Peter Hargitay - Spindoctor to the world

Hargitay persuaded Blatter to find him – and his son Stevie - jobs with a football film trilogy. He became an Executive Producer of Goal! and Stevie an AP.

Hargitay told the Los Angeles Business Journal. 
"Football has replaced religion in many countries around the world. People have left the church and go to the new altar. This movie promotes its commercial interests in a tasteful and legitimate way."

Hargitay soon bewitched the Financial Times and was planting stories promoting the Goal! film.

When Blatter let Hargitay go he teamed up with former FIFA mouthpiece Markus Siegler and persuaded the English FA to employ his ECN company to create the strategy to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

The bid was English but ECN wasn’t.

Why did ECN depart from England? For years Hargitay had been pursued through the courts by a Swiss businessman who claimed he was owed more than $2 million.

When a court ruled that Hargitay must repay the money he hurriedly moved his ECN company registration to Limassol, Cyprus, keeping his assets beyond reach of the UK courts – and with a branch office in the Zurich suburb of Zollikon.

After three months the FA appointed a new president, David Triesman, who dispensed with Hargitay.

He then joined Mohamed Bin Hammam’s payroll.