A six-year investigation uncovered allegations of fraud and corruption in the running of the FIFA executive. The two men are now under trial and could be banned from soccer for life. Platini has denied wrongdoing and said he had a verbal agreement with Blatter. But FIFA is not investigating the two men in detail. They continue to claim they did nothing wrong. However, the Swiss office of the Attorney General has made it clear that Blatter is not being questioned.
Many FIFA officials were implicated in the collapse of their marketing partner, but they were later acquitted. As a result, Blatter was re-elected as president in 2002. He was re-elected again in 2007 and again in 2011. A few days before the elections in 2011, allegations surfaced that he had bribed a South African official in the bid process for the World Cup.
In 2015, Blatter ran for re-election and won. He is currently serving a six-year ban from football activities. Accusations triggered the scandal that he sold the CFU television rights for less than market value. Those charges have led to a worldwide boycott of the football executive. And there’s still more to come. In 2016, FIFA banned Platini from all activities until his resignation as president.
Meanwhile, in the meantime, Blatter is facing two separate criminal cases. In the first case, he’s accused of orchestrating a $1 million payment to Trinidad and Tobago during the World Cup bidding process in 2010. This case was later extended by six years due to allegations of corruption in allocating broadcast rights for soccer in the Western Hemisphere. This scandal has forced FIFA to suspend the former president for life.
The case has impacted the World Cup. While the United States is a member of the World Cup, it does not have any say in selecting the next president of the association. The US attorney general’s office says he has “no knowledge” of the case. He’s not aware of its implications, but the US does. As a result, FIFA has had to suspend Platini’s presidency.
After being forced to resign, Blatter has been investigated for several crimes involving money and corruption. He has been accused of bribery, extortion, and illegal campaigning. In addition to the scandal, other FIFA officials have been jailed, including its president and the governing body’s legal counsel. These charges were dropped during the FIFA investigation, and the investigation was closed. However, the Office of the Attorney General has not yet disclosed the compensation of its acting president. The charges against the FIFA executives include fraud and mismanagement. The prosecution against the few men is still ongoing. This is a massive development in soccer, which is causing the world to see corruption in all its forms.
