754 McCain letter to FIFA demanded Blatter be replaced, to deny Russia the 2018 World Cup

McCain letter to FIFA demanded Blatter be replaced, to deny Russia the
2018 World Cup

Newsletter published on 2 June 2015

(1) McCain & Menendez letter to FIFA demanded Blatter be replaced, to
deny Russia the 2018 World Cup
(2) Blatter refused requests for 2018 World Cup to be moved
(3) Blatter’s Top FIFA Deputy Is Said to Have Transferred Money Central
to Bribery Case
(4) McCain wants FIFA to elect a president who will take World Cup from
Russia
(5) Sens. Menendez, McCain Call on FIFA Congress to Elect New FIFA
President that Would Deny Russia 2018 World Cup
(6) Download the Menendez McCain letter to FIFA
(7) Menendez, McCain Sent Letter to FIFA Just Before Indictments
(8) McCain says Fifa president should be thrown out for supporting
Russia World Cup despite Ukraine
(9) US can prosecute FIFA if it "stores its emails on a US server or
uses an American bank account"
{10) Avaaz petition "Kick out Blatter"; Avaaz is funded by George Soros
(11) EU must take on Putin over Ukraine - Soros (who funds Project
Syndicate)
(12) Avaaz head Ricken Patel associated with Soros' International Crisis
Group
(13) Avaaz head "worked for the International Crisis Group around the world"
(14) Prince William spearheads UK campaign against FIFA, targeting
Russia - WSWS Trots
(15) Socialist Worker Trots oppose FIFA "dictators", "hubris"

(1) McCain letter to FIFA demanded Blatter be replaced, to deny Russia
the 2018 World Cup
- by Peter Myers on June 2, 2015

The United States is known for its love of Gridiron, Baseball and
Basketball.

Its sudden interest in Soccer - to the extent of indicting FIFA
officials - was somewhat disingenuous.

The real reason had nothing to do with sport, and everything to do with
politics.

George Soros and John McCain, heavyweights on the Left and Right
respectively, had it in for Vladimir Putin. They wanted to take the 2018
World Cup from Russia, for its defiance of US policy over Ukraine.

US and Swiss investigations of FIFA officials took place just days after
McCain and fellow senator Bob Menendez wrote to FIFA demanding that
Blatter be replaced over Ukraine. Meanwhile, Soros' Project Syndicate
had run his articles against Putin, and Soros' advocacy group Avaaz had
run a campaign "Kick out Blatter".

(2) Blatter refused requests for 2018 World Cup to be moved

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_2018_FIFA_World_Cup_controversies

List of 2018 FIFA World Cup controversies

As with the 2014 Winter Olympics, the choice of Russia as host of the
2018 FIFA World Cup has been challenged.

Controversial issues have included the level of racism in Russian
football, and perceived discrimination against LGBT people in wider
Russian society.

Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has also caused
calls for the tournament to be moved, particularly following the
annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Eastern Ukraine, as
well as Russia's alleged role in the destruction of Malaysia Airlines
Flight 17. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has declined requests for the
tournament to be moved. [...]

   * This page was last modified on 30 May 2015, at 14:51.

(3) Blatter’s Top FIFA Deputy Is Said to Have Transferred Money Central
to Bribery Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/sports/soccer/sepp-blatters-top-fifa-deputy-jerome-valcke-is-said-to-have-transferred-money-central-to-bribery-case.html

By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and MATT APUZZO

New York Times

JUNE 1, 2015

Federal authorities believe that Sepp Blatter’s top lieutenant at FIFA
made $10 million in bank transactions that are central elements of the
bribery scandal engulfing international soccer, United States officials
and others briefed on the case said Monday. The revelation puts the
money trail closer to Mr. Blatter, FIFA’s president, than had been
previously known.

Jérôme Valcke, the soccer organization’s secretary general, is the
unidentified “high-ranking FIFA official” who prosecutors say
transferred $10 million in 2008 from FIFA to accounts controlled by
another soccer official, Jack Warner, the officials said. The payment is
a key piece of last week’s indictment accusing Mr. Warner of taking a
bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the
2010 World Cup. [...]

(4) McCain wants FIFA to elect a president who will take World Cup from
Russia

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/john-mccain-wants-fifa-to-take-the-world-cup-away-from-russia-20150526

John McCain Wants FIFA to Take the World Cup Away From Russia

Robert Menendez and McCain wants the world's top soccer organization to
elect a president that will revoke its decision to award the 2018
tournament to Russia.

