Speaker 1: We began with a bombshell in the world of soccer.
Speaker 1: The morning of May two thousand and fifteen started badly
Speaker 1: for FIFA officials, and it only got worse. The arrest
Speaker 1: began early this morning at a luxury hotel in Zurich.
Speaker 1: Switcher at last swooped shortly after dawn took several FIFA
Speaker 1: high rollers away. Six soccer officials were taken into custody
Speaker 1: at the Borlack hotel and readied for extradition to the
Speaker 1: United States. The face charges that ranged from racketeering to
Speaker 1: money laundry. Later that day, America's top law enforcement official,
Speaker 1: Attorney General Lauretta Lynch, who had only been on the
Speaker 1: job for a month, confirmed what so many soccer fans
Speaker 1: had long suspected about FIFA. Many of the individuals and
Speaker 1: organizations we will describe today were entrusted with keeping soccer
Speaker 1: open and accessible to all. They held important responsibilities at
Speaker 1: every level, from building soccer fields for children and developing
Speaker 1: countries to Oregon rising the World Cup. Lynch said the
Speaker 1: corruption within FIFA was rampant and systemic. They were expected
Speaker 1: to uphold the rules that keeps soccer honest and to
Speaker 1: protect the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the
Speaker 1: business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to
Speaker 1: enrich themselves. I'm Connor Powell. This is episode three the indictments.
Speaker 1: The massive one hundred and sixty four page indictment, which
Speaker 1: when printed out, was as thick as the legal books
Speaker 1: behind Lynch at the press conference, describe the global soccer
Speaker 1: business in language normally reserved for drug cartels and mafia organizations.
Speaker 1: This is an investigation that, according to the Justice Department,
Speaker 1: spans a couple of decades, and according to them, FIFA
Speaker 1: was being run as a criminal enterprise. So that's not
Speaker 1: something you usually hear about world soccer. According to the
Speaker 1: bi charged fourteen people, nine current and former FIFA officials,
Speaker 1: and five other sports marketing executives. In all, the Department
Speaker 1: of Justice handed down forty seven separate criminal counts. The
Speaker 1: indictment alleges a pattern of fraud, bribery, and kickbacks that
Speaker 1: netted international soccer officials and marketing executives fifty million dollars
Speaker 1: over the last twenty four years. Like their criminal cousins
Speaker 1: and organized crime, FIFA officials used a long list of
Speaker 1: methods to hide their illegal activities. And move money. They
Speaker 1: created shell companies, forged fake business contracts, and paid bribes
Speaker 1: with envelopes stuffed full of cash. Here's the FBI director
Speaker 1: James Comey. The day the indictments dropped, the game, according
Speaker 1: to the allegations in this indictment, was hijacked. That field
Speaker 1: that is so famously flat was made tilted in favor
Speaker 1: of those who are looking to gain at the expense
Speaker 1: of countries and kids who were enjoying the game of soccer.
Speaker 1: Among the indicted was the face of the new and
Speaker 1: I'm doing air quotes here Corruption Free FIFA Vice President
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Webb. A loyal FIFA man to the end, Webb
Speaker 1: was among the soccer executive scene, rolling his suitcase emblazoned
Speaker 1: with a FIFA logo through the Borlack Hotel as he
Speaker 1: was taken out by police. Webb was accused of soliciting
Speaker 1: and accepting at least six million dollars worth of bribes.
Speaker 1: He won't be surprised to hear his predecessor, Jack Warner
Speaker 1: was also indicted. Former President Warner accused of being especially greedy,
Speaker 1: as he alone is alleged to have taken more than
Speaker 1: ten million dollars in bribes over a nineteen year period
Speaker 1: and amassed a personal fortune from his ill gotten gains.
Speaker 1: Warner proudly and loudly declared himself an innocent man, and
Speaker 1: after turning him off into authorities in Trinidad, he left
Speaker 1: jail in an ambulance, claiming get this exhaustion. Hours after
Speaker 1: he was released from jail, the former fee for executant
Speaker 1: politician was defiant because he addressed a rally dressed in
Speaker 1: a brightly colored, obnoxious lime green shirt and baseball cap.
Speaker 1: The then seventy two year old Warner compared his few
Speaker 1: hours in jail to Nelson Mandela's twenty seven years in prison.
