Full Coverage: FIFA officials arrested in corruption case

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were each banned for eight years by the FIFA ethics committee on Monday in a stunning takedown of world soccer’s most powerful leaders.

The Department of Justice confirmed Thursday that CONCACAF President Alfredo Hawit of Honduras and CONMEBOL President Juan Angel Napout of Paraguay were among those arrested in the widening investigation into bribery and corruption within FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.

FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, was again rocked by a wave of pre-dawn arrests Thursday as Swiss authorities rounded up current and former senior officials on suspicion of racketeering, money laundering and fraud.

Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini, the man who had been favored to take over as FIFA leader, were suspended for 90 days Thursday, plunging soccer’s governing body deeper into crisis.

The Swiss attorney general’s decision to open a criminal investigation against FIFA President Sepp Blatter leaves little doubt the end days have arrived for Blatter’s 17-year reign atop soccer’s world governing body.

The Swiss attorney general’s decision to open a criminal investigation of long-standing FIFA President Sepp Blatter is the most damaging blow yet against world soccer’s ruling body, which has been reeling since May when the U.S.

Switzerland’s attorney general opened a criminal investigation against FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Friday, saying soccer’s most powerful official could be charged with “suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation” of funds.

It felt inevitable but still comes as a bit of a surprise: Swiss authorities announced they have started a criminal investigation into actions by Sepp Blatter, the embattled, and soon-to-be-former, head of FIFA, international soccer’s governing body.

The corruption scandal that has rocked FIFA for the last four months claimed its highest-ranking official Thursday when world soccer’s governing body announced that Secretary General Jerome Valcke has been suspended after it was revealed he was the focus of a potentially lucrative deal involving the sale of 2014 World Cup tickets.

FIFA and embattled President Sepp Blatter faced more pressure Monday as U.S.

Sepp Blatter decided not to run for re-election as a member of the International Olympic Committee on Monday, bringing his 16-year term with the IOC to a close.

A former top FIFA official pleaded not guilty to racketeering and bribery charges in federal court on Saturday.

One of FIFA’s largest sponsors is flexing its sponsorship muscles and requesting the world soccer governing body set up an independent commission to clean house at the scandal-ridden organization.

A top U.S. soccer official told lawmakers Wednesday that he had no direct knowledge of the purported bribery scandal that rocked the sport’s international governing body, FIFA, but acknowledged he felt moments of “discomfort” over what he saw.

A FIFA official arrested in Zurich during an early morning raid in May at the behest of the U.S.

FIFA ended the world soccer career of Chuck Blazer on Thursday, handing the American a lifetime ban for widespread corruption weeks after his admissions to racketeering and tax evasion were unsealed by U.S. federal agencies.

One of the seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich as part of a corruption probe has been extradited to the United States, the Swiss Justice Ministry said Thursday.

FIFA has issued a seven-year ban against the man it selected to inspect bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who is at the center of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation, said the risk of being arrested has prevented him from traveling outside Switzerland.

The United States has submitted a formal request for Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich as part of a corruption probe that has rocked soccer’s world governing body.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in a magazine interview that he is not corrupt and that he has a “clear conscience” despite corruption investigations into world soccer’s governing body.

Since announcing that he would resign earlier this month, FIFA President Sepp Blatter reportedly has been mulling over whether he should remain as the leader of soccer’s beleaguered governing body.

Authorities in Switzerland investigating FIFA’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests say Swiss banks have reported 53 possible money-laundering acts allegedly tied to soccer’s governing body.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter stunned the world with his decision to resign from the top post of the world soccer governing body earlier this month.

Chuck Blazer’s much-discussed role as an undercover informant for the investigation of FIFA by the U.S.

Government officials and top former players are calling for corruption investigations and reform of soccer in Brazil following the indictment of high-ranking FIFA officials including Jose Maria Marin, former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

Have you heard the one about the FIFA communications director who thought it was a good idea to tell a joke about the embattled world soccer governing body on a TV talk show?

FIFA handed over technical data to Swiss authorities investigating the bidding processes behind the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, multiple sources reported.

In a low, even voice, Jack Warner spoke of treachery and secrets.

Aside from scandals and federal indictments, working for FIFA seems like a pretty sweet gig if you’re interested in big paychecks.

On another day of turmoil for FIFA and the World Cup, the bidding contest for the 2026 tournament was put on hold.

An Argentine businessman who was indicted by U.S. authorities in connection to the FIFA corruption case turned himself in to Italian police on Tuesday.