By Patrick Reis

May 26, 2015 Sens. John McCain and Robert Menendez want the world's
governing soccer organization to fire its president and elect one who
will take the World Cup away from Vladimir Putin's Russia.

FIFA, the organization that governs the World Cup, is holding leadership
elections Friday, and President Sepp Blatter is expected to win a fifth
term at the top. But McCain and Menendez are calling on the body's
congress to pick a different leader, one who will undo the Blatter-led
decision to award the 2018 tournament to Russia.

Russia's ongoing military aggression toward Ukraine, McCain and Menendez
say, should disqualify it from hosting. "More than a year has passed
since Russian troops and Russian-backed separatists began their
dismemberment of Ukraine," the pair wrote Tuesday in a letter to members
of FIFA's Congress. "By allowing Russia to host the tournament, FIFA
would offer an economic lifeline to the Putin regime in contravention of
the multilateral sanctions that have been imposed by the international
community."

Russia is on something of a roll in winning bids for international
sporting events, having hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi—which
came just weeks before the military run on Ukraine.

McCain and Menendez join a host of voices calling for Blatter's removal,
though much of the criticism has centered around the decision to award
the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Critics have noted Qatar's poor record on
workers' rights, expressing fear that the workers tasked with building
the host country's stadiums will die—and already are dying—in alarming
numbers due to poor working conditions. There also are widespread
allegations of bribery and other corruption in the run-up to the selection.

(Last year, I wrote a piece noting that while FIFA's bylaws ban
discrimination in soccer on the basis of race, religion, nationality,
and "sexual orientation," the group awarded the next two World Cups to
countries where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals face
state-sanctioned persecution.)

But despite his critics, Blatter is expected to win a fifth term. Prince
Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan is running against Blatter, but appears to
lack the support needed to overcome the incumbent. Each of the 209 FIFA
member associations gets one vote.

(5) Sens. Menendez, McCain Call on FIFA Congress to Elect New FIFA
President that Would Deny Russia 2018 World Cup

http://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/sens-menendez-mccain-call-on-fifa-congress-to-elect-new-fifa-president-that-would-deny-russia-2018-world-cup

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

NEWARK, NJ – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and John McCain (R-
Ariz.) sent a letter encouraging Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA) Congress to reconsider its support for President Sepp
Blatter’s fifth term as FIFA President in light of his continued support
for Russia’s hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In the letter, the Senators note the economic support that hosting the
World Cup would provide President Putin in contravention of multilateral
sanctions that have been imposed against Russia for Putin’s continued
aggression in Ukraine.

They call for a president that will instead uphold FIFA’s mission and
deny Russia the 2018 World Cup, writing: “The next president of FIFA has
a responsibility to ensure not only a safe and successful 2018 World
Cup, but the endurance of the FIFA mission that claims to promote
football “globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural
and humanitarian values.” We strongly encourage you to elect a president
who will uphold these values and work to deny the Putin regime the
privilege of hosting the 2018 World Cup.”

The letter can be found below and downloaded here.

FIFA Congress Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
FIFA-Strasse 20 P.O. Box 8044 Zurich, Switzerland

Dear Members of the FIFA Congress:

President Sepp Blatter is running for a fifth term as FIFA President,
with the election scheduled to take place at the 65th FIFA Congress in
Zurich on May 29, 2015. In light of President Blatter’s continued
support for Russia hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup – despite Russia’s
ongoing violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and other
challenges to the post-WWII security architecture – we ask that you
reconsider your support for President Blatter’s fifth term as FIFA
President.

As you know, more than a year has passed since Russian troops and
Russian-backed separatists began their dismemberment of Ukraine, which
continues to this day in violation of both Minsk I and Minsk II
ceasefire agreements. At the same time, NATO has intercepted more than
100 Russian aircraft in NATO territory since the beginning of 2014.
Russia has also opted out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty
that has been a mainstay of European security since 1992. Given Russia’s
ongoing violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and Putin’s
efforts to undermine the principles of multilateral cooperation, shared
norms, and international security agreements, we believe that allowing
Russia to host the World Cup would bolster the Putin regime at a time
when it should be condemned.

More than 40 countries, all FIFA members, have imposed sanctions on
Russia in an effort to influence events on the ground in Ukraine. By
allowing Russia to host the tournament, FIFA would offer an economic
lifeline to the Putin regime in contravention of the multilateral
sanctions that have been imposed by the international community.