Speaker 1: It was even for him, nuts ever, the hustler. He
Speaker 1: then gathered with his political supporters in dance to Bob
Speaker 1: Marley's Three Little Birds with that well known refrain. The
Speaker 1: scene was, as comedian John Oliver accurately pointed out, Bana's
Speaker 1: that is cocky as songs go. That's a little on
Speaker 1: the nose. I guess we're just lucky that he didn't go,
Speaker 1: We've got your money by old dirty bastard. Which, come
Speaker 1: to think about all three was that described Jack Warner perfectly,
Speaker 1: but Warner's clowning wasn't over. A few days later, he
Speaker 1: recorded an eight minute video for social media where he claimed,
Speaker 1: the American indictments against FIFA and himself we're all part
Speaker 1: of a grand conspiracy motivated by get this logic, a
Speaker 1: US desire to host a World Cup tournament that very year,
Speaker 1: that very month, that very night. As proof of his theory,
Speaker 1: Warner held up an article that stated, FIFA frantically announces
Speaker 1: two thousand fifteen Summer World Cup in United States. IFFA
Speaker 1: so bad? Why is it the US? It wants to keep?
Speaker 1: The only problem that article Warner defiantly waived was from
Speaker 1: the satirical news website The Onion. The claim that the
Speaker 1: matches of the hastily organized World Cup would start that
Speaker 1: very day probably should have been an obvious clue that
Speaker 1: it was a fake article home, But does Warner strike
Speaker 1: you as a you know, read to the end of
Speaker 1: the article type of guy? Me neither. His bizarre antics
Speaker 1: received a good deal of attention and helped distract from
Speaker 1: the long list of v I P soccer officials who
Speaker 1: got indicted but who were far less entertaining. Seven other
Speaker 1: officials or former officials from FIFA's body in North and
Speaker 1: South America are charged. Executives from three sports marketing companies
Speaker 1: are also accused of paying bribes and contracts for major tournaments.
Speaker 1: As you heard, Lynch indicted nine former and current FIFA officials.
Speaker 1: It's a long list that ranges from FIFA board members
Speaker 1: like eduard O Lee from Costa Rica to former Commonbeat
Speaker 1: president Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, and of course it included
Speaker 1: Warner and Webb. But what about Chuck Blazer. He had
Speaker 1: already played guilty to ten counts of racketeering, money laundering,
Speaker 1: and wire fraud when he flipped. Oh, when the Feds
Speaker 1: had already he charged Jack Warner's two sons, Darryl and
Speaker 1: Darren Warner in two thousand thirteen. The Warner boys were
Speaker 1: working as go between for their father and we're nailed
Speaker 1: while visiting Miami for wire fraud in connection to selling
Speaker 1: World Cup tickets. So everything really wasn't going to be
Speaker 1: all right for Warner. Speaking of Miami, Jose Avila, the
Speaker 1: godfather of Brazilian soccer, did like Blazer and played guilty.
Speaker 1: Avila admitted to four counts of racketeering, wire fraud, and
Speaker 1: obstruction of justice. He agreed to forfeit a staggering one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty one million dollars in illegal profits. The
Speaker 1: indictments were, as the I R. S Is Richard Webber described, unprecedented.
Speaker 1: This really is the World Cup of fraud, and today
Speaker 1: we're issuing FIFA a red card. As thorough and detailed
Speaker 1: as the US indictments were, they never explicitly said why
Speaker 1: the U. S Department of Justice had decided to delve
Speaker 1: into the culture of corruption at FIFA, which by all
Speaker 1: accounts had been operating this way for years, probably decades.
Speaker 1: So why now? While no U S officials said it
Speaker 1: to anyone watching that day, it was perfectly clear. And
Speaker 1: then there's the other investigation. The investigation began after the
Speaker 1: US narrowly lost the two thousand and twenty two World
Speaker 1: Cup to the country of Cutter amid allegations of bribery.
Speaker 1: But almost immediately there were questions about the wisdom of
Speaker 1: holding the World Cup in the Arabian desert heat in
Speaker 1: one of the hottest places on Earth. Listen, you already
Speaker 1: know the selection of Russia and Qatar for the two thousand,
Speaker 1: eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups were
Speaker 1: riddled with accusations of collusion. That knowledge colored every comment
Speaker 1: and statement made by Lynch and the other d o
Speaker 1: J officials that day the indictments were announced, Yet none
Speaker 1: of the charges on fifteen were directly related to those
Speaker 1: now discredited bids in Despite hours of secret recordings made
Speaker 1: by Chuck Blazer and the inside information from Jose Avila,
Speaker 1: none of the corruption outlined in the indictment directly implicated
Speaker 1: FIFA presidents set Bladder. Bladder, who ran FIFA while all
Speaker 1: these dirty deals took place, was curiously absent from the
Speaker 1: charging papers. In nearly twenty years running football's governing body,
Speaker 1: billions have poured into FIFA's coffers from sponsors and broadcasters
Speaker 1: and back out again to football administrators around the world.
