Six FIFA Executive Committee Members Accused Of Corruption In World Cup Voting

The corruption charges just keep on coming in FIFA. President Sepp Blatter has been the center of a world of controversy surrounding the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and he has vowed to clean up FIFA in his run for yet another term as the organization’s President. If new reports from the Sunday Times in England and the Associated Press have any truth to them, Blatter has a great deal to work to do, as six FIFA Executive Committee members are now accused of wrongdoing during the World Cup bidding process.

According to evidence submitted to the British Parliament by the Sunday Times, Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of the Ivory Coast were allegedly paid $1.5 million in bribes to vote for Qatar to win the bid for the 2022 World Cup. Additionally, members of the England 2018 bid have described Nicolas Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira, Worawi Makudi, and last but not least, Jack Warner as “improper and unethical.”

Hearing Warner, who just won another unopposed term as CONCACAF’s President, described as improper and unethical will be of no surprise to soccer fans in North America. Warner and the Football Association of Trinidad and Tobago did not pay that country’s players wages that they were promised for the 2006 World Cup, and Warner was also busted for selling tickets he was allocated by FIFA for his own personal profit. Despite these transgressions, Warner continues to hold his position as CONCACAF President and FIFA Executive Committee member.

These six executive committee members don’t include the two members who have already been reprimanded after being caught for corruption, Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti. They were caught for their crimes in October, also busted by an investigation by the Sunday Times.

As a result of these developments, the British government has called on FIFA to adopt new policies to root out corruption, similar to the International Olympic Committee.