The next president of FIFA has a responsibility to ensure not only a
safe and successful 2018 World Cup, but the endurance of the FIFA
mission that claims to promote football “globally in the light of its
unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.” We strongly
encourage you to elect a president who will uphold these values and work
to deny the Putin regime the privilege of hosting the 2018 World Cup.

Sincerely,

(6) Download the Menendez McCain letter to FIFA
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/download/5-22-2015-rm-letter-to-fifa-congress

5-22-2015 RM Letter to FIFA Congress.pdf

(7) Menendez, McCain Sent Letter to FIFA Just Before Indictments
http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/menendez-mccain-sent-letter-to-fifa-just-before-indictments

By Niels Lesniewski Posted at 11:31 a.m. on May 27, 2015

Well, this timing was prescient.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and John McCain,
R-Ariz., fired off a letter to the FIFA Congress encouraging the
international soccer governing body to reconsider granting a fifth term
at the helm to President Sepp Blatter.

The election had been scheduled for later this week at a meeting in
Switzerland, but that plan may have to change after Swiss law
enforcement agents swept through a hotel where top FIFA authorities
gathered to round up officials on criminal charges in the United States,
as The New York Times reported from Zurich.

Nine officials with FIFA, as well as a handful of corporate executives
have been indicted in Brooklyn on charges involving a racketeering
conspiracy, including wire fraud and money laundering.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the former U.S. attorney in the Eastern
District of New York, highlighted the breadth of the alleged corruption
in statement released early Tuesday.

“The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and
deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” she said. “It
spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have
abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes
and kickbacks.”

“As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of
corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the
biggest sport in the world,” said FBI Director James B. Comey.
“Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of
doing business at FIFA. I want to commend the investigators and
prosecutors around the world who have pursued this case so diligently,
for so many years.”

Much of the attention is related to the awarding of the 2022 World Cup
to Qatar, but Menendez and McCain were critical of Blatter for his
backing of holding the 2018 contest in Russia, citing actions by Russian
President Vladimir Putin and his government in the territory of Ukraine.

“More than 40 countries, all FIFA members, have imposed sanctions on
Russia in an effort to influence events on the ground in Ukraine. By
allowing Russia to host the tournament, FIFA would offer an economic
lifeline to the Putin regime in contravention of the multilateral
sanctions that have been imposed by the international community,” the
two senators wrote.

“The next president of FIFA has a responsibility to ensure not only a
safe and successful 2018 World Cup, but the endurance of the FIFA
mission that claims to promote football ‘globally in the light of its
unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values,'” said Menendez
and McCain. “We strongly encourage you to elect a president who will
uphold these values and work to deny the Putin regime the privilege of
hosting the 2018 World Cup.”

(8) McCain says Fifa president should be thrown out for supporting
Russia World Cup despite Ukraine

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/11631651/US-senators-call-for-Sepp-Blatter-to-be-ousted-as-head-of-Fifa.html

US senators call for Sepp Blatter to be ousted as head of Fifa

John McCain says Fifa president should be thrown out for supporting
Russia's 2018 World Cup despite fighting in Ukraine

By Raf Sanchez, Washington

8:01PM BST 26 May 2015

US senators are calling for Sepp Blatter to be ousted as the head of
Fifa over his support for Russia's world cup despite Vladimir Putin's
military intervention in Ukraine.

John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, and another
senator wrote a letter to members of the Fifa Congress urging them to
deny Mr Blatter a fifth-term as the head of football's global body.

"In light of President Blatter’s continued support for Russia hosting
the 2018 Fifa World Cup – despite Russia’s ongoing violations of
Ukraine’s territorial integrity and other challenges to the post-WWII
security architecture – we ask that you reconsider your support for
President Blatter’s fifth term as Fifa President," the senators wrote.

Mr McCain and Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, said that
"allowing Russia to host the World Cup would bolster the Putin regime at
a time when it should be condemned".

They added that more than 40 Fifa member nations had imposed sanctions
on Russia in response to the fighting in Ukraine, which has claimed more
than 6,000 lives according to the UN.

The senators urged members of the Fifa Congress to "deny the Putin
regime the privilege of hosting the 2018 World Cup".

Mr Blatter has been president of Fifa since 1998 but has been under fire
for years following allegations of corruption within the governing body.

Qatar faced numerous accusations that it paid bribes to secure the 2022
World Cup but was cleared by a Fifa report last year.