Speaker 1: FIFA has lurched from graft scandal to graft scandal, but
Speaker 1: Blatter has always walked away unscathed. FIFA's presidents seemed to
Speaker 1: be in the clear for now, but questions about Qatar
Speaker 1: and Russia lingered, and Lauretta Lynch hinted that Bladder could
Speaker 1: still be a target. I'm not going to comment on
Speaker 1: the stage at us of any individual who has isn't
Speaker 1: named to date. The announcement today is about the charges
Speaker 1: involving just these individuals, and I'm not able to comment
Speaker 1: further on Mr bladders status. The message was obvious if
Speaker 1: you have any information about corruption inside FIVA, speak up
Speaker 1: now or take your chances riding out. The storm was set.
Speaker 1: Oh and it was also really clear the d o
Speaker 1: J wasn't through with its work and the two thousand
Speaker 1: twenty two World Cup bid rigging, well not in the indictment,
Speaker 1: was at the heart of the investigation. So let's go
Speaker 1: back and talk about what happened. It was snowing in
Speaker 1: Zurich the night before FIFA's Executive Committee was set to
Speaker 1: vote on which two countries would get the two thousand
Speaker 1: and eighteen and two thousand and twenty two World Cups.
Speaker 1: The soft glow of the city's lights reflected off the
Speaker 1: fallen snow, illuminating the streets lined with a mix of
Speaker 1: modern and medieval buildings. Zurich is the center of Switzerland's
Speaker 1: secretive financial and banking industries and home to FIFA, and
Speaker 1: on this night before the two thousand and ten vote,
Speaker 1: the city was teaming with celebrities. Eleven countries had submitted
Speaker 1: nine bids to FIFA, two of them were joint proposals.
Speaker 1: Each nation paraded a slew of a listeners to woo
Speaker 1: the lords of soccer in the wood paneled bar of
Speaker 1: the Bar Lack, Yes, the very same hotel that would
Speaker 1: be rated five years later. Soccer icon David Beckham sipped
Speaker 1: single malt whiskey and pressed England's case to host the
Speaker 1: two thousand and eighteen World Cup. Prince William chatted up
Speaker 1: Trinidad's notorious dealmaker Jack Warner, who was still a few
Speaker 1: months away from getting caught trying to rig the two
Speaker 1: thousand and eleven presidential election. Australia dispatched the stunning L McPherson,
Speaker 1: the supermodel known around the world as the Body, hoping
Speaker 1: she'd uh peel to FIFA's all male executive committee. Six
Speaker 1: sounds well, it does. And let's be honest, when you're
Speaker 1: sitting there considering who you're gonna vote for, and L
Speaker 1: walks out there in a beenie, in a bikinie, that
Speaker 1: will get your attention. Former President Bill Clinton with factor
Speaker 1: Morgan Freeman and tow shilled for the United States. Clinton
Speaker 1: did what any good politician does, shake hands slapped backs
Speaker 1: and stroked the sizeable egos of FIFA's voters. The US
Speaker 1: had its eye on the two thousand twenty two bid.
Speaker 1: I believe your commitment to make every World Cup something
Speaker 1: more than the contests of the game, to address the
Speaker 1: larger challenges that all the players and their families and
Speaker 1: their fellow countrymen and women faced back home, is one
Speaker 1: of the defining characteristics of this great organization. Meanwhile, England
Speaker 1: was feeling particularly plucky. There's a spring in Camp England's
Speaker 1: step tonight and a sense that the three pronged attack
Speaker 1: of the Prime Minister, Prince William and David Beckham is
Speaker 1: paying dividends and the World Cup might just might be
Speaker 1: within reach. When Russian Prime Minister of Vladimir Putin announced
Speaker 1: he'd skip the proceedings in Zurich, it was taken as
Speaker 1: a sign that Russia wasn't a true contender. In hindsight,
Speaker 1: when Putin mocked the entire process, saying he wanted FIFA's
Speaker 1: voters to make their decision free of outside pressure. The
Speaker 1: English really everyone probably should have realized the fix was in,
Speaker 1: but the English were confident, and they weren't the only
Speaker 1: ones feeling cocky in the weeks before the vote. As
Speaker 1: you heard, the US was focused on the World Cup,
Speaker 1: and the American bid, like the English one, was rated
Speaker 1: highly by FIFA. Both countries had modern stadiums, the ability
Speaker 1: to accommodate large numbers of tourists, and the marketing opportunity, commercials, brandings.