John Oliver’s crusade against corruption at FIFA continued Tuesday night when he took over the airwaves of Trinidad’s TV6 network.

Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence since being indicted on racketeering, bribery, money laundering and fraud charges as part of an ongoing federal corruption investigation.

Add President Obama to the list of folks who are calling on FIFA to change its ways.

FIFA said in a statement Monday that it has “no legal grounds” to remove the 2018 and 2022 World Cup competitions from Russia and Qatar, despite widespread speculation that bribery led to the awarding of soccer’s biggest event to the regions back in 2010.

FIFA is staggering — and few people on TV are celebrating quite as much as John Oliver.

FIFA said Thursday that President Sepp Blatter has started work on what the organization calls “meaningful reform of the administration and structure of FIFA,” just days after Blatter’s announcement that he intends to step down from his post by the end of the year.

As South African law enforcement officials launched a preliminary investigation into allegations that the nation paid a $10-million bribe to secure its role as FIFA’s 2010 World Cup host, the meme of the day Thursday in South Africa was #DenyEverything.

The deepest World Cup field in women’s soccer history will kick off Saturday in Edmonton with pomp despite the circumstances.

Ireland may have missed out on the 2010 World Cup due to a bad call, but the Football Assn. of Ireland got something else from FIFA -- millions of dollars.

Chuck Blazer has been a focal point of the bribery scandal that has enveloped FIFA over the last week, leading to the resignation of the world soccer organization’s president, Sepp Blatter, on Tuesday.

Chuck Blazer was once one of the most powerful figures in world soccer, living a lavish life in two apartments in New York’s Trump Tower, hobnobbing with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Vladimir Putin.

Now that Sepp Blatter has announced he is stepping down as president of FIFA, the process of fixing world soccer’s governing body can finally begin.

Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, who last week was among the high-ranking officials named in a 47-count criminal indictment alleging bribery and racketeering, made a televised address in his native Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, saying he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and his nation’s elections in 2010, according to the Associated Press.

It was only four days ago the most powerful man in soccer stood before the cameras with a broad smile, seemingly unfazed by mounting allegations of corruption, saying: “Why would I step down?”

The FIFA corruption controversy has forced the most powerful man in soccer to relinquish his post and left several of the sport’s top officials indicted on bribery-related charges.

A day after announcing his decision to resign, Sepp Blatter was back at work at FIFA headquarters on Wednesday as the worst corruption crisis in the governing body’s 111-year history continued to unfold.

Russian officials are confident FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s resignation will not affect the country’s plans to host the 2018 World Cup.

Two years ago, Alexandra Wrage resigned from FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee in protest of what the anti-corruption expert believed were watered-down efforts to reform the organization.

After FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s surprise announcement Tuesday that he would resign after new elections to find his successor, we take a quick look at its impact on the soccer world.

U.S. Atty. Gen.

In last Friday’s vote for FIFA president, Sepp Blatter faced only one challenger: Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein.

Sepp Blatter, the top man at FIFA, has emerged as the leading target in a widening criminal scandal investigation underway by FBI agents and federal prosecutors in New York, federal law enforcement officials revealed Tuesday.

With his resignation Tuesday morning, Sepp Blatter will leave the organization he has led for almost 17 years.

Sepp Blatter’s stunning decision to step down Tuesday as the head of FIFA, world sport’s richest and most powerful organization, immediately led to two questions: Why now?

In the end, the emperor self-deposed.

A rundown of some of the notable events that led to Tuesday’s announcement that FIFA President Sepp Blatter will resign: December 2010: FIFA, soccer’s governing body, awards Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 World Cup.

Sepp Blatter’s decision to resign as FIFA president four days after winning election to a fifth term as head of world soccer’s governing body is sure to produce a pitched battle to pick a replacement.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s announcement that he would step down from his role as the most powerful man in soccer, reignited worldwide calls for reform from inside and outside of the organization which had become engulfed in scandal and a growing investigation.

FIFA is disputing a published report that federal authorities believe the secretary general of soccer’s governing body was behind $10 million in bank transactions that are at the center of allegations in international soccer’s bribery and corruption scandal.

FIFA sent out a surprising news release early Monday, saying that its secretary general, Jerome Valcke, would not be attending a women’s World Cup news conference Thursday in Vancouver, Canada, because he had to attend to matters at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

FIFA sent out a surprising news release early Monday, saying that its secretary general, Jerome Valcke, would not be attending a women’s World Cup news conference Thursday in Vancouver, Canada, because he had to attend to matters at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

In a testy session, FIFA President Sepp Blatter on Saturday faced the media for the first time since his organization was engulfed by a corruption scandal and fiercely defended his reputation.

