understanding that change has to take place.'

Sepp Blatter "powerless" to act over FIFA bribery scandal

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I can't do anything! Blatter 'powerless' to act over FIFA bribery scandal

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UPDATED:

18:27 GMT, 12 July 2012

Defence: FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Defence: FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Sepp Blatter has claimed he does not
have the power to strip Joao Havelange of FIFA's honorary presidency and
defended the world governing body's lack of action over the ISL bribery
scandal.

Havelange, the 96-year-old former
FIFA president, and his former son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira were named in
court documents as having received millions of pounds in
bribes from collapsed marketing company ISL during the 1990s.

Blatter said that such payments were not illegal at the time – under Swiss law – and could not be judged by today's standards.

Asked to respond to having known
about the backhanders, Blatter said on www.fifa.com: 'Known what That
commission was paid Back then, such payments could even be deducted
from tax as a business expense. Today, that would be punishable under
law.

'You can't judge the past on the
basis of today's standards. Otherwise it would end up with moral
justice. I can't have known about an offence that wasn't even one.”
Blatter did confirm he was the person referred to in the court documents
as P1 – the report states that the finding FIFA and P1 knew of the
payments was “not questioned”.'

He added, however, that it was not up to him to remove Havelange from his honorary post.

'I don't have the power to call him to account,' said Blatter. 'The Congress named him as Honorary President. Only the Congress can decide his future.'

Blatter said the ISL case had led him to establish an ethics committee and the ongoing reform process.

He added: 'That is why we have started to strengthen our control
mechanisms: to prevent something like this happening in the future.

'The ethics committee, which was created in 2006 on my initiative, is a
direct result of the ISL case. The reform process is moving exactly in
this direction.

Accused: Joao Havelange

Accused: Joao Havelange

'To strengthen FIFA's judicial system, some important steps have already been taken with the introduction of a two-chamber system – an adjudicatory body and an investigatory body. The executive committee will appoint the chairmen of these two chambers next week.'

Neither Havelange nor former executive committee member Teixeira ever faced disciplinary action from FIFA.

Instead, the world governing body also agreed to pay a Swiss court 2.5million Swiss francs (1.64m) in compensation – but only on the condition that criminal proceedings against Havelange and Teixeira were dropped.

The court report states Havelange was paid at least CHF1.5m (1m), Teixeira at least CHF12.74m (8.37m) and the pair may have received as much as CHF21.9m (14.4m).

The two men have dominated Brazilian football between them for the last 50 years. Teixeira only stepped down earlier this year from FIFA's executive committee and as head of Brazil's 2014 World Cup organising committee after it became apparent the report would be published.

Havelange resigned from the International Olympic Committee in December after 48 years just days before he was due to be sanctioned following their own investigation into the ISL case.

Sepp Blatter: Politicians hit out at FIFA chief over handling of bribery case

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Politicians hit out at FIFA chief Blatter over handling of ISL bribery case

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UPDATED:

22:03 GMT, 23 April 2012

FIFA have been embarrassed on the eve of the Olympic football draw at Wembley with president Sepp Blatter being severely criticised by European politicians for the way he runs the tarnished organisation.

A Council of Europe report was damning of the role of Blatter in sweeping the ISL bribery case under the carpet although the FIFA leader was not directly involved in the scandal.

The testimony of Swiss prosecuting magistrate Thomas Hildbrand says one former FIFA executive commitee member – understood to be Brazil's Ricardo Teixeira – received more than 8.5million in backhanders from FIFA's now-defunct marketing company, ISL.

In the firing line: Blatter has come under attack from politicians

In the firing line: Blatter has come under attack from politicians

The report by French national assembly member Francois Rochebloine states it is 'difficult to imagine' Blatter would not have known about the significant funds paid to certain officials and it was 'extraordinary' he did nothing to make all the information public.

Hildbrand's testimony said the 'commission payments' were made to ensure the FIFA officials influenced where TV contracts were awarded. FIFA made no comment.

World Cup stars raid Trinidad and Tobago FA and seize assets after unpaid fees

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Former World Cup stars raid Trinidad and Tobago FA and seize assets after unpaid fees

Former Trinidad internationals accompanied 15 policeman to seize assets from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) after the association failed to pay a court settlement for cash owed from the 2006 World Cup.

Some 13 players, including Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones and Arbroath's Collin Samuel plus former Premier League players Shaka Hislop and Stern John, are owed a share of 724,000 US dollars.

The TTFF's failure to pay up saw their headquarters raided and two truckloads of assets taken away for auction including computers, desks, refrigerators, microwaves, uniforms, and beer crates.