Speaker 1: All that corporate stuff were gold, which we know FIFA loves. Conversely,
Speaker 1: Russia and Qatar scored poorly. They didn't have the modern
Speaker 1: FIFA style stadiums, ample hotel rooms and convenient transportation options
Speaker 1: of the rivals, and in the case of Qatar, where
Speaker 1: temperatures soar above a hundred and ten degrees fahrenheit, the
Speaker 1: idea of a summer tournament seemed out of the question.
Speaker 1: And Russia and Qatar's history of human rights abuses, while
Speaker 1: frequently raised by Western media, they were less of a
Speaker 1: concern for FIFA. Despite all of the red flags, became
Speaker 1: clear to everyone Russia and Qatar were serious contenders as
Speaker 1: the soccer World gathered in Zurich that snowy evening in
Speaker 1: December of two thousand and ten, especially since there was
Speaker 1: a growing suspicion that FIFA's two voters were taking more
Speaker 1: than just the technical and commercial aspects of the bids
Speaker 1: into account. It is indeed a great day today, on
Speaker 1: this second of December. If you're still skeptical about the
Speaker 1: importance and power of FIFA, I want you to consider
Speaker 1: the moment before the winning bids were announced in two
Speaker 1: thousand and ten, hundreds of government leaders and celebrities had
Speaker 1: flown in from around the world to crowd into the
Speaker 1: Zurich Convention Center, every one of them forced to hand
Speaker 1: over their mobile phones to security. Hundreds of millions of
Speaker 1: TVs around the world flipped on to watch FIFA's announcement,
Speaker 1: and all of the wanna be host nations fans assembled
Speaker 1: at watch parties, hand clinching, chewing their fingernails. Up on
Speaker 1: the stage under the bright lights, stood set Bladder, FIFA's
Speaker 1: longtime president. Every so often, a camera cut to the crowd,
Speaker 1: catching glimpses of the v I P s in the room,
Speaker 1: Bill Clinton, L. McPherson, Prince William Morgan, Freeman, David Cameron,
Speaker 1: David Beckham, zadan Za Dane. Normally these celebrities are the
Speaker 1: center of their own universe, but now they just have
Speaker 1: to wait, like millions of fans around the world for
Speaker 1: Bladder to open the envelopes set. Bladder is at this
Speaker 1: moment the most important man in their world, and he
Speaker 1: knows it. Like a symphony conductor. He's playing on the
Speaker 1: crowd's emotions, cracking jokes, thanking people. As everyone waits, you
Speaker 1: can see it on their faces. Sep get to the announcement.
Speaker 1: Andy will eventually, like a smiling next accutioner, he will
Speaker 1: rip open the first envelope and rip out the hearts
Speaker 1: of so many people with his announcement. There are no
Speaker 1: happy faces in this crowd. Instead, they project a spectrum
Speaker 1: of pain, anxiety and fear. There's so much writing on
Speaker 1: this moment. Bladder, an elderly swissman with an Elvish grin
Speaker 1: at the corner of his mouth, is at this moment
Speaker 1: the puppet master of global soccer, of global politics. Really,
Speaker 1: finally he tears open the first envelope and so the
Speaker 1: FIFA Volt Cup ladies and gentlemen will be organized. In Russia,
Speaker 1: the Russians celebrated the English delegation sits stone faced. I
Speaker 1: couldn't believe what they had just heard. Prince William looked
Speaker 1: on in disbelief. The head of the England bit just
Speaker 1: stead into space. You can imagine what they're thinking. Russia,
Speaker 1: corrupt Russia, pudent's Russia. A few minutes later, as the
Speaker 1: Americans are ready to jump up with chance of USA USA,
Speaker 1: bladder opens the second envelope. The winner to organize the
Speaker 1: two twenty two FIFA vote Cup is Ka. The ecstatic
Speaker 1: Qatari delegation jumps up in the air, hugging each other,
Speaker 1: pumping their fists. The rest of the room sat in silence.