If Sepp Blatter felt any apprehension about his reign atop the soccer world, it did not show in his smile.

Now that Sepp Blatter has been elected to a fifth term as FIFA president, the focus shifts to “What’s next?”

The presidency of FIFA remained up in the air after embattled President Sepp Blatter failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority in a first round of balloting Friday against Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.

Sepp Blatter’s days are numbered. And that number may not be a big one.

Many of the crimes FIFA officials and others were charged with in the 47-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in Brooklyn took place on U.S. soil and involved members of CONCACAF, the regional soccer body of which the U.S. is the largest and most powerful member.

In the spring of 2004, a frail, unwell Nelson Mandela ignored his doctor’s advice and flew halfway around the globe to meet with a prominent soccer official.

U.S.

South African Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Thursday vehemently denied allegations that South Africa bribed FIFA officials with $10 million to secure soccer’s World Cup in 2010, and accused the United States of going “beyond its borders” by indicting 14 people, including FIFA officials, on corruption charges.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted Thursday with trademark indifference to the bribery scandal plaguing the world soccer federation FIFA, denying any wrongdoing by Russia and accusing the United States of trying to wreck his country’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup.

A day after 18 individuals and two companies were named in connection with a wide-ranging corruption scandal that rocked world soccer, FIFA President Sepp Blatter vowed to help officials root out wrongdoing “from top to bottom” and regain the trust of fans worldwide.

European soccer fans reacted with a mix of satisfaction and world-weariness to the news Wednesday that top officials of FIFA, the world sport’s governing body, had been indicted on corruption charges.

The scandal that rocked international soccer Wednesday may have gotten its start four years ago in a conference room at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad, where officials attending a meeting of the Caribbean soccer union were handed envelopes containing $40,000 in cash.

Using multiple inside informants and sophisticated financial tracking techniques first developed for drug transactions, federal prosecutors in New York have presented a powerful indictment of top FIFA officials that may reach even higher into the world’s most popular sport.

Putting to rest mounting speculation, UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, will not boycott the FIFA congress meeting that begins Friday, where Sepp Blatter is up for reelection as president.

After a day of police raids and high-profile arrests that staggered the world of soccer, prosecutors in the U.S. and Switzerland said their probe into corruption at the sport’s highest levels had only begun.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United States is meddling in FIFA’s affairs in an attempt to take the 2018 World Cup away from his country.

That there is corruption at the top ranks of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, is about as shocking as Capt.

The Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed its 165-page indictment alleging widespread corruption of top officials in FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.

Fourteen people, including high-ranking officials of the soccer governing body FIFA, were charged Wednesday in a more than $150-million racketeering and fraud scheme that prosecutors said had corrupted the world’s most popular sport while lining defendants’ pockets with millions of dollars.

When Gareth Sweeney checked the flurry of text messages on his phone Wednesday morning, the editor of Transparency International’s Corruption in Sport Initiative couldn’t believe the news they brought.

FIFA has been routinely called “scandal-plagued” for much of Sepp Blatter’s 17-year presidential reign.

Fourteen people, including high-ranking officials from FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, were indicted Wednesday in what prosecutors say is a $150-million racketeering and fraud scheme.

Jack Warner, a former FIFA vice president who declared his innocence after being indicted on corruption charges, surrendered to authorities Wednesday, a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service spokeswoman confirmed.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who is running against incumbent Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency, says Wednesday’s arrests of top soccer officials underlines the need for new leadership within the organization.

Sepp Blatter was not among the 14 people who were indicted in New York on Wednesday on charges of corruption and bribery, but that doesn’t mean the longtime FIFA president is escaping scrutiny.

In an unprecedented move against a major sport organizing body, nine members of FIFA and five corporate executives tied to soccer’s governing body were indicted in New York early Wednesday on corruption charges, following a three-year FBI investigation.

Following the indictment of nine FIFA members and five corporate executives tied to soccer’s governing body on corruption charges Wednesday, Russia’s top sports official says the country has “nothing to hide” in regard to how it was awarded the 2018 World Cup.

The U.S.

Hours after nine FIFA members and five corporate executives tied to soccer’s governing body were indicted on corruption charges, FIFA announced it would not hold a re-vote on its 2018 and 2022 World Cup host nations.

Hours after the indictment of top officials of world soccer’s governing organization, Europe’s soccer body called for the postponement of Friday’s scheduled FIFA presidential election and is considering boycotting this week’s FIFA conference.