European football's leaders are to meet on Thursday in a bid to postpone FIFA's presidential election. UEFA said Friday's vote should not go ahead after bribery and racketeering charges were laid against senior officials in football's governing body. “These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in FIFA's culture,” UEFA said.
Key sponsors of FIFA have expressed serious concern after the US accused senior officials of football's governing body of racketeering, fraud and money laundering. Coca-Cola said the World Cup had been tarnished by lengthy controversy.
Argentina's foreign ministry confirmed late Wednesday that United States had officially requested the extradition of three Argentine citizens allegedly involved in the US Justice Department investigation into FIFA corrupt dealings.
FIFA chief Joseph Blatter in a brief statement said on Wednesday afternoon that we welcome the actions and the investigations by the US and Swiss authorities and further on emphasized that such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game•
FIFA has ruled out a re-vote on awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar as Swiss authorities prepare to question ten executive committee members about the corruption-tainted bidding process.
The United States Department of Justice brought charges on racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering on 14 FIFA and sports marketing officials. Dubbed the “World Cup of corruption” by Richard Weber, chief of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit, the charges are the result of an investigation from the U.S. District Attorney’s office in Eastern New York.
UEFA president Michel Platini blasted Sepp Blatter for lying about his pledge to step down in 2015 and throws his support behind presidential challenger Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Tuesday that Scotland does not want to leave the European Union (EU) when the referendum over the UK permanence within the block takes place.
The former Foreign Minister of Uruguay Luis Almagro Lemes took office on Tuesday as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) during a meeting of the Permanent Council at the headquarters of the Organization in Washington, DC.
Angela Merkel has retained her place as the world's most powerful woman for the fifth year in a row, U.S. business magazine Forbes said on Tuesday. Merkel has made the list 10 times in the past 12 years, nine of them as number one. She was first elected in 2005 and won an historic third term in 2013.