A joint column by Evan Sally and Angela Nicholas.
EVAN SALLY:
FIFA President Sepp Blatter/Photo: AFP
News broke late last night that several FIFA officials had been arrested on charges of corruption and bribery. The United States Department of Justice, working in tandem with Swiss authorities, arrested 14 high ranking officials in total, including 5 corporate executives that work for sports marketing companies that are partnered with FIFA. The investigation was mainly focused on the corruption that surrounded the selection of Russia and Qatar for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. The charges are wide-ranging: from the standard asking for cash to give favorable treatment in return, to the more outlandish. My personal favorite was the FIFA official who, in return for voting for England to get the World Cup in 2018, asked for a knighthood and for England’s national soccer tournament, the FA Cup, to be renamed after him.
HARD FOUL SPORTS 