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Three FIFA executives accused of corruption


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Three FIFA executives accused of corruption

2010-11-30 15:37:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- Three senior FIFA executives were accused of accepting bribes in the 1990s by the BBC documentary 'Panorama' on Monday.

According to BBC's 'Panorama', senior officials Nicolas Leoz, Issa Hayatou and Ricardo Texeira received money from a sports marketing firm which was awarded lucrative World Cup rights in the 90s.

Leoz, of Paraguay, is the head of South America's football confederation. Teixeira is the head of the Brazilian Football Confederation which is responsible for staging the 2014 World Cup while Hayatou is the current FIFA vice-president representing football in African nations.

The alleged bribes were discovered in a confidential document from International Sports and Leisure (ISL) that listed approximately 175 payments totaling around $100 million. The three executives are due to vote on the upcoming 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

FIFA awarded ISL exclusive rights to market World Cup tournaments to some of the world's biggest brands and the sports marketing firm earned millions more from negotiating television broadcast rights.

The payments were funneled to front companies set up in Liechtenstein. ISL collapsed in 2001 and was followed by an investigation carried out by Swiss authorities. Ronald Buechel, a former ISL accountant, said that many in the company believed that the contracts were obtained through bribes.

"It is huge money, billions, that can be earned and all the sports marketing companies fight for it, they want it," Buechel said.

Panorama also accused a fourth FIFA executive committee member, Jack Warner, of attempting to sell World Cup tickets on the black market. Neither the officials nor the FIFA did immediately comment on the allegations.

The English Football Association (FA) condemned the timing of the announcement as England hopes to host the 2018 World Cup. The FA also considers Warner a key ally for its bid as his vote would be crucial for England's aspirations.

The vote is scheduled to take place on Thursday. England is competing with Russia, Spain and Portugal, and the Netherlands and Belgium to host the prestigious soccer tournament in 2018.

"It is certainly not going to win us any votes so we just have to see what happens tonight and move on," said Andy Arson, head of England's 2018 bid.

BBC defended its show Panorama, including its timing and content, by saying that the program is in the public interest.

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-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-30

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