FIFA Officials Arrested
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<p><img src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PdT5RWFt--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1271157631436277136.jpg" alt="1271157631436277136.jpg"></p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://screamer.deadspin.com/chart-the-qatar-world-cup-death-toll-is-stunning-1707286095'>http://screamer.deadspin.com/chart-the-qatar-world-cup-death-toll-is-stunning-1707286095</a></p> -
So the next WC is scheduled to be in Russia, where being gay is illegal, and then the WC after that in Qatar, where being a woman is illegal. Be great if they take it away from both countries as a result of this.
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<p>I'm not a fan of Russia getting it, but by far the worse award is Qatar. Aside from mountains of money to pay bribes, there isn't a thing going for it. Their labour situation is feudal. Masses of immigrant workers work in appallingly unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the richest country in the world per capita. There's no good excuse for treating workers badly, but when a country is a rich as those buggers are it makes me sick. </p>
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<p>I hope they finish all the stadiums and as soon as they are done then FIFA takes it off them. </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="492953" data-time="1432768906"><p><img src="http://maddawggmanifesto.info/pics/britepics/shocked.JPG" alt="shocked.JPG"></p></blockquote>
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It is actually shocking that someone has actually gone after these guys. After decades of alleged corruption, kickbacks and bribes, eventually a country (U.S.) where football is not the mainstream brings it all to a head. -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="493035" data-time="1432818582">
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<p>More to the point I wonder <strong>what lobby group</strong> in the US set the State Dept onto FIFA.</p>
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<p>My guess is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, the U.S. taxman), same organization that took down Al Capone and other mobsters.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="493034" data-time="1432818219"><p>
It is actually shocking that someone has actually gone after these guys. After decades of alleged corruption, kickbacks and bribes, eventually a country (U.S.) where football is not the mainstream brings it all to a head.</p></blockquote>
I wonder whether the US is less scared of FIFA than a soccer country? -
<p>That photo of the lobby of the hotel before the arrests is quite funny. They send in a handful of plainclothes cops who appear to be asking nicely at the front desk before going to knock on doors. Nice Swiss folk.</p>
<p>Of course, if any of the FIFA officials were fat germans and it was the NZ police involved there would have been helicopters, armed tactical units and dogs......</p> -
<p>Blatter is unbelievable. His reign stretches over a time of terrible corruption and ridiculous decisions, and he says he welcomes the probe - and to re-elect him president. Now that is steel balled cold, right there. You can only imagine who he will sacrifice (and keep sacrificing) to get what he wants.</p>
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<p>How can they possibly hold elections with this dangling like an anvil?</p> -
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/gkhBI99.png" alt="gkhBI99.png">
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="sparky" data-cid="493055" data-time="1432847068"><p>When the police came to arrest the 7 Fifa officials, they rolled around on the ground several time feigning injury.<br><br>
Blatter is the kingpin here. He's the Capone of football.</p></blockquote>
Saw this yesterday:<br><br>
[attachment=1754:IMG_20150529_074757.jpg] -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mokey" data-cid="493056" data-time="1432848547">
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<p>Blatter is unbelievable. His reign stretches over a time of terrible corruption and ridiculous decisions, and he says he welcomes the probe - and to re-elect him president. Now that is steel balled cold, right there. You can only imagine who he will sacrifice (and keep sacrificing) to get what he wants.</p>
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<p>How can they possibly hold elections with this dangling like an anvil?</p>
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<p>I think it's a great time for an election. Will show up those countries that hold him accountable and those that are complicit (NZ included).</p>
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<p>It is quite obvious that NZ has done something to appease the FIFA machine with the awarding of 3 age group WCs in recent times. Not sure if it is a naive acceptance of a payback from the Charlie Dempsey thing or what, but we are happily accepting the 'rewards' they are throwing us for something we have done and continuing to back the hand that is feeding us.</p>
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<p>Blatter inferring that this was all hidden from him is incredible. The 'Sergeant Schultz' defence.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="493061" data-time="1432850179">
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<p><span style="font-size:12px;">It is quite obvious that NZ has done something to appease the FIFA machine with the awarding of 3 age group WCs in recent times. Not sure if it is a naive acceptance of a payback from the Charlie Dempsey thing or what, but we are happily accepting the 'rewards' they are throwing us for something we have done and continuing to back the hand that is feeding us.</span></p>
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<p>Blatter is a politician in a fairly safe seat. He's looking after us well and we're voting for him. At times he's made noises about Oceania having direct entry into the FWC - which makes bugger all sense really - except that it helps deliver quite a few country votes (Tuvalu = China) to Blatter. Same sort of patronage system exists across many international agencies. </p> -
