High-Profile Arrests in Zurich; What Charges Do FIFA Officials Face?

On the eve of FIFA elections, Switzerland has arrested a number of prominent football officials gathered in Zurich at the request of the FBI. Sepp Blatter, who has a strong chance of being re-elected as FIFA president, is not among those arrested, but he has had close ties with many of the accused during his forty years at FIFA. Among Blatter's associates is Leoz from Paraguay, who was the president of the South American Confederation. Jack Warner, a Trinidadian politician and businessman, also served as the president of the CONCACAF for eleven years. Jeffrey Webb, president of the North American Confederation, and Figueredo, president of the Uruguayan Football Federation, are among the most notable individuals who have been arrested. Both are currently FIFA vice-presidents, and news of their imminent extradition to the U.S. for trial has been reported. According to Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney General, widespread and systematic financial corruption among some football officials worldwide has been established over the past two decades. The amount of misconduct is estimated to exceed one hundred million dollars, involving money laundering, fraud, bribery, and illegal activities in advertising and broadcasting rights. Eduardo Li, president of the Costa Rican Federation, Julio Rocha, FIFA development officer, Rafael Esquivel, president of the Venezuelan Federation, and José María Marín, former president of the Brazilian Federation, have also been arrested. International media have reported that the arrests will continue in the coming days. The high-profile arrests in Zurich have cast uncertainty over the FIFA Congress and upcoming elections. Football enthusiasts worldwide and critical sports media have always demanded a decisive fight against the roots of corruption in global football, a corruption that has even extended to altering game results. The FBI acted after the controversial awarding of the next two World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar and had interrogated several responsible individuals. In the new round of interrogations, the Russian Minister of Sports and football officials from various parts of the world who played a role in the voting for the World Cup host must also answer police questions. Sepp Blatter, who is approaching 80 years old, is expected to announce his candidacy for the fifth time on Friday. Prince Ali Hussein of Jordan is his rival. Michel van Praag from the Netherlands and Luis Figo, the former world football star from Portugal, have withdrawn their candidacies for the FIFA presidency. Figo stated to reporters regarding his withdrawal: 'The FIFA voting method is not democratic; I have seen events around the world that should be a source of shame for clean football fans. At the CONCACAF meeting, federation presidents who compared FIFA officials to devils, when they went on stage, compared them to Christ!'