Mr Blatter has been accused of not taking seriously the claims of human
rights abuses in both Qatar and Russia.

(9) US can prosecute FIFA if it "stores its emails on a US server or
uses an American bank account"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/11632230/Fifa-about-to-learn-a-stern-lesson-about-the-vigour-of-American-prosecution.html

Fifa is about to learn a stern lesson about the vigour of American
prosecution

Other countries have been reluctant to investigate football's governing
body. But the US is different. Here's why

By Ben Wright, Group Business Editor

1:15PM BST 27 May 2015

Once again it is the Americans who are acting as the world’s police.
They have led the charge in punishing misbehaving banks in the wake of
the financial crisis and now they have turned their sights on Fifa – on
Wednesday several officials from football’s governing body were arrested
in Zurich on suspicion of corruption at the US Department of Justice’s
request.

There’s been more than a whiff of malfeasance hanging around Fifa for
years now (not least thanks to the Telegraph's own investigation into
the bidding process for the 2022 Qatar World Cup in March). And yet most
countries appeared powerless to do anything about it, perhaps, as Simon
Kuper wrote in the Financial Times this weekend, because they weren’t
prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for their principles.

But now the US Justice Department and the FBI have rushed in where
others feared to tread. What makes America different?

Clearly the US isn't as infatuated with football as most of the rest of
the world and is therefore prepared to contemplate bringing the whole
rotten edifice tumbling down. But a number of other conclusions can be
drawn from the vigour with which US regulators have pursued errant banks
(not least because, as The New York Times notes, Fifa has $1.5bn in
reserves and is as much a financial conglomerate as it is a sports
organisation).

First, Americans have a deep-seated and historical abhorrence of
white-collar crime. There are few fully-satisfactory explanations for
this. Some have suggested that it offends the sense of fairness that
underpins the American Dream.

But, whatever the reason, the upshot is that, if you are found guilty of
a white-collar crime in the US, they throw away the key. Federal
prosecutors can, for example, count every email a criminal sends in the
course of committing their offence as a separate case of wire fraud –
and each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Second, the path from law school, to legal firm, to the district
attorney’s office or other regulators, and then on to political office
is well-trodden in the States. This means that US regulators are staffed
by bright, ambitious people who actively go hunting for big scalps.

Third, US law gives its agencies a great deal of lateral in prosecuting
foreign nationals and companies. If an organisation stores its emails on
a US server or uses an American bank account, it's fair game.

Which brings us to the fourth and most important point: America has a
powerful weapon in its fight against corruption, fraud, tax evasion,
money laundering and other financial crimes – the mighty dollar. US
regulators are able to effectively force foreign banks to aid their
investigations. How come? Because, if the banks don't comply, the US
authorities will hit them where it hurts by shutting them out of the
largest financial market in the world.

In his book Treasury’s War, Juan Zarate details how US Treasury and
White House officials, of whom the author was one, began to realise that
the “centrality of American financial power and influence” meant that
money had become America’s “greatest asset”.

Zarate describes how the US has developed and deployed a variety of
financial techniques against terrorist groups, organised criminals and
enemy states such as Syria, North Korea and Iran.

You can now add Fifa to the list.

{10) Avaaz petition "Kick out Blatter"; Avaaz is funded by George Soros

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/fifa_blattner_en_loc/

Kick out Blatter

sign the petition

To members of the FIFA Congress and the Executive Committee of FIFA:
      As citizens concerned about corruption in all its forms, we
welcome the arrests of FIFA executives on bribery charges, and call on
you not to vote for Sepp Blatter in FIFA's Presidential elections. It's
time to reform FIFA from the ground up and get behind a candidate who
will usher in a new era of clean football!

722,460 have signed. Let's get to 750,000

Update: 1 June 2015

We got our Zurich actions all over the world’s media, and hit FIFA
sponsors hard by phone and online, but two thirds of football
associations backed Blatter. An outrageous score! Let’s build our call
while looking for other chances to send him off and clean up football!
Swiss police just arrested 7 FIFA executives, giving hope to billions of
people around the world who love football and hate corruption. But
unless we move fast Sepp Blatter will get away with it, and begin his
fifth term as FIFA president!

Under Blatter, FIFA scandals extend from bribery, ripping off FIFA host
countries, and burying the ethics investigation he commissioned into
vote rigging to award World Cups to Russia and Qatar! But this isn't
just about football -- his FIFA has fostered corruption, abuse of
workers’ rights, and the flattening of communities to erect stadiums in
host countries.