<p>What a godsend this whole thing must be for the US Department of Justice that has become a laughing stock within their home country for their complete incompetence to curb institutional, corporate and congressional corruption.<br>
FIFA represents an incredibly soft target……old style money laundering, racketeering and suitcases full of cash! Yeah….lets go after that….we can probably proof something! ( but let’s not go anywhere near the average $1.2 billion of “dark†campaign donations per candidate finding its way to prop up each and every US president…..noooooooo…..that’s just lobbying.)<br>
FFS! You have another Clinton!....and another Bush!.....coming up for election in 2016!<br>
Paying $40 000 cash in a suitcase to buy a vote = corruption<br>
Paying $ 1.2 billion to buy a president = lobbying</p>
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<p>Mmmmmmm……</p>
<p>Let’s keep going…..<br>
Fuck up a non US sport code in the process….check<br>
Fuck up an upcoming Russian event in the process…check<br>
Fuck up an upcoming Middle Eastern event in the process…check<br>
Detract from the fact that we can’t touch any high flying corruption on home soil…check<br>
Put the focus back on third world corruption…check (nearly all the guys implicated up to now are from third world countries)</p>
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<p>Mmmmmmm……</p>
<p>Are FIFA corrupt…off course they are. Their problem is that they are not sophisticated enough to hide the corruption in bonus and incentive schemes as per the norm in the modern corporate world.</p>
<p>They are old style crooks….. in a world that is only able to catch old style criminals.<br>
You scratch my back…...I’ll scratch yours……Very, very old principle….only the rules of how you hide it has changed.</p>
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<p>Out of this entire bloody affair........what I am most interested in.....is this...<br>
Who were the idiots that approved $46 million(?) of Australian taxpayers money to run a campaign that netted……one vote!</p>
<p>Think of how many people made quite a bit of money from that campaign…probably knowing full well from the start that they don’t have a snowball’s hope in hell to get the nod.</p>
<p>Probably charged $15 million for a power point presentation that included a kangaroo somewhere……</p>
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<p>I think it was Commodore Vanderbilt that once said the definition of an honest politician is:<br>
One who when bought….stays bought…</p> -
And I read somewhere that the South African government is "accused" of underwriting a $10 million bribe that secured the 2010 games.........that would be the bargain of the century!! I think it was probably closer to $100 million. Buying the games for Africa for the first time in history.......priceless.
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<p>I'm confused El Toro.</p>
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<p>Are you saying that the FIFA corruption is OK because others are also corrupt (and depending on your viewpoint they aren't the worst)?</p>
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<p>Are you also saying that paying bribes is OK if it gets good results?</p> -
Better than paying bribes for shit outcomes, like Qatar...
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="493101" data-time="1432866860">
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<p>I'm confused El Toro.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Are you saying that the FIFA corruption is OK because others are also corrupt (and depending on your viewpoint they aren't the worst)?</p>
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<p>Are you also saying that paying bribes is OK if it gets good results?</p>
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<p>I am pointing out the naivety and subjectivity of dealing with the term ......corruption. And how certain people like to define it for their benefit.....I am not defending it.</p>
<p>And I do cringe a little when the cop is arresting somebody with his left hand…while the right hand is dripping with blood from his own murderous spree……</p>
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One man's corruption/ bribe is another man's "business skill"…<br>
In first world countries "sophisticated" means are used to set up agreements for people in corporate and political power to gain enormous wealth from anything like arms deals.....to agricultural produce.....screwing the competition in the process....and even sending thousands to their graves in extreme cases. All done by upstanding citizens..... above board....untouchable in a court of law.</p>
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It works differently in third world countries......a "doorman" fee of varying percentage is the norm in Africa and lots of other third world countries. It is simple business, comes with the territory and not even frowned upon. Huge multi-nationals doing business in Africa knows this and adapt their systems to accommodate the norm. All the big miners......everyone knows you won’t get anything done if you don't participate.<br>
The difference between the two systems is that one comes with less red tape…..<br>
Whether it is wrong or right is not my point........</p>
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And I feel bugger all for FIFA...... they can fry for all I care.......the irony that the whole case was built on simple tax evasion adds to the stupidity of those involved.....fuck the Feds......the IRS will get you if nobody else will!</p>
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But I do laugh at the naivety and moral outrage of people cocooned in a first world bubble of spin and bullshit.....falling over much bigger corruption every day without even noticing it......<br>
How do you stamp it out? Fuck knows......probably can’t be done. One way or the other it will surface again.....wearing a new coat.</p>
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Also.....Can you think of a "fair" system of allocating the soccer WC? Fair to whom?<br>
One where the guy with the biggest budget won’t simply bully the small guys into oblivion?</p>
