FIFA scandal

FIFA SCANDAL

FIFA’S RED CARD ROBIN SINGH OUTLINES THE SCANDAL THAT ROCKED THE SPORTING WORLD, AND SUGGESTS HOW WE CAN EXPECT FAIR PLAY

The FIFA

controversy that unfolded after the 2014 World Cup shocked the soccer world and the entire sports community around the world. Evidence of large scale corruption, racketeering and mismanagement for many decades is now slowly coming to light. What is the FIFA fiasco all about? What are the charges against FIFA officials?

Where does the case stand as of 2015? Here, we try to give you some insight into some insight into how the sheer scale of corruption within FIFA made the international press and shocked sports fans globally.

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WHAT IS FIFA? FIFA is the acronym for the International Federation of Association Football or Fédération Internationale de Football Association. It is a governing body for sports like soccer, beach soccer and futsal at the international level. The federation is also responsible for organising the World Cup every four years, along with all major international events related to these sports.

FIFA came into existence back in 1904 to oversee the soccer events in the European Union and only became a major

FIFA SCANDAL

international body in the 1970s. It does not govern the rules of football, but is responsible for organising international events, advertising them and promoting the sport and sporting events.

BACKGROUND OF THE FIFA CASE According to the indictment, it is alleged that high ranking FIFA officials and their co-conspirators engaged in a range of criminal activities like fraud, money laundering and bribery between 1991 and 2015. FIFA officials formed secret alliances with corrupt sports marketing executives for personal gains during their time in office. Through these alliances, they agreed to block out competitors of various companies that allied with them and allegedly made over $150 million in kickbacks and bribes as a result of the actions of corrupt officials.

The defendants and co-conspirators have been charged with commercialisation of marketing and media rights associated with international soccer events, which include a number of tournaments and matches held in the South American region in association with Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) and Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF). FIFA officials and other defendants in the case are also charged with accepting and paying bribes, rigging FIFA

presidential elections and influencing the decision of the 2010 FIFA World Cup destination, among other charges.

CONCACAF is a football association for countries in the Caribbean, South and North America, centred in North America. CONMEBOL is a football association for countries in South America, while CBF is the main football association for Brazil. These associations work in partnership with FIFA to organise and participate in soccer World Cup tournaments around the world.

The United States is using The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and its anti-fraud laws to charge, indict and investigate officials, executives and companies involved in the FIFA fiasco. FCPA was passed in 1977 as a federal law to deal with corruption by national and international organisations that have used companies or individuals based in the United States to carry out the corrupt act. It is a law against bribery, corruption and fraudulent practices carried out on United States soil or elsewhere using United States resources.

WHAT IS RICO? How can RICO law help US indict organisations outside US? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act was passed in 1970 and has since been made into a federal law in the United States. It was written and made a law to tackle the mafia in the country, to help combat and convict organised criminal enterprises. RICO cont. overleaf

FIFA OFFICIALS FORMED SECRET ALLIANCES WITH CORRUPT SPORTS MARKETING EXECUTIVES FOR PERSONAL GAINS DURING THEIR TIME IN OFFICE

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FIFA SCANDAL cont. from page 49

allowed prosecutors to take crime bosses to trial for illegal activities performed by anyone associated with the group, instead of only convicting lower ranked operatives from the syndicates.

Under this law, the defendants may not necessarily need to be in the United States. They can be charged, indicted and tried as long as they have had any contact with United States citizens for their activities, have made transactions with banks or other financial institutions in the country, or have conducted business with people or organisations in the United States.

The procedure that is generally followed for trial under RICO for foreign nationals is that they are first investigated and indicted, after which a request is put in for their extradition to the United States. As there is a charge already in place and the defendants are indicted, it becomes easier to extradite them to the United States from their country of residence anywhere in the world.

In the case of FIFA, however, it is only officials and executives from the federation who have been indicted and not the organisation itself, since it is not classified as a mafia or criminal organisation currently.

CORRUPTION AND FCPA CHARGES Corruption charges form a big part of the indictment in the FIFA case. Some of the corruption charges on FIFA officials and other co-conspirators in the case: w Alleged bribery amounting to over $150 million for broadcast rights of tournaments and matches; w Alleged bribery in the process of finalising venues for 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments; w Alleged bribes taken in exchange for awarding the World Cup to France 1998 and to South African in 2010; w Alleged kickbacks from commercial deals for broadcasting and blocking out competitors of sponsoring brands.

The investigations are looking into current and former officials and executives of FIFA, who may have been involved in corruption and other wrongdoings that have come to light.

FCPA has not currently been applied to any of the defendants or co-conspirators, although it may be in the works. FCPA is a federal law that addresses bribery and corruption involving foreign officials. This law is applicable to both individuals and enterprises. If a United States company is convicted for corruption or if anyone among the defendants or co-conspirators is found to have a direct link to the United States, then the FCPA could be applied to them in the case.

As of now, Nike is one of the companies based out of the United States whose executives are alleged to be involved in the FIFA fiasco. So the USA is using that company to establish their jurisdiction.

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THERE IS, UNFORTUNATELY, NO SINGLE SOLUTION THAT CAN REDUCE OR COMPLETELY CURB CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY IN THE SPORTS ARENA

THE QATAR ANGLE The case got messier when the Qatar angle came into play.

There were a number of inconsistencies with the World Cup 2022 being awarded to the country. Contradicting former World Cup venues, the Qatar team had never played in a FIFA final nor had it won any major soccer tournaments. Documentaries on YouTube and news articles mention that the concern was the soaring temperatures in the country being completely unsuitable for a World Cup or playing any kind of outdoor sport, with temperatures breaching the 50 degree Celsius mark frequently.

What is the only other thing that can solve similar issues in the sports arena? There is, unfortunately, no single solution that can reduce or completely curb corruption and bribery in the sports arena. The network of sports associations, companies and individuals is too widespread for a single country or organisation to tackle it. Instead, there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to the problem, similar to the one planned by Interpol for its Integrity in Sports programme.

A few solutions suggested for curbing corruption are: w Coordination between the various individuals and enterprises involved in the planning and organisation of international tournaments and games; w Partnerships between organisers, sponsors, betting organisations, law makers and other entities that can ensure integrity and honesty; w Proactive steps in curbing corruption as and when it comes to light; w Prevention of corruption by having tougher laws and stricter implementation, irrespective of the entities involved; w The implementation of a full-fledged compliance/antifraud programme.

Only when the various entities involved in the planning and implementation of major events around the world are well coordinated and informed can there be better governance and a greater chance of keeping sports clean and free of corruption.