German newspaper article about Sepp Blatter

The Long Arm of Sepp Blatter

 

FIFA Expenses document showing payments to Leoz (highlighted)

The ISL kickbacks that went to Nicolas Leoz

 

Photo of Swiss lawyer Guido Renggli

Attorney Guido Renggli: Blatter met him in Paris

 

Photo of Leoz - Blatter & Teixeira

Get your hands off!
Nicolas Leoz, Blatter and Ricardo Teixeira

 

Image of newspaper article about a bribe for Joao Havelange

Early version of Havelange bribe story,
December 2005

 

 

 

 

The things they say...

‘Neither FIFA nor its President have anything to hide, nor do they wish to.’

Blatter press release, 28 January, 2003

BBC Panorama Reporter Andy Davies:

‘A one million franc bribe … is it not correct that Mr Blatter asked that it be moved to the FIFA official who was named on the payment slip?’

FIFA Director of Communications Markus Siegler:

‘If you do not stop now, then we call the security and we put you out.’

FIFA Press conference, Zurich, Tuesday, 11 April 2006

‘I am deputy chairman of the finance committee of FIFA. I oversee a budget of US$2 billion and I have never seen one iota of corruption.’

Jack Warner, Trinidad Express 12 December 2004

‘Lying and deception and bad faith are standard operating procedure at FIFA.’

Adam C. Silverstein, a lawyer for MasterCard in their successful action against FIFA, New York, December 1, 2006

‘I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at that level (Argentine Premier League) because it’s hard work and, you know, Jews don’t like hard work.’

FIFA senior vice-president and chair of Finance Committee, Julio Grondona, 5 July 2003. Buenos Aires

‘FIFA is a healthy, clean and transparent organisation with nothing to hide. There is huge public interest in FIFA, therefore we have to be as transparent as possible. We will try to communicate in a more open way so the world can believe us and be proud of their federation.’

FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, January 2003, on fifa.com

 

The Reporters Toolbox: A guide to writing about FIFA.

Reasons why Sepp Blatter dare not sue . . . and the list keeps growing.

In recent years FIFA president Sepp Blatter has threatened to drag reporters, authors and filmmakers through the courts. He says their corruption allegations are untruthful, libellous and defamatory and will be punished. He throws FIFA’s money at Switzerland’s highest-price lawyers.

 

But Blatter’s threats are bluff. He never sues.

 

Why?

 

Because if he went to court he’d have to face tough questions about corruption at FIFA.

 

If he failed to answer, he would suffer the humiliation of losing. And if he lied, he could be charged with criminal perjury and go to jail.

 

Blatter was shocked by the probing questions he had to endure when deposed on oath by MasterCard’s lawyers in the 2006 case that cost FIFA $90 million to settle. He would never risk such an ordeal again.

 

 

 

 

 

The Questions Blatter most fears

 

 

# Why did you mislead criminal investigators from Zug, probing the collapse of the ISL company and the kickbacks to FIFA officials?

 

 

 

# The Zug judges ordered you to pay a £57,000 penalty to the court. What have you done to deserve this punishment?

 

 

 

# FIFA Executive Committee member Nicolas Leoz was named in court in Zug in March 2008 for taking bribes from ISL. Why has Leoz not been expelled from the committee and from world football?

 

 

 

# In June 1998 you met in Paris with Swiss lawyer Guido Renggli – the man who supervised the payment of nearly 6 million Swiss Francs in cash bribes from the Sicuretta account to unnamed sports officials. What did you say to him? Was it ‘Thank you’?

 

 

 

# It has been reported in Switzerland that one of the companies used to launder bribes from ISL is owned by Executive Committee member Ricardo Teixeira. Have you investigated?

 

 

 

# A lawyer for one of the ISL defendants told the Zug court in April 2008 that certain FIFA officials had used ISL as ‘their own private bank.’ Apart from the bribes, what other financial demands were made on ISL? Who else were they asked to pay off?

 

 

 

# What documents and materials did the Zug fraud squad seize when they raided your office in November 2005?

 

 

 

#  In 2006 the BBC reported that former FIFA president Joao Havelange had taken a massive bribe from ISL? Why haven’t you referred the allegation to FIFA’s Ethics Committee?

 

 

 

# It is alleged that this bribe was mistakenly addressed to FIFA’s offices. Is it correct that you ordered the bribe to be re-directed to Havelange’s account?

 

 

 

# Will you make public the report in 2002 from the Zurich Investigating Magistrate that concluded that you were not innocent of corruption allegations – only that there was insufficient evidence to charge you?

 

More Nightmare Questions . . .

 

 

 

 

 

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