Speaker 1: What had just happened? Then the whispers began. The journalist
Speaker 1: Grant Wall was in the room that day. He remembers
Speaker 1: everyone around him looking at each other asking in disbelief Qatar, Russia,
Speaker 1: Russia and Qatar. Instantly there was like shaking of heads
Speaker 1: of like something shady has happened here. Reporters and commentators
Speaker 1: wondered aloud. How is it possible that these two countries,
Speaker 1: the most ill suited and ill prepared nations, had won
Speaker 1: over the United States, in England, over Australia, South Korea, Japan,
Speaker 1: the joint bids of Spain and Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Speaker 1: It's easy to point the finger at Russia and Qatar
Speaker 1: to claim they rig the vote. But you see, they
Speaker 1: simply played the dirty game that FIFA created. FIFA not
Speaker 1: only encouraged, but designed an entire selection process that chose
Speaker 1: World Cup hosts in that indirect light that set Bladder
Speaker 1: was so fond of. But when the process gets too dark,
Speaker 1: too shady, too murky, people start asking questions, and for FIFA,
Speaker 1: the answers to those questions would lead to an avalanche
Speaker 1: of other questions, questions that couldn't be answered without doing
Speaker 1: some significant damage to FIFA itself. That day, I think
Speaker 1: is probably the most important day in the history of
Speaker 1: FIFA in the one century in terms of what it
Speaker 1: set in motion. The losing bidders had plenty of reason
Speaker 1: to ask what had happened with Russian Qatar. It wasn't
Speaker 1: just bruised national pride or first World privilege. Months before
Speaker 1: a newspaper investigation raised serious concerns about vote rigging, Ronald
Speaker 1: Tamari was relaxed, a native of the small island nation
Speaker 1: of Tahiti, to marry. Often projected a cool, calm beachgoer vibe.
Speaker 1: On this fall day in two thousand and ten, just
Speaker 1: a couple of months before the World Cup vote. The
Speaker 1: top two buttons of his light blue dress shirt were open.
Speaker 1: Why should a meeting with American lobbyists be so formal?
Speaker 1: To Marry was the sole representative of FIFA's Pacific Island
Speaker 1: Confederation a k OCEANA and on FIFA's Executive Committee. He
Speaker 1: was used to meeting with representatives of countries looking to
Speaker 1: host the World Cup, so Mary knew why these lobbiests
Speaker 1: had traveled such a long way to see him at
Speaker 1: his office in Auckland, New Zealand. The only question was
Speaker 1: how badly did they want to host the World Cup. Already,
Speaker 1: two other bidders had offered a millions for his vote.
Speaker 1: So when the lobbyists, who said they were from a
Speaker 1: consortium of American businesses hoping to bring the World Cup
Speaker 1: to the US in two thousand and twenty two, offered
Speaker 1: to pay to Marry for his support, he left at
Speaker 1: the chance. He told his guests he was looking for
Speaker 1: about two million dollars to build a sports academy. Is
Speaker 1: it something safe, for example, that that our consortium might
Speaker 1: be able to Yes, distress on tape, you're here to
Speaker 1: Marry tell the two visiting lobbyists he was open to
Speaker 1: accepting money for a new sports academy. But the visitors
Speaker 1: they weren't lobbyists, a big headline story for a British newspaper,
Speaker 1: a big headache for World football's governing body. They were
Speaker 1: reporters for The Sunday Times, a major British newspaper, and
Speaker 1: they had just filmed Tamari agreeing to sell his vote,
Speaker 1: or at least suggesting he was open to selling it.
Speaker 1: He wasn't the only one the Sunday Times caught on tape.
Speaker 1: Nigeria's FIFA executive committee member was filmed agreeing to sell
Speaker 1: his vote and asked that the money be sent directly
Speaker 1: to him instead of his federation. FIFA acted quickly when
Speaker 1: the news broke. The two men were suspended from voting
Speaker 1: in the upcoming selection process. But what shady dealings hadn't
Speaker 1: been caught on tape. The magnitude of the decision to
Speaker 1: select Qatar and Russia unleashed a tidal wave of accusations
Speaker 1: about bribes and vote trading. Millions of pounds and knighthood
Speaker 1: and a brand new sports facility just some of the
Speaker 1: backhanders which football officials have allegedly demanded in exchange for
Speaker 1: backing World Cup bids. Some people actually think this is
Speaker 1: a genuine competition. It's not. It's about deals and double
Speaker 1: deals and counter deals. That's Bonita Mercades. She's a long
Speaker 1: time sports marketing executive in Australia and she was part
Speaker 1: of the team back in her country's two thousand and
Speaker 1: twenty two bid. After spending some fifty million dollars of
Speaker 1: taxpayer money on flashy videos and lobbyists, Australia's World Cup
Speaker 1: bid failed spectacularly. Australia has bid to host the two
Speaker 1: World Cup has come to a crushing end. It's got
Speaker 1: just one vote from the twenty two FIFA executive members.
Speaker 1: For two years before the vote tanked. In Zurich, Mercats
Speaker 1: saw firsthand just how dodgy the entire World Cup selection
Speaker 1: process was. Her Australian boss has fired her in two
Speaker 1: thousand and ten. She says for raising concerns about FIFA's
Speaker 1: bidding process, and it sounds terrible to say so, but
Speaker 1: you only had to meet some of these people to
Speaker 1: think that these people don't do business the same way
Speaker 1: as other people do business. FIFA's process has been criticized
Speaker 1: for years, not only for the clear cut cases of
Speaker 1: bribery and vote buying, but also for the vast gray
Speaker 1: areas that invite corruption, guidelines that say don't do this,
Speaker 1: but at the same time say absolutely do this. So,
Speaker 1: for example, running the two bids together two. On the
Speaker 1: one hand, the bidding guideline said, don't collude with another bidder,
Speaker 1: but on the other hand, we were running two bids
Speaker 1: at the same time, the FIFA was running two bids
Speaker 1: at the same time. The obvious thing when you're strategizing
Speaker 1: a campaign to win something, and that's what it's all about,
Speaker 1: was that you would find other bidding nations who, for instance,
Speaker 1: may have wanted while you were content to go for two,
Speaker 1: and talk about how you could collude. FIVA's rules are
Speaker 1: clear bribery and vote buying are prohibited, but they also
Speaker 1: encourage bidders to leave a quote legacy, a sort of
Speaker 1: FIFA gift to the voting association that isn't supposed to
Speaker 1: be interpreted as a bribe, but in reality pretty much
Speaker 1: looks like a bribe. We had to leave a legacy
Speaker 1: from the bid, not a legacy from the World Cup itself,
Speaker 1: because that came later, but a legacy from running the bid,
Speaker 1: which is just a ridiculous notion. So if you've got
Speaker 1: to have a legacy from running the bid and there
Speaker 1: are only twenty four voters, what do you do? You
Speaker 1: asked those twenty four voter as well, what would you
Speaker 1: like that we can help you in terms of legacy
Speaker 1: from our bid? Once the what would you like question
Speaker 1: is asked, it's only a matter of time before demands
Speaker 1: are made. Remember that sports academy that Ronald Simari asked for,
Speaker 1: and then there were the demands of Jack Warner, King
Speaker 1: of the Grift. But first a point of clarification. You
Speaker 1: heard her say twenty four voters, but there were only
Speaker 1: two voters in zero in two thousand and ten. That's
Speaker 1: because Tamari and the Nigerian executive were booted off after
Speaker 1: the Sunday Times investigation. When it came to Jack Warner
Speaker 1: over it doesn't even begin to describe it. There was
Speaker 1: no subtlety about his requests, whether it be a piece
Speaker 1: of jewelry, whether it be paying for travel and accommodation
Speaker 1: related to a Trinidad and Tobago under twenty team, whether
Speaker 1: it be for funds to supposedly upgrade a stadium in
Speaker 1: Trinidad and Tobago, it didn't matter what it was, there
Speaker 1: was nothing overt about it. Among Jack Warner's mini requests
Speaker 1: in two thousand and ten, he wanted five thousand dollars
Speaker 1: to upgrade soccer fields at conker Caalfs Center of Excellence,
Speaker 1: which didn't actually belong to FIFA, but instead to Warner himself.
Speaker 1: Long after Mercy Adez was fired, Australia paid the money
Speaker 1: directly to Warner. They insisted it wasn't a bribe. Why
Speaker 1: was Australia even thinking it was appropriate to be contributing
Speaker 1: US five hundred thousand dollars to upgrade a stadium in
Speaker 1: in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. And this is
Speaker 1: part of the absurdity. Why would we do that? And
Speaker 1: the only reason we did it is because Jack Warner
Speaker 1: asked for it. True to his reputation, Warner made multiple requests.
Speaker 1: According to Lord David Treesman, who ran England's bid for
Speaker 1: the two thousand and eighteen World Cup, Warner hit them
Speaker 1: up for roughly three million dollars. Treesman said Warner had
Speaker 1: told him he wanted to leave his home of Trinidad's
Speaker 1: a legacy. The English officials refused, you must be joking, Jack,
Speaker 1: You're talking about probably two and a half million pounds. Jack.
Speaker 1: Warner nodded at that and sat back. You didn't say anything.
Speaker 1: He nodded, douchet, but then said that the funds could
Speaker 1: be channeled through here and he would guarantee that they
Speaker 1: were appropriately spent. But Warner, he wasn't the only one
Speaker 1: looking for a payday. Nicolas Laos, the Paraguayan, told Lord
Speaker 1: Treesman a knighthood would be appropriate, and the Tide delegate
Speaker 1: Worri Mkudi wanted lucrative TV rights for a planned international friendly.
Speaker 1: What shady games Russia might have engaged in, it isn't
Speaker 1: clear because Moscow destroyed all of its emails and files
Speaker 1: connected to its winning bid. There are rumors that Vladimir
Speaker 1: Putin offered a Picasso painting to Michelle Platini, then the
Speaker 1: president of UEFA, the European Football Association. The rumors about
Speaker 1: the Picasso were never proven, but Russia did give an
Speaker 1: unnamed painting of a landscape to a different FIFA executive
Speaker 1: committee member, though Viva says the unnamed painting had no
Speaker 1: significant monetary value. Mean, you just can't make this stuff up.
Speaker 1: And then there's Qatar, the unlikeliest of World Cup hosts.
Speaker 1: The decision to award the tournament to Cutter was highly controversial.
Speaker 1: Now millions of secret documents leaked to The Sunday Times
Speaker 1: raised new questions over how Kata won the vote. At
Speaker 1: the center of the new allegations is this man, Mohammed
Speaker 1: bin Hammam. The key to Qatar's victory appears to have
Speaker 1: been Mohammed bin Hammam, or, to be more specific, his money.
Speaker 1: Email after email appears to show he was not only
Speaker 1: backing Kata, but controlling a covert fund of five million
Speaker 1: dollars to buy support and influence. As you recall, Bin
Speaker 1: Hamma would later go on to challenge that ladder for
Speaker 1: the FIFA presidency with some help from Jack Warner, which
Speaker 1: would then send Chuck Blazer into a tail span and
Speaker 1: inadvertently into the arms of the i r S. Bin
Speaker 1: Hammam was not officially part of katar his bid team
Speaker 1: in two thousand and ten, but he seems to have
Speaker 1: bankrolled it and spread the money around been her mom,
Speaker 1: paid bribes and operated slush funds to pay people who
Speaker 1: had an influence on the vote. Former FIFA Vice president
Speaker 1: Mohammed bin har Mom paid three point seven million euros
Speaker 1: to delegates in return for their support for Qatar's World
Speaker 1: Cup bid. Qatar defeated the US fourteen votes to AID
Speaker 1: in the final round, and it's believed that many, maybe
Speaker 1: even all, of Qatar's votes were bought in some form
Speaker 1: or another. FIFA executive members Isa Hayatu of Cameroon and
Speaker 1: Jack and Amo of the Ivory Coast each pocketed one
Speaker 1: and a half million dollars to support Qatar, saying with
Speaker 1: Nicholas Leo's of Paraguay, whose name you might remember from
Speaker 1: the two thousand and fifteen indictment. It's also alleged Ronald
Speaker 1: Tamari and Amos Adamu, the Nigerian delegate, were offered money
Speaker 1: by on one representing Qatar, with a million dollars just
Speaker 1: turning up in a bank account belonging to a Damu's son.
Speaker 1: The only FIFA Executive Committee member that bin ha Mom
Speaker 1: and Qatar didn't try to bribe appears to have been
Speaker 1: Chuck Blazer, who had the US one the two thousand
Speaker 1: and twenty two tournament, would have become the King of
Speaker 1: US soccer. Blazer often joked with his girlfriend that he
Speaker 1: felt slighted he wasn't at least approached with cash. But
Speaker 1: perhaps the most interesting Qatari deal is the one France made.
Speaker 1: Ever since Qatar was awarded the two world cut back
Speaker 1: in two thousand and ten has been this shadow of
Speaker 1: alleged corruption, But there's always been a lot of intrigue
Speaker 1: over Platini's choice to vote for Katar. Michelle Platini, the
Speaker 1: former French soccer star, and you if a president at
Speaker 1: the time, had, like Sep Ladder, been a supporter of
Speaker 1: America's two thousand and need to bid. The two, according
Speaker 1: to Bladder, had a gentleman's agreement to return the World
Speaker 1: Cup to the US and tap into its massive media market.
Speaker 1: But nine days before that fateful two thousand and ten
Speaker 1: vote was set to take place, Platini was invited to
Speaker 1: lunch within French President Nicolas Sarkozzi. The meeting was held
Speaker 1: in secret in Paris just before that vote. Also at
Speaker 1: the table Qatar's Prime minister Shaike Hammad bin Jessum and
Speaker 1: the son of Qatar's ruler, Tomim al Thani. Platini denies
Speaker 1: he was told who to vote for, but whatever was
Speaker 1: said at the meeting, it had an impact on him.