Owed: Kenwyne Jones is one of the players who played in the World Cup in 2006 and is owed money

Owed: Kenwyne Jones is one of the players who played in the World Cup in 2006 and is owed money

The players were promised half of all revenue from Trinidad's appearance in the 2006 World Cup finals – where they played England, Sweden and Paraguay – by ex-FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, the TTFF's former special advisor who resigned from football last year after a bribery scandal.

Warner later offered the Soca Warriors 880 US dollars each and they reacted by taking the TTFF to court.

Show us the money: Members of the Trinidad and Tobago team warm up prior to a match in the 2006 World Cup

Show us the money: Members of the Trinidad and Tobago team warm up prior to a match in the 2006 World Cup

Brent Sancho, the former Dundee and Gillingham player, was among those who accompanied a court official and the policemen.

Sancho told www.wired868.com: 'This is extremely sad day for football and Trinidad and Tobago sport.

'Just a few of years ago, we were in the World Cup and today we are here doing this, but we feel we had no other choice. They had every opportunity to pay this money.'

Jack Warner: I was bribed by Sepp Blatter

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Blatter under fire as Warner finally reveals bribery claims against FIFA president

Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner claims he was awarded World Cup television rights for as little as one dollar in return for helping Sepp Blatter win elections for the presidency of world football”s ruling body.

Warner, who resigned from FIFA in June amid bribery allegations, released a statement which accused the organisation of awarding him the 1998 World Cup rights in his native Trinidad & Tobago for the nominal fee after he helped Blatter win a “brutal” campaign to become FIFA president.

A former president of regional body CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union, Warner also said he was sold the rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups after helping Blatter get re-elected in 2002, and later bought the 2010 and 2014 rights.

Teaming up: Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner (right) has finally released his

Teaming up: Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner (right) has finally released his “tsunami” of allegations against his former employers

The accusations are the latest twist to a saga of corruption accusations and infighting which has dogged FIFA throughout 2011.

Asked about Warner”s claims, FIFA said: “We are currently looking into the matter.”

Once a Blatter ally, Warner switched his allegiance to Qatar”s Mohammed bin Hammam during FIFA”s presidential election earlier this year. After being suspended in May, Warner had threatened to unleash a “tsunami” of corruption allegations against the organisation.

On Thursday, Warner said that he and Bin Hammam, a former Asian Football Confederation president, had played “extremely critical roles in [Blatter"s] re-election [in 2002] as well as in preventing several members of the then Executive Committee from instituting criminal charges against him.”

Lurking in the background: Warner has attacked president Sepp Blatter

Lurking in the background: Warner has attacked president Sepp Blatter

Warner did not give details of the possible charges.

TV rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups were “again sold to me personally, however using the CFU as the vehicle,” Warner said, adding that they were subsequently resold.

He said the profits, as with previous rights earnings, were used to fund football activities in the Caribbean.

Warner”s decision to quit FIFA meant that he avoided an investigation of his alleged role in arranging payments for Caribbean voters during Bin Hammam”s presidential campaign – a bribery scandal which subsequently led to a life ban from football for the Qatari challenger.

Bin Hammam withdrew his bid after the scandal emerged in May.

In his statement, Warner claimed FIFA had vainly made him further lucrative offers if he would support Blatter, rather than bin Hammam, in the election.

“In 2011, in exchange for my support (and by extension the support of the CFU and the CONCACAF) in the FIFA presidential election, the FIFA again offered me the sale of the World Cup Rights for 2018 and 2022 as a “gift” at a nominal fee,” Warner said.

FIFA also agreed to give CONCACAF a combined total of $1million (650,000) for two football development projects, Warner claimed.

“Notwithstanding the inducements offered, I … refused to endorse Sepp Blatter for the 2011 FIFA Presidential election…”, the statement added.

According to Warner, a 28-year veteran of FIFA”s executive committee, there are more revelations to come.

Allegations: Warner

Allegations: Warner”s claims centre on the television rights for the 2002 World Cup

He said that he would make further disclosures next week, including, “why I could not support Sepp Blatter”s re-election”, and “why Caribbean football will never be for sale”.

The bribery scandal involving Warner and bin Hammam was sparked when whistleblowers from four Caribbean countries reported that cash was offered during Bin Hammam”s visit to Trinidad in May ahead of the FIFA vote for the presidency.

A video of Warner urging Caribbean football leaders to accept their cash gifts was leaked and published on the website of the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Bin Hammam is appealing against his FIFA ban and is awaiting a date for a hearing from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.