Yesterday’s dawn raids is the best moment we've ever had to kick out
Blatter and reclaim our game. But it won't happen without a massive
outcry. Let’s create the world’s fastest-growing petition today, hit a
million, and then call on FIFA execs to kick him out when they vote in
24 hours. Sign and share this widely.

(11) EU must take on Putin over Ukraine - Soros (who funds Project
Syndicate)

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ukraine-eu-last-chance-by-george-soros-2015-03

MAR 30, 2015 44

Last Chance for Ukraine and Europe

by George Soros

LONDON – The European Union stands at a crossroads. The shape it takes
five years from now will be decided in the coming 3-5 months.

Year after year, the EU has successfully muddled through its
difficulties. But now it has to deal with two sources of existential
crisis: Greece and Ukraine. That may prove too much.

Greece’s long-festering crisis has been mishandled by all parties from
the outset. Emotions now are running so high that muddling through is
the only constructive alternative.

But Ukraine is different. It is a black-and-white case. Vladimir Putin’s
Russia is the aggressor, and Ukraine, in defending itself, is defending
the values and principles on which the EU was built.

Yet Europe treats Ukraine like another Greece. That is the wrong
approach, and it is producing the wrong results. Putin is gaining ground
in Ukraine, and Europe is so preoccupied with Greece that it hardly pays
any attention. [...]

(12) Avaaz head Ricken Patel associated with Soros' International Crisis
Group

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17199253

Profile: Global campaign group Avaaz

     29 February 2012

Avaaz employs a variety of tactics in its campaigns, including publicity
stunts

Avaaz - meaning "voice" in Farsi as well as several other European,
Middle Eastern and Asian languages - describes itself as "a global web
movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere".

According to the group's website, it was launched in 2007 with a mission
to "organise citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world
we have and the world most people everywhere want".

It campaigns in 15 languages and is served by a small core team of 52
full-time staff worldwide and thousands of volunteers in all 192 UN
member states, including Iran and China, where its website is illegal.

"Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual
efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful
collective force," it says.

Avaaz's founder and executive director, Ricken Patel,told the Times
newspaper earlier this month: "There are two types of fatalism. The
belief the world can't change, and the belief you can't play a role in
changing it."

"If, in a few hundred words, you produce a convincing counter-argument,
people respond."

Member-funded

Prior to setting up Avaaz, Mr Patel, a 34-year-old Oxford and
Harvard-educated Canadian, worked in war-torn countries such as Sierra
Leone, Liberia, Sudan and Afghanistan, and worked with the International
Crisis Group, and US political action group, MoveOn. [...] ==

(13) Avaaz head "worked for the International Crisis Group around the world"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avaaz

[...] Avaaz's founding president and executive director is the
Canadian-British Ricken Patel.[7] He studied PPE (politics, philosophy,
economics) at Balliol College, Oxford University. He received a Masters
in Public Policy from Harvard University. He worked for the
International Crisis Group around the world, including in Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Sudan and Afghanistan, where he says "he learnt how to bring
rebel forces to the negotiation table, to monitor elections (covertly),
to restore public faith in once corrupt political systems and to spot
when foreign forces were being manipulated." He returned to the US and
volunteered for MoveOn.org, where he learned how to use online tools for
activism.[9] Funding, campaigns selection process and management. [...]

This page was last modified on 28 May 2015, at 15:52.

(14) Prince William spearheads UK campaign against FIFA, targeting
Russia - WSWS Trots

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/06/01/fifa-j01.html

By Robert Stevens

1 June 2015

The heir to the British throne, Prince William, made an extraordinary
intervention Saturday, aimed at putting further pressure on FIFA’s
President Sepp Blatter. This follows last week’s arrests and 164-page
FBI indictment, on charges of corruption, of seven officials from world
soccer’s ruling body.

On Saturday, in a speech before the FA Cup final—the showpiece event of
the UK’s soccer calendar—the prince said, “There seems to be a huge
disconnect between the sense of fair play that guides those playing and
supporting the game, and the allegations of corruption that have long
lingered around the management of the sport internationally.”

The speech was an unprecedented intervention for a senior member of the
Royal Family, as he openly sided with those leading the investigation
into FIFA. The prince said, “Those backing FIFA, such as sponsors and
the regional confederations, must do their bit to press these reforms—we
are doing football and its fans no favours if we do not.”