Speaker 1: Platini then rode back on that promise he switched to
Speaker 1: support the Middle Eastern country. Platini acknowledged it was crystal
Speaker 1: clear who Sarkozy supported, but insisted that he himself didn't
Speaker 1: bow to any political pressure. Speaking to Sky News several
Speaker 1: years later, Platini tried to defend his decision. He's a
Speaker 1: chance for here's a chance for a part of this
Speaker 1: part of the world to receive the World Cups. Instead,
Speaker 1: we're asked to believe Plantiny, once the best player in
Speaker 1: the world, decided to stage the World Cup in a
Speaker 1: scorching hot desert country with no soccer history and no
Speaker 1: soccer stadiums. Critics suggest the decision to bought Qatar was
Speaker 1: made because of politics and trade, not for football reasons.
Speaker 1: Not long after Platini switched his support, a new economic
Speaker 1: relationship blossom between Qatar and France. Qatar bought fifty French
Speaker 1: made Airbus A three twenty jumbo jets in French firms
Speaker 1: have won lucrative construction contracts to build the required World
Speaker 1: Cup infrastructure in Qatar. Oh and Sarkozy's favorite soccer team,
Speaker 1: Paris Saint Germain, which had a famed history but no
Speaker 1: money or recent success was bought by Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Speaker 1: So yeah, you might conclude that lunch was a lot
Speaker 1: more consequential than Platini was willing to admit. Let's review.
Speaker 1: The U s Department of Justice had just indicted fourteen
Speaker 1: high ranking soccer officials and what was the largest global
Speaker 1: corruption case in the history of the world, and it
Speaker 1: was happening to FIFA, an organization that says its entire
Speaker 1: purpose is to spread fair play and inclusiveness by making
Speaker 1: soccer a global sport. One name conspicuously left off the
Speaker 1: list Sep Ladder, the godfather of soccer. In our next episode,
Speaker 1: Ladder struggles to hold onto the reins of power. And
Speaker 1: for those of you still listening, here's the rest of
Speaker 1: the officials who were indicted. In addition to Warner and Web,
Speaker 1: there were Eduardo Lee, a Costa Rican soccer official and
Speaker 1: FIFA executive board member, Julio Rocha Lopez, a Nicaraguan who
Speaker 1: oversaw FIFA's development projects in Central America, Costas Takas, a
Speaker 1: British accountant and senior advisor with Conka calf Eugenio Figuretto,
Speaker 1: a Uruguayan FIFA vice president, and past president of Commy Ball,
Speaker 1: Raphael Equivil, a Venezuelan and executive with Commy Ball. Jose
Speaker 1: Maria Morin, a Brazilian and chair of the two thousand
Speaker 1: and fourteen Brazil World Cup. Nicholas Leo's a Paraguayan who
Speaker 1: was a former Commy Ball president and who also sat
Speaker 1: on FIFA's executive committee. That's a lot of names, and wait,
Speaker 1: there's more. In addition to the FIFA officials, five high
Speaker 1: powered sports executives who did business with FIFA were also charged.
Speaker 1: Alejandro Brazaco, the director of an Argentine sports marketing firm,
Speaker 1: Aaron Davidson, the North American president of Traffic Group, Jose
Speaker 1: Marghali's a Brazilian broadcaster who facilitated million in bribes. And
Speaker 1: there was Hugo and Mariano Yankis in Argentine father and
Speaker 1: son duo who ran the sports marketing company Full Play Group.
Speaker 1: The Lords of Soccer Al FIFA Stole The Beautiful Game
Speaker 1: is an Inside Voices media production in conjunction with I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. The series was written and executive produced by
Speaker 1: Gary Scott and me Connor Powell, Logan Heftel and Katie
Speaker 1: mcmurran provided the sound design with assistance from j. C.
Speaker 1: Swaddick and Jake Blue Note. Alec Cowen is our associate
Speaker 1: producer and Jeffrey Katz was our story editor. Our fact
Speaker 1: checker is Alexa O'Brien, and thanks to Miles Gray, who
Speaker 1: produced the series for I Heart Radio. If you have
Speaker 1: any comments or questions, please reach out. You can find
Speaker 1: us on Twitter. I'm at Connor M. Powell and Gary
Speaker 1: is at Gary Robert Scott and if you have any
Speaker 1: stories about FIFA, let us know. If you like what
Speaker 1: you hear, please give us a shout out at the
Speaker 1: hashtag Lords of Soccer