On Monday, US federal prosecutors for the first time accused former football functionaries from several countries of accepting bribes from Russia and Qatar. These countries sought and received the right to host the World Cups in 2018 and 2022.
According to the indictment, former FIFA vice president from Trinidad and Tobago, Jack Warner, received five million dollars from Russia through a network of shell companies. A part of these funds was paid by American firms representing the interests of Russia in preparation for the World Cup. Guatemala’s former Guatemalan executive committee member Rafael Salgero is accused of receiving a million dollars for voting to grant Russia the right to host the championship. Argentinean Julio Grondone, Paraguayan Nicholas Leos and Brazilian Ricardo Teixeira are charged with taking bribes from Qatar.
The voting process in 2010, as a result of which Russia and Qatar received the right to host the World Cups in football, was accompanied by a series of scandals and investigations. Russia then prevailed in the confrontation with England, the Netherlands-Belgium and Spain-Portugal, which intended to hold the championships together. Qatar prevailed over the United States. These results immediately aroused suspicion. More than half of the voters, including FIFA President Sepp Blatter, have been the subject of various allegations. Blatter was subsequently removed from office after an investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee. Some of them have been the subject of charges for the sale of rights to broadcast the championship games and were forced to resign.
The current official accusations are the first to state that Russia and Qatar have gained the right to host the World Cups by bribing FIFA officials.
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