These are a few of FIFA’s biggest fish now under indictment
Soccer's governing body headquarters in Zurich.
LIMA, Peru — Today’s dawn raid on FIFA executives at a $4,000-a-night Zurich hotel has rocked world soccer, and served up a juicy scandal for people who wouldn't otherwise care about the game.
The joint US-Swiss operation netted seven of FIFA's biggest fish on corruption charges. Now they face extradition to the United States. Several others were indicted.
Perhaps the biggest surprise wasn't the allegations themselves, but that some FIFA executives may now be about to face the music.
Here's a look at some of the highest profile soccer execs named in the case:
Former head of Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) Jose Maria Marin
Marin, 83, is possibly the biggest name nabbed in Zurich. As CBF president he also headed the organizing committee for last year’s Brazil World Cup.
That event could hardly have been more polarizing, given the millions of dollars sunk into glittering new stadiums in a country where many still go without three meals a day. Yet it may be the least of the controversies that have long dogged Marin.
He has been accused of colluding with Brazil’s military dictatorship during a period in which he rose to become governor of Sao Paulo state, the motor of Latin America’s largest economy.
As for Marin’s honesty, you might want to check out this video (around minute 0:16): He can be seen stealthily pocketing a winner’s medal he was supposed to hand out at a Sao Paulo state soccer tournament. He later claimed the incident was a “joke.”
Romario, a Brazilian soccer legend turned senator, summed up the feelings of many Brazilians when he greeted news of Marin’s arrest in Zurich by calling him a “thief” and a “rat.”
FIFA Vice President Jeffrey Webb
Jeffrey Webb is a British national based in the Cayman Islands, from where he also chairs the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). His arrest appears to be the first time he’s been publicly tarnished by corruption allegations.
In fact, the 50-year-old veep has actually spoken out against graft within world soccer’s governing body. Last year he called for FIFA’s internal report on corruption, by former US attorney Michael Garcia, to be made public. Garcia was angered enough by FIFA’s handling of his report that he quit his post as its chief ethics investigator.
Other than that, Webb’s public profile seems to have largely revolved around his role as chair of FIFA’s anti-racism task force, which frequently attacks discrimination within the game.
Nicolas Leoz, ex-head of South America's soccer federation
Leoz was a member of FIFA’s executive committee for 15 years, and president of South America’s soccer federation, CONMEBOL, for nearly two decades, until he stood down from both positions in 2013. And the 86-year-old Paraguayan is not new to accusations of graft.
In 2010, the BBC accused him of taking bribes from TV companies to award them rights to air soccer matches. The following year David Triesman, then the head of England’s Football Association, accused Leoz of demanding knighthood in return for supporting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
If that sounds crazy, Triesman also claimed Leoz asked for the FA Cup, English soccer’s second most important competition, to be renamed after him. Leoz has denied the allegations and was subsequently cleared over Triesman’s claims by an FA investigation.
The Paraguayan government received a US extradition request for Leoz on Wednesday.
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