FIFA Corruption Scandal: 7 Most Damning Allegations Ever

This is the big kahuna of sporting bribery scandals and the one that finally tipped the balance. It all started rolling when FIFA’s own ethics committee appointed a man with actual ethics. Big mistake.

American attorney Michael J. Garcia was appointed by Sepp Blatter as a way of showing reforms were under way in 2012. Garcia was supposed to have full access to interview all FIFA officials about corruption and bribery regarding the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia (Gazprom!) and Qatar (tiny desert nation with oil and little-to-no natural grass) respectively.

His report, supposedly damning, was redacted and when partially released as a 42-page summary of the 350-page report with no references to wrong-doing by Russia, Qatar or complicit FIFA officials, Garcia claimed it was erroneous and not representative of his actual findings. He subsequently quit FIFA.

And who was responsible for the redaction? A Blatter-appointed fellow named Han-Joachim Eckert. And so this whole mess fell straight into the laps of critics who noticed a common pattern. Announce you are enacting meaningful change. Have a a plan to soften the blow from said meaningful change. Reestablish equilibrium.

The mess is now so complicated that solving it will be like piecing together 12000 shredded documents from a pile of mulch. In addition the 2018/2022 host nations have started spending vast sums of public funds in preparation. Perhaps it would be unfair to turn back from those decisions, especially when public funds have already been spent, but FIFA has a set of future decisions now that will determine whether it will remain the world governing body of football or will be usurped, as it should well be in its current state.