FIFA’s credibility has been dealt a crushing blow, but at the moment, it’s still standing.
Swiss police on Wednesday morning arrested several FIFA officials for charges involving what attorney general Lorretta E. Lynch described as “at least two generations” of “rampant, deep-rooted and systemic” corruption in international soccer’s governing body.
The indictment did not charge FIFA president Sepp Blatter but cited other officials in taking bribes linked to commercial deals for soccer tournaments in the United States and Latin America.
FIFA responded to the charges in a statement Wednesday, saying it is “fully cooperating as an injured party” in the proceedings.
“FIFA welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in football,” the statement read. “We understand that (Wednesday’s)Â actions by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice on behalf of the U.S. authorities and the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (initiated by FIFA through the submission of the file on the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process) relate to different matters.”
“… (Wednesday), the Swiss Office of the Attorney General announced that it has opened criminal proceedings against persons unknown in relation to the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process. FIFA is fully cooperating with the investigation and is supporting the collection of evidence in this regard. As noted by the Swiss authorities, this collection of evidence is being carried out on a cooperative basis.
“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.”
Thumbnail photo via Michael Probst/Associated Press
