FIFA has just opened an investigation in response to an article published in a magazine «The Sunday Times». The article reported that certain members of FIFA has asked for payment in return for their votes which is illegal.
The Sunday Times filmed a reunion between Amos Adamu (who is a member of the FIFA Executive Committee) asking two journalists who were posing as representatives of a United States Consortium $800 Thousand Dollars.
The purpose of the money (according to Adamu) is to construct four artificial turf fields in Nigeria and USA would get first vote in 2018 and second in 2022.
Reynald Temani (who is President of the Oceania Football Confederation) asked for $2.3 Million Dollars to fund a Soccer Academy in Auckland, New Zealand. He also said that representatives of two bidding countries had asked for $10 to $12 million.
The undercover journalists asked Amadou Diakite (Referee Committee Member Of FIFA) and Slim Aloulou (Dispute Resolution Committee) how much money to offer and their response was $1 Million Dollars with Aloulou saying «peanuts» should now be paid.
Adamu and Termani were unavailable for any comments and did not respond to any request for interviews. Sunil Gulati (President of the US Soccer Federation and Chairman of the US Bid Committee) states that they had nothing to do with the story and were not associated with the journalists.
Mr. Gulati has also declared that he will leave FIFA to continue and complete the investigation.
What has happened with the FIFA World Cup Bid Bribery Scandal is a disgrace. It is also a disgrace that top members of FIFA who vote included and may wanted to destroy the reputations of the USA, Australia, and other countries and their bid.
It is hoped that FIFA will investigate and punish those who attempted to compromise the World Cup selection process. It is also hoped that the countries who presented their candidacies are able to continue with their candidacies without incident.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has just published a letter that he wrote to the 24 member executive committee of the governing body of football/soccer.
In the letter, Blatter issued an apology for the scandal that has engulfed FIFA amid revelations from the Sunday Times that Amos Adamu and Reynald Temami were involved in selling their votes.
He mentioned about how the scandal has affected in a negative way the organization and the voting process.
Blatter also ordered the investigation on an immediate basis in cooperation with the Ethics Committee and the Secretary General.
He closed the letter by asking the 24 member executive committee NOT to make any comments in public during the period.
I would like to congratulate Sepp Blatter on his immediate response to a problem that could damage the organization, the sport, and the election process of the World Cup.
While I would welcome an investigation, I am also welcoming an open election process of the countries. If there were any officials involved in any wrong doing, they should be punished according to the rules of the FIFA Constitution.
We cannot tolerate any forms of misbehavior from the officials to athletes who violate the rules of FIFA. I also hope that the countries who have presented their candidacies do not have any negative impact from the scandal.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 