Prince William supported the decision by David Gill, vice-chairman of
the English Football Association (FA), who refused to attend the first
meeting of FIFA’s executive committee following Friday’s re-election of
Blatter. The arrests of the FIFA officials were part of an overt attempt
to prevent the election of Blatter.

Speaking of the role of the FA, William said, “Over the next few years,
if we want credibly to influence the debate on reform in FIFA, we must
continue to strive for excellence in our own organisation. It’s not easy
to do so, but it is worth it—and, to that end, I commend the process you
are on, and I’ll be watching it closely.”

Referring to previous allegations of corruption that hit the
International Olympic Committee, William said, “The events in Zurich
this week represent FIFA’s Salt Lake City moment, when the International
Olympic Committee went through a similar period of serious allegations.
FIFA, like the IOC, must now show that it can represent the interests of
fair play and put the sport first.”

As president of the FA, William was part of a team, along with Prime
Minister David Cameron, who helped to spearhead England’s bid to host
the 2018 World Cup. The bid was lost to Russia, and William said he had
been “bitterly disappointed” by FIFA’s decision.

As the FIFA arrests were being carried out in a dawn raid, the Swiss
authorities announced an investigation into corruption at FIFA in which
the decision to award Russia the 2018 and Qatar the 2022 World Cup will
be scrutinised.

Blatter said the move against the FIFA officials was “an attempt to
interfere with the congress.” He added, “No one is going to tell me that
it was a simple coincidence, this American attack two days before the
elections of FIFA. It doesn’t smell right. This has touched me and FIFA.
There are signs that cannot be ignored. The Americans were the
candidates for the World Cup of 2022 and they lost. The English were the
candidates for 2018 and they lost, so it was really the English media
and the American movement.”

William was backed by Greg Dyke, the chairman of the FA, who he sat next
to him during the FA Cup final. Following the arrests of the FIFA
officials, Dyke said that England would consider boycotting the 2018
World Cup. He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday, “I was talking to
him [Prince William] about it at the FA Cup final on Saturday. He is
obviously upset by what’s happened and he feels quite strongly about it.”

Dyke said he did not think Blatter would last out his four-year term,
and that last week’s events were “the beginning of the end.” He called
on European football’s ruling body, UEFA, to support a boycott and said
it “would be ridiculous” for the English FA “to try to do it on your own
because all we’d do is pull out of the World Cup and everyone would say
‘well done’ and they’d forget all about us. We’ve got to do it alongside
other large footballing nations.”

The English Premier League is the most lucrative soccer competition on
the planet, with its broadcasting rights sold in 212 countries. In
February, the Premier League signed a three-year contract worth £5.1
billion with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sky Sports. Each game broadcast
will be worth £11 million. Once international rights are factored in,
the contract is likely to top £8.5 billion over three years.

Setting out a possible battle strategy, Dyke said, “Only the smaller
countries would have voted for [Blatter] because they rely totally on
FIFA for their income… We, at the FA, we don’t need FIFA. We don’t need
them at all. We can say what we like. And I understand he is now saying
‘I forgive, but don’t forget.’ Well, let me tell him back, we neither
forgive nor forget either.”

William’s call for sponsors to act to “press” for “reforms” is
significant in the campaign against Blatter, as sponsors are the
lifeblood of FIFA. In the four years up to 2014, FIFA’s six top-tier
“Global Partners”—Adidas, Gazprom, Hyundai-Kia, McDonald’s, Budweiser,
Coca-Cola and Visa—paid a total of $177 million annually, or around $30
million a year each.

On the same day the arrests were carried out, Visa issued a statement
saying FIFA should “make changes now,” and should it “fail to do so, we
have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship.”

At this stage, only the Russian gas conglomerate Gazprom has said the
move against the FIFA leadership will not influence its agreement.

The campaign to destabilise FIFA targets Blatter because he is most
closely connected to the decision to grant Russia and Qatar hosting
rights to the most lucrative sporting event on the planet. It is part of
the geo-political manoeuvres of the United States and its imperialist
allies against Moscow in particular.

Prime Minister David Cameron has already called for Blatter to stand
down as FIFA leader. Speaking on Sunday to the BBC, Andy Burnham, the
lead candidate to be the next leader of the Labour Party, made an
explicit connection between the importance of changing FIFA’s leadership
and the need to oppose Russia.

