Fifa wants to reclaim "tens of
millions of dollars" taken illegally by its members and other organisations.
It also says corrupt officials who served
on its former executive committee were guilty of selling their votes in World
Cup bidding contests.
Former
officials Chuck Blazer, Jack Warner and Jeffrey Webb are among those being sued
by Fifa, which has submitted documents to US authorities.
In
total, 41 individuals and entities have been charged in the States.
Fifa
estimates millions of dollars were diverted from the sport illegally through
bribery, kickbacks and corrupt schemes carried out by the defendants.
World
football's governing body has been in turmoil since May 2015, when a US
investigation exposed widespread corruption at the top of the organisation.
Now
it is attempting to fight back, describing itself as a "victimised
institution".
New
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, elected in February, also claimed corrupt
officials had "abused positions of trust".
He
added: "They caused serious and lasting damage to Fifa, its member
associations and the football community.
"The
monies they pocketed belonged to global football and were meant for the
development and promotion of the game.
"Fifa
as the world governing body of football wants that money back and we are
determined to get it no matter how long it takes."
Once
the money had been recovered, Infantino said it would be directed back to its
original purpose of benefitting and developing international football.
He
added: "These dollars were meant to build football fields, not mansions
and pools; to buy football kits, not jewellery and cars; and to fund youth
player and coach development, not to underwrite lavish lifestyles for football
and sports marketing executives."
Infantino,
45, was elected as Fifa chief last month, replacing SeppBlatter, who had been
in charge of the governing body since 1998.
Many
critics will see this as Fifa effectively suing itself - a convenient and
cynical act of hypocrisy, given the organisation's close historical links with
the defendants it is now taking action against.
But
it should come as no surprise. Fifa's survival depends on it retaining the
victim status afforded it by the US Department of Justice and this helps
reinforce the narrative that it was the injured party in football's corruption
scandal, rather than the perpetrator.
With
millions of dollars being spent each month on lawyers to clean up the scandal,
as well as the loss of key sponsors, Fifa could do with the money.
Significantly,
it publicly accepts for the first time that some members of its executive
committee regularly sold their votes and that South Africa's $10m payment to
Warner and Blazer was indeed a bribe for the 2010 World Cup. Strangely,
there is no mention of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, even though both Warner and
Blazer were part of that controversial vote too.
It
is hard to imagine such an admission while Blatter was still in charge of Fifa,
and Infantino will hope it helps him demonstrate that football's governing body
has finally turned a corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment