WEBVTT - The Indictments 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.159 We began with a bombshell in the world of soccer. 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.880 The morning of May two thousand and fifteen started badly 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:11.600 for FIFA officials, and it only got worse. The arrest 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:14.440 began early this morning at a luxury hotel in Zurich. 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:18.880 Switcher at last swooped shortly after dawn took several FIFA 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:22.640 high rollers away. Six soccer officials were taken into custody 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:25.880 at the Borlack hotel and readied for extradition to the 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.280 United States. The face charges that ranged from racketeering to 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:34.479 money laundry. Later that day, America's top law enforcement official, 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.960 Attorney General Lauretta Lynch, who had only been on the 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:41.360 job for a month, confirmed what so many soccer fans 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.320 had long suspected about FIFA. Many of the individuals and 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.960 organizations we will describe today were entrusted with keeping soccer 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:55.000 open and accessible to all. They held important responsibilities at 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:58.600 every level, from building soccer fields for children and developing 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:03.440 countries to Oregon rising the World Cup. Lynch said the 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:07.880 corruption within FIFA was rampant and systemic. They were expected 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:11.039 to uphold the rules that keeps soccer honest and to 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:15.200 protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.240 business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:26.959 enrich themselves. I'm Connor Powell. This is episode three the indictments. 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.520 The massive one hundred and sixty four page indictment, which 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.319 when printed out, was as thick as the legal books 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:41.160 behind Lynch at the press conference, describe the global soccer 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:46.520 business in language normally reserved for drug cartels and mafia organizations. 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:50.080 This is an investigation that, according to the Justice Department, 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:52.960 spans a couple of decades, and according to them, FIFA 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.680 was being run as a criminal enterprise. So that's not 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.680 something you usually hear about world soccer. According to the 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:05.200 bi charged fourteen people, nine current and former FIFA officials, 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:11.480 and five other sports marketing executives. In all, the Department 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:15.880 of Justice handed down forty seven separate criminal counts. The 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:20.240 indictment alleges a pattern of fraud, bribery, and kickbacks that 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:25.880 netted international soccer officials and marketing executives fifty million dollars 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.840 over the last twenty four years. Like their criminal cousins 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:33.880 and organized crime, FIFA officials used a long list of 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.639 methods to hide their illegal activities. And move money. They 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.080 created shell companies, forged fake business contracts, and paid bribes 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:46.519 with envelopes stuffed full of cash. Here's the FBI director 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:50.720 James Comey. The day the indictments dropped, the game, according 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:54.680 to the allegations in this indictment, was hijacked. That field 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.720 that is so famously flat was made tilted in favor 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.519 of those who are looking to gain at the expense 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:05.080 of countries and kids who were enjoying the game of soccer. 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.480 Among the indicted was the face of the new and 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:15.560 I'm doing air quotes here Corruption Free FIFA Vice President 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.799 Jeffrey Webb. A loyal FIFA man to the end, Webb 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:24.120 was among the soccer executive scene, rolling his suitcase emblazoned 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:27.720 with a FIFA logo through the Borlack Hotel as he 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:31.720 was taken out by police. Webb was accused of soliciting 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:35.920 and accepting at least six million dollars worth of bribes. 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.400 He won't be surprised to hear his predecessor, Jack Warner 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:43.840 was also indicted. Former President Warner accused of being especially greedy, 0:03:44.160 --> 0:03:46.800 as he alone is alleged to have taken more than 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:50.440 ten million dollars in bribes over a nineteen year period 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:53.720 and amassed a personal fortune from his ill gotten gains. 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:59.120 Warner proudly and loudly declared himself an innocent man, and 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.280 after turning him off into authorities in Trinidad, he left 0:04:02.360 --> 0:04:07.520 jail in an ambulance, claiming get this exhaustion. Hours after 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:10.440 he was released from jail, the former fee for executant 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.640 politician was defiant because he addressed a rally dressed in 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:19.000 a brightly colored, obnoxious lime green shirt and baseball cap. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.600 The then seventy two year old Warner compared his few 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:26.520 hours in jail to Nelson Mandela's twenty seven years in prison. 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:32.600 It was even for him, nuts ever, the hustler. He 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:35.680 then gathered with his political supporters in dance to Bob 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:44.159 Marley's Three Little Birds with that well known refrain. The 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:49.000 scene was, as comedian John Oliver accurately pointed out, Bana's 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:54.320 that is cocky as songs go. That's a little on 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.680 the nose. I guess we're just lucky that he didn't go, 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:00.720 We've got your money by old dirty bastard. Which, come 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.880 to think about all three was that described Jack Warner perfectly, 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.719 but Warner's clowning wasn't over. A few days later, he 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:11.360 recorded an eight minute video for social media where he claimed, 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.839 the American indictments against FIFA and himself we're all part 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:19.520 of a grand conspiracy motivated by get this logic, a 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.760 US desire to host a World Cup tournament that very year, 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:28.080 that very month, that very night. As proof of his theory, 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:32.880 Warner held up an article that stated, FIFA frantically announces 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:38.839 two thousand fifteen Summer World Cup in United States. IFFA 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.599 so bad? Why is it the US? It wants to keep? 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:47.960 The only problem that article Warner defiantly waived was from 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:52.240 the satirical news website The Onion. The claim that the 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.320 matches of the hastily organized World Cup would start that 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:59.000 very day probably should have been an obvious clue that 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:02.040 it was a fake article home, But does Warner strike 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.400 you as a you know, read to the end of 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:09.320 the article type of guy? Me neither. His bizarre antics 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.680 received a good deal of attention and helped distract from 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.279 the long list of v I P soccer officials who 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:20.040 got indicted but who were far less entertaining. Seven other 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:23.279 officials or former officials from FIFA's body in North and 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:28.039 South America are charged. Executives from three sports marketing companies 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.240 are also accused of paying bribes and contracts for major tournaments. 0:06:32.880 --> 0:06:36.880 As you heard, Lynch indicted nine former and current FIFA officials. 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.799 It's a long list that ranges from FIFA board members 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:44.480 like eduard O Lee from Costa Rica to former Commonbeat 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:48.120 president Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, and of course it included 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:52.280 Warner and Webb. But what about Chuck Blazer. He had 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.200 already played guilty to ten counts of racketeering, money laundering, 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.279 and wire fraud when he flipped. Oh, when the Feds 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.640 had already he charged Jack Warner's two sons, Darryl and 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:06.440 Darren Warner in two thousand thirteen. The Warner boys were 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.600 working as go between for their father and we're nailed 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.640 while visiting Miami for wire fraud in connection to selling 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.920 World Cup tickets. So everything really wasn't going to be 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:23.040 all right for Warner. Speaking of Miami, Jose Avila, the 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:27.440 godfather of Brazilian soccer, did like Blazer and played guilty. 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:32.200 Avila admitted to four counts of racketeering, wire fraud, and 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:37.240 obstruction of justice. He agreed to forfeit a staggering one 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:41.480 hundred and fifty one million dollars in illegal profits. The 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:46.280 indictments were, as the I R. S Is Richard Webber described, unprecedented. 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:51.240 This really is the World Cup of fraud, and today 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:56.000 we're issuing FIFA a red card. As thorough and detailed 0:07:56.000 --> 0:08:00.120 as the US indictments were, they never explicitly said why 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.360 the U. S Department of Justice had decided to delve 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.600 into the culture of corruption at FIFA, which by all 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:09.200 accounts had been operating this way for years, probably decades. 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.560 So why now? While no U S officials said it 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.760 to anyone watching that day, it was perfectly clear. And 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:22.320 then there's the other investigation. The investigation began after the 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:25.440 US narrowly lost the two thousand and twenty two World 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:29.320 Cup to the country of Cutter amid allegations of bribery. 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.440 But almost immediately there were questions about the wisdom of 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.360 holding the World Cup in the Arabian desert heat in 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:39.040 one of the hottest places on Earth. Listen, you already 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.400 know the selection of Russia and Qatar for the two thousand, 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:44.600 eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups were 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:49.800 riddled with accusations of collusion. That knowledge colored every comment 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.880 and statement made by Lynch and the other d o 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:57.600 J officials that day the indictments were announced, Yet none 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:02.040 of the charges on fifteen were directly related to those 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.679 now discredited bids in Despite hours of secret recordings made 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.400 by Chuck Blazer and the inside information from Jose Avila, 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:14.160 none of the corruption outlined in the indictment directly implicated 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:19.320 FIFA presidents set Bladder. Bladder, who ran FIFA while all 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.480 these dirty deals took place, was curiously absent from the 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:28.600 charging papers. In nearly twenty years running football's governing body, 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:33.439 billions have poured into FIFA's coffers from sponsors and broadcasters 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:37.360 and back out again to football administrators around the world. 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:42.240 FIFA has lurched from graft scandal to graft scandal, but 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:47.719 Blatter has always walked away unscathed. FIFA's presidents seemed to 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:51.920 be in the clear for now, but questions about Qatar 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:56.319 and Russia lingered, and Lauretta Lynch hinted that Bladder could 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:59.599 still be a target. I'm not going to comment on 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.360 the stage at us of any individual who has isn't 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:05.280 named to date. The announcement today is about the charges 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.720 involving just these individuals, and I'm not able to comment 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:12.679 further on Mr bladders status. The message was obvious if 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:16.840 you have any information about corruption inside FIVA, speak up 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:21.280 now or take your chances riding out. The storm was set. 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:25.599 Oh and it was also really clear the d o 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.199 J wasn't through with its work and the two thousand 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.800 twenty two World Cup bid rigging, well not in the indictment, 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:34.679 was at the heart of the investigation. So let's go 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:42.760 back and talk about what happened. It was snowing in 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.599 Zurich the night before FIFA's Executive Committee was set to 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.040 vote on which two countries would get the two thousand 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:51.680 and eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups. 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.120 The soft glow of the city's lights reflected off the 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:59.000 fallen snow, illuminating the streets lined with a mix of 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:04.000 modern and medieval buildings. Zurich is the center of Switzerland's 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:08.880 secretive financial and banking industries and home to FIFA, and 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:12.120 on this night before the two thousand and ten vote, 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.760 the city was teaming with celebrities. Eleven countries had submitted 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.040 nine bids to FIFA, two of them were joint proposals. 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:24.080 Each nation paraded a slew of a listeners to woo 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:27.679 the lords of soccer in the wood paneled bar of 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:31.440 the Bar Lack, Yes, the very same hotel that would 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.520 be rated five years later. Soccer icon David Beckham sipped 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.040 single malt whiskey and pressed England's case to host the 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.800 two thousand and eighteen World Cup. Prince William chatted up 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.199 Trinidad's notorious dealmaker Jack Warner, who was still a few 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.800 months away from getting caught trying to rig the two 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:55.480 thousand and eleven presidential election. Australia dispatched the stunning L McPherson, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:59.520 the supermodel known around the world as the Body, hoping 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:04.600 she'd uh peel to FIFA's all male executive committee. Six 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.120 sounds well, it does. And let's be honest, when you're 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:10.880 sitting there considering who you're gonna vote for, and L 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:15.240 walks out there in a beenie, in a bikinie, that 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:19.680 will get your attention. Former President Bill Clinton with factor 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:23.800 Morgan Freeman and tow shilled for the United States. Clinton 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:28.320 did what any good politician does, shake hands slapped backs 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:33.280 and stroked the sizeable egos of FIFA's voters. The US 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.000 had its eye on the two thousand twenty two bid. 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:41.960 I believe your commitment to make every World Cup something 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:45.959 more than the contests of the game, to address the 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.120 larger challenges that all the players and their families and 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:53.320 their fellow countrymen and women faced back home, is one 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:59.199 of the defining characteristics of this great organization. Meanwhile, England 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:03.240 was feeling particularly plucky. There's a spring in Camp England's 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.240 step tonight and a sense that the three pronged attack 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.199 of the Prime Minister, Prince William and David Beckham is 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:13.520 paying dividends and the World Cup might just might be 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.440 within reach. When Russian Prime Minister of Vladimir Putin announced 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.840 he'd skip the proceedings in Zurich, it was taken as 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.440 a sign that Russia wasn't a true contender. In hindsight, 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:28.480 when Putin mocked the entire process, saying he wanted FIFA's 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:32.480 voters to make their decision free of outside pressure. The 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.120 English really everyone probably should have realized the fix was in, 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:41.080 but the English were confident, and they weren't the only 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:44.520 ones feeling cocky in the weeks before the vote. As 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:47.760 you heard, the US was focused on the World Cup, 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:51.520 and the American bid, like the English one, was rated 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:56.040 highly by FIFA. Both countries had modern stadiums, the ability 0:13:56.160 --> 0:14:01.839 to accommodate large numbers of tourists, and the marketing opportunity, commercials, brandings. 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:07.920 All that corporate stuff were gold, which we know FIFA loves. Conversely, 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:11.840 Russia and Qatar scored poorly. They didn't have the modern 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:16.640 FIFA style stadiums, ample hotel rooms and convenient transportation options 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.520 of the rivals, and in the case of Qatar, where 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:23.080 temperatures soar above a hundred and ten degrees fahrenheit, the 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.800 idea of a summer tournament seemed out of the question. 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.800 And Russia and Qatar's history of human rights abuses, while 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:33.280 frequently raised by Western media, they were less of a 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:39.400 concern for FIFA. Despite all of the red flags, became 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:43.600 clear to everyone Russia and Qatar were serious contenders as 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.920 the soccer World gathered in Zurich that snowy evening in 0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:50.880 December of two thousand and ten, especially since there was 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:55.120 a growing suspicion that FIFA's two voters were taking more 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:58.120 than just the technical and commercial aspects of the bids 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:24.240 into account. It is indeed a great day today, on 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:29.400 this second of December. If you're still skeptical about the 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.680 importance and power of FIFA, I want you to consider 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.320 the moment before the winning bids were announced in two 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:40.640 thousand and ten, hundreds of government leaders and celebrities had 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.480 flown in from around the world to crowd into the 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.800 Zurich Convention Center, every one of them forced to hand 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:51.000 over their mobile phones to security. Hundreds of millions of 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:54.880 TVs around the world flipped on to watch FIFA's announcement, 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.280 and all of the wanna be host nations fans assembled 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:03.640 at watch parties, hand clinching, chewing their fingernails. Up on 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:08.920 the stage under the bright lights, stood set Bladder, FIFA's 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:13.480 longtime president. Every so often, a camera cut to the crowd, 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:15.560 catching glimpses of the v I P s in the room, 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.480 Bill Clinton, L. McPherson, Prince William Morgan, Freeman, David Cameron, 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:26.560 David Beckham, zadan Za Dane. Normally these celebrities are the 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.880 center of their own universe, but now they just have 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.840 to wait, like millions of fans around the world for 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:38.440 Bladder to open the envelopes set. Bladder is at this 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.040 moment the most important man in their world, and he 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.880 knows it. Like a symphony conductor. He's playing on the 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:51.440 crowd's emotions, cracking jokes, thanking people. As everyone waits, you 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.600 can see it on their faces. Sep get to the announcement. 0:16:55.440 --> 0:17:01.200 Andy will eventually, like a smiling next accutioner, he will 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.280 rip open the first envelope and rip out the hearts 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.520 of so many people with his announcement. There are no 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:11.480 happy faces in this crowd. Instead, they project a spectrum 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:16.280 of pain, anxiety and fear. There's so much writing on 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:21.400 this moment. Bladder, an elderly swissman with an Elvish grin 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:24.359 at the corner of his mouth, is at this moment 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:28.320 the puppet master of global soccer, of global politics. Really, 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:34.159 finally he tears open the first envelope and so the 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:41.880 FIFA Volt Cup ladies and gentlemen will be organized. In Russia, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:50.280 the Russians celebrated the English delegation sits stone faced. I 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.520 couldn't believe what they had just heard. Prince William looked 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.600 on in disbelief. The head of the England bit just 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:01.720 stead into space. You can imagine what they're thinking. Russia, 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:07.639 corrupt Russia, pudent's Russia. A few minutes later, as the 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:11.800 Americans are ready to jump up with chance of USA USA, 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:18.639 bladder opens the second envelope. The winner to organize the 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:27.560 two twenty two FIFA vote Cup is Ka. The ecstatic 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.639 Qatari delegation jumps up in the air, hugging each other, 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:35.360 pumping their fists. The rest of the room sat in silence. 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:41.920 What had just happened? Then the whispers began. The journalist 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.920 Grant Wall was in the room that day. He remembers 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:52.320 everyone around him looking at each other asking in disbelief Qatar, Russia, 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:58.440 Russia and Qatar. Instantly there was like shaking of heads 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:04.760 of like something shady has happened here. Reporters and commentators 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:08.480 wondered aloud. How is it possible that these two countries, 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:12.120 the most ill suited and ill prepared nations, had won 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:16.080 over the United States, in England, over Australia, South Korea, Japan, 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:19.879 the joint bids of Spain and Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands. 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:23.560 It's easy to point the finger at Russia and Qatar 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:27.399 to claim they rig the vote. But you see, they 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.399 simply played the dirty game that FIFA created. FIFA not 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:36.000 only encouraged, but designed an entire selection process that chose 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:39.919 World Cup hosts in that indirect light that set Bladder 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:43.720 was so fond of. But when the process gets too dark, 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:49.679 too shady, too murky, people start asking questions, and for FIFA, 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:53.120 the answers to those questions would lead to an avalanche 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:57.200 of other questions, questions that couldn't be answered without doing 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:03.280 some significant damage to FIFA itself. That day, I think 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:07.639 is probably the most important day in the history of 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:10.920 FIFA in the one century in terms of what it 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:19.960 set in motion. The losing bidders had plenty of reason 0:20:20.080 --> 0:20:24.000 to ask what had happened with Russian Qatar. It wasn't 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:28.480 just bruised national pride or first World privilege. Months before 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:36.240 a newspaper investigation raised serious concerns about vote rigging, Ronald 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:40.160 Tamari was relaxed, a native of the small island nation 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:45.440 of Tahiti, to marry. Often projected a cool, calm beachgoer vibe. 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:49.000 On this fall day in two thousand and ten, just 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.639 a couple of months before the World Cup vote. The 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:54.760 top two buttons of his light blue dress shirt were open. 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.679 Why should a meeting with American lobbyists be so formal? 0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:03.119 To Marry was the sole representative of FIFA's Pacific Island 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:08.760 Confederation a k OCEANA and on FIFA's Executive Committee. He 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:11.680 was used to meeting with representatives of countries looking to 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.080 host the World Cup, so Mary knew why these lobbiests 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:17.000 had traveled such a long way to see him at 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:20.080 his office in Auckland, New Zealand. The only question was 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:24.440 how badly did they want to host the World Cup. Already, 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:26.960 two other bidders had offered a millions for his vote. 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:29.480 So when the lobbyists, who said they were from a 0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:33.040 consortium of American businesses hoping to bring the World Cup 0:21:33.119 --> 0:21:35.879 to the US in two thousand and twenty two, offered 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:38.679 to pay to Marry for his support, he left at 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:41.560 the chance. He told his guests he was looking for 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:45.200 about two million dollars to build a sports academy. Is 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:49.800 it something safe, for example, that that our consortium might 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:58.520 be able to Yes, distress on tape, you're here to 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:01.639 Marry tell the two visiting lobbyists he was open to 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:05.360 accepting money for a new sports academy. But the visitors 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:10.399 they weren't lobbyists, a big headline story for a British newspaper, 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:14.479 a big headache for World football's governing body. They were 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:19.000 reporters for The Sunday Times, a major British newspaper, and 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:21.760 they had just filmed Tamari agreeing to sell his vote, 0:22:22.600 --> 0:22:25.600 or at least suggesting he was open to selling it. 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.800 He wasn't the only one the Sunday Times caught on tape. 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:32.800 Nigeria's FIFA executive committee member was filmed agreeing to sell 0:22:32.960 --> 0:22:35.640 his vote and asked that the money be sent directly 0:22:35.840 --> 0:22:40.199 to him instead of his federation. FIFA acted quickly when 0:22:40.240 --> 0:22:43.679 the news broke. The two men were suspended from voting 0:22:43.840 --> 0:22:48.520 in the upcoming selection process. But what shady dealings hadn't 0:22:48.560 --> 0:22:52.200 been caught on tape. The magnitude of the decision to 0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:56.160 select Qatar and Russia unleashed a tidal wave of accusations 0:22:56.240 --> 0:23:05.000 about bribes and vote trading. Millions of pounds and knighthood 0:23:05.280 --> 0:23:08.240 and a brand new sports facility just some of the 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:12.280 backhanders which football officials have allegedly demanded in exchange for 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:15.560 backing World Cup bids. Some people actually think this is 0:23:15.600 --> 0:23:18.600 a genuine competition. It's not. It's about deals and double 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:23.080 deals and counter deals. That's Bonita Mercades. She's a long 0:23:23.240 --> 0:23:26.800 time sports marketing executive in Australia and she was part 0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:28.960 of the team back in her country's two thousand and 0:23:29.000 --> 0:23:32.760 twenty two bid. After spending some fifty million dollars of 0:23:32.920 --> 0:23:37.400 taxpayer money on flashy videos and lobbyists, Australia's World Cup 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:42.640 bid failed spectacularly. Australia has bid to host the two 0:23:42.680 --> 0:23:45.600 World Cup has come to a crushing end. It's got 0:23:45.880 --> 0:23:50.040 just one vote from the twenty two FIFA executive members. 0:23:51.200 --> 0:23:54.840 For two years before the vote tanked. In Zurich, Mercats 0:23:54.920 --> 0:23:58.600 saw firsthand just how dodgy the entire World Cup selection 0:23:58.640 --> 0:24:02.200 process was. Her Australian boss has fired her in two 0:24:02.280 --> 0:24:05.800 thousand and ten. She says for raising concerns about FIFA's 0:24:05.800 --> 0:24:08.760 bidding process, and it sounds terrible to say so, but 0:24:08.840 --> 0:24:10.960 you only had to meet some of these people to 0:24:11.080 --> 0:24:13.560 think that these people don't do business the same way 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:17.840 as other people do business. FIFA's process has been criticized 0:24:17.880 --> 0:24:20.879 for years, not only for the clear cut cases of 0:24:21.040 --> 0:24:23.920 bribery and vote buying, but also for the vast gray 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:28.960 areas that invite corruption, guidelines that say don't do this, 0:24:29.880 --> 0:24:33.680 but at the same time say absolutely do this. So, 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:38.879 for example, running the two bids together two. On the 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:42.399 one hand, the bidding guideline said, don't collude with another bidder, 0:24:42.920 --> 0:24:45.440 but on the other hand, we were running two bids 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:47.720 at the same time, the FIFA was running two bids 0:24:47.720 --> 0:24:51.160 at the same time. The obvious thing when you're strategizing 0:24:51.240 --> 0:24:54.600 a campaign to win something, and that's what it's all about, 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:59.919 was that you would find other bidding nations who, for instance, 0:25:00.119 --> 0:25:03.720 may have wanted while you were content to go for two, 0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:07.600 and talk about how you could collude. FIVA's rules are 0:25:07.720 --> 0:25:11.720 clear bribery and vote buying are prohibited, but they also 0:25:11.880 --> 0:25:15.560 encourage bidders to leave a quote legacy, a sort of 0:25:15.800 --> 0:25:19.639 FIFA gift to the voting association that isn't supposed to 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:23.080 be interpreted as a bribe, but in reality pretty much 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:25.720 looks like a bribe. We had to leave a legacy 0:25:26.080 --> 0:25:28.800 from the bid, not a legacy from the World Cup itself, 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:31.640 because that came later, but a legacy from running the bid, 0:25:31.680 --> 0:25:34.840 which is just a ridiculous notion. So if you've got 0:25:34.960 --> 0:25:37.560 to have a legacy from running the bid and there 0:25:37.600 --> 0:25:40.399 are only twenty four voters, what do you do? You 0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:42.840 asked those twenty four voter as well, what would you 0:25:43.040 --> 0:25:45.760 like that we can help you in terms of legacy 0:25:46.000 --> 0:25:49.639 from our bid? Once the what would you like question 0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:52.960 is asked, it's only a matter of time before demands 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:56.879 are made. Remember that sports academy that Ronald Simari asked for, 0:25:57.920 --> 0:26:00.560 and then there were the demands of Jack Warner, King 0:26:00.640 --> 0:26:04.800 of the Grift. But first a point of clarification. You 0:26:04.920 --> 0:26:07.440 heard her say twenty four voters, but there were only 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:11.080 two voters in zero in two thousand and ten. That's 0:26:11.119 --> 0:26:14.960 because Tamari and the Nigerian executive were booted off after 0:26:15.080 --> 0:26:18.200 the Sunday Times investigation. When it came to Jack Warner 0:26:19.240 --> 0:26:22.159 over it doesn't even begin to describe it. There was 0:26:22.240 --> 0:26:25.920 no subtlety about his requests, whether it be a piece 0:26:25.960 --> 0:26:30.920 of jewelry, whether it be paying for travel and accommodation 0:26:31.119 --> 0:26:35.160 related to a Trinidad and Tobago under twenty team, whether 0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:40.760 it be for funds to supposedly upgrade a stadium in 0:26:41.119 --> 0:26:44.119 Trinidad and Tobago, it didn't matter what it was, there 0:26:44.200 --> 0:26:48.280 was nothing overt about it. Among Jack Warner's mini requests 0:26:48.320 --> 0:26:51.960 in two thousand and ten, he wanted five thousand dollars 0:26:52.040 --> 0:26:55.240 to upgrade soccer fields at conker Caalfs Center of Excellence, 0:26:55.760 --> 0:26:59.280 which didn't actually belong to FIFA, but instead to Warner himself. 0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:03.640 Long after Mercy Adez was fired, Australia paid the money 0:27:03.680 --> 0:27:07.640 directly to Warner. They insisted it wasn't a bribe. Why 0:27:07.800 --> 0:27:11.919 was Australia even thinking it was appropriate to be contributing 0:27:12.040 --> 0:27:16.000 US five hundred thousand dollars to upgrade a stadium in 0:27:16.680 --> 0:27:20.560 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. And this is 0:27:20.640 --> 0:27:23.680 part of the absurdity. Why would we do that? And 0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:25.800 the only reason we did it is because Jack Warner 0:27:25.800 --> 0:27:31.120 asked for it. True to his reputation, Warner made multiple requests. 0:27:31.800 --> 0:27:35.280 According to Lord David Treesman, who ran England's bid for 0:27:35.320 --> 0:27:38.000 the two thousand and eighteen World Cup, Warner hit them 0:27:38.040 --> 0:27:41.879