He said, “I’ve long had my doubts about Russia holding the next World
Cup. I voiced those doubts when the situation developed in Ukraine. I
said I couldn’t see how it was possible that the whole world could just
go to Russia as if nothing had happened.”

He added, [W]ith all these new allegations swirling around FIFA … there
is a pretty overwhelming case for England taking a stand and saying we
should not participate in the next World Cup…”

The FA “should be a bit stronger and should say … it’s not acceptable …
when you look at both of these situations, the corruption within FIFA
and the situation between Russia and Ukraine. We have had a country here
whose FA’s sovereignty has been breached. How can the football world
just say that doesn’t matter?”

Burnham stressed, “If enough people take that stand and follow our lead,
then we will see new arrangements for the 2018 World Cup which I believe
is what we need.”

Asked about Qatar being allowed to host the 2022 tournament, he said,
“Qatar too—but that’s an issue that’s further down the line.”

(15) Socialist Worker Trots oppose FIFA "dictators", "hubris"
http://socialistworker.org/2015/06/01/down-goes-fifa

Down goes FIFA!

The beautiful game has been sullied by the corruption of its supposed
overseers.

Dave Zirin

June 1, 2015

IT HAS been called "the day that FIFA has long dreaded": the day that
decades of graft and a level of ostentatious excess that would make
Caligula blush caught up with the international soccer body. Fourteen
people, including nine top FIFA officials, have been arrested on
corruption charges levied by the U.S. Justice Department. Seven were
taken into custody in a dramatic arrest by Swiss law enforcement at a
luxury hotel in Zurich. As the late Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano
wrote two decades ago, "There are visible and invisible dictators. The
power structure of world football is monarchical. It's the most secret
kingdom in the world."

Well, the kingdom has been cracked open, and no one is sure what we will
find out once all the deals have been cut and the whistleblowers have
played their tunes. Make no mistake: We may look back upon today as the
beginning of the end of FIFA as we know it. All of the 209 member
representatives of FIFA had gathered in Zurich for their congress, which
was expected to be "a boring affair," in which President Sepp Blatter
would coast to re-election. Boring is the last word on anyone's mind now.

The charges brought include money laundering, wire fraud and
international racketeering that alleges $150 million in bribes going
back to the 1990s made by big sports-marketing honchos to get their
brands associated with major soccer tournaments, but this will be just
the tip of the iceberg. Here is what was said by Attorney General
Loretta Lynch: "The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant,
systemic and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States. It
spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have
abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes
and kickbacks." (Lynch said the selection of the United States to host
next year's Copa América was facilitated by $110 million in bribes.)

For those wondering how the Justice Department was able to facilitate
these arrests in Switzerland, it used a prosecutorial authority often
present in international terror cases. As the New York Times described:

   Those cases can hinge on the slightest connection to the United
States, like the use of an American bank or Internet service provider.
Switzerland's treaty with the United States is unusual in that it gives
Swiss authorities the power to refuse extradition for tax crimes, but on
matters of general criminal law, the Swiss have agreed to turn people
over for prosecution in American courts.

In this case, the U.S. connection is CONCACAF, headquartered in the
United States and, of FIFA's six regional confederations, the one that
includes North America. Described as "an organization clearly in crisis"
by Lynch, they are as of now the central focus of the investigation.
(This part is important for those following the possible FIFA vote on
sanctioning or even expelling Israel for its practices related to
detaining players and coaches in the Palestinian Football Association.
It is impossible to tell the fate of that vote or any votes based upon
the chaos produced by the latest charges, but CONCACAF was viewed as
Israel's most reliable defender in the FIFA body.)

The indictments however, will seek information well beyond the workings
of CONCACAF and could be the string that, if pulled, will tear FIFA's
cashmere sweater to pieces. The indictment also makes mention of bribery
related to the much-criticized awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups
to Russia and Qatar. The oil-rich fiefdom of Qatar has been under fire
for its use of slave labor and a shocking pace of deaths of South Asian
migrant workers who are building new stadiums without adequate water or
safety regulations. Russia has conducted its own damning internal audits
related to its soccer leadership. Yet already, in a show of staggering
arrogance, FIFA has issued a statement that no matter what the
investigation roots out, there will be no revote on the 2018 and 2022
World Cup. The hubris would be gobsmacking if we hadn't heard it so many
times in the past: the statement of blithely unaware confidence by a
dictator right before the fall.