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Updated 16.21pm
FIFA HAS CONFIRMED that their presidential elections will go ahead as planned despite the opening of two separate criminal investigations this morning.
Seven Fifa officials were arrested at a hotel in Zurich, where members of the football governing body are gathering for their Congress.
The US Attorney General’s case centres on alleged corruption in commercial deals for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.
Separately, Swiss federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Qatar and Russia.
Sepp Blatter, who is expected to be elected to a fifth presidential term on Friday, is not one of those involved in the investigation, Fifa said in a hastily-arranged press conference this morning.
The prosecutors’ office says the proceedings are against “persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering” in connection with the votes won by Russia and Qatar. Up to 10 people will be questioned.
Prosecutors say they have seized “electronic data and documents” at Fifa’s headquarters as part of the probe.
US investigation
In a statement this morning following the hotel raid, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said US authorities suspect the officials of having received bribes totaling millions of dollars.
It says the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes between the early 1990s and now.
The case involves bribes “totaling more than $100 million” linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America, the statement said.
The New York Times reports that the Swiss officers arrived at the Zurich hotel in plain clothes, went to the front desk to get keys, and proceeded upstairs to the rooms of the arrested executives.
Press conference
Speaking to reporters this morning, Director of Communications and PR at Fifa Walter de Gregorio declined to confirm the names or any further information regarding the officials involved.
“The timing may not be obviously the best but definitely Fifa welcomes this process and cooperates fully with the Attorney General of Switzerland and the Federal Office of Justice,” de Gregario said.
“In this case Fifa is the damaged party. This leads to the fact that there were no searches in the offices of Fifa.
“The people of the Federal Attorney are here, we cooperate with them, we provide all the information requested by them. This is for our own interest.”
This Friday’s planned elections would go ahead, he said. And there were no plans to re-vote on the locations of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
“What do you expect from us — that we start to speculate and say that with Russia and Qatar we will have to re-do the voting.
Russia and Qatar will be played. This is what is fact today and I don’t go into speculation what will happen tomorrow.
FAI reaction
“If it it wasn’t so serious it sounds like something out of a mafia movie,” FAI boss John Delaney, speaking to RTÉ radio, said this morning.
Nothing would surprise me at Fifa now, that’s the sad thing now.
While Uefa, the European governing body, is a “tremendous organisation” to work with, Delaney said – there has long been speculation of bribery and corruption within Fifa.
“There’s always controversy around Fifa and its decisions and its governance.
And the one person that’s always been at the head of that has been Sepp Blatter. And he has to take some responsibility at this stage.
Delaney, who said yesterday that the FAI wouldn’t be voting for him in the upcoming presidential election – reiterated that he thought Blatter should step down.
The governance of Fifa needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, Delaney said.
In my opinion he will win the election if takes place on Friday, but we won’t be voting for him. I don’t think we should.
However, he added that he believed the overnight events would “crystallise views” within Uefa – and that people would “take the view it’s time for a change”.
Fifa’s spokesman, meanwhile, said Blatter was “quite relaxed” this morning.
“…because he knows and he knew before that he is not involved. All the rest, he can accept what will happen.”
On a difficult day for Fifa, it was alleged by the US Attorney General that officials accepted bribes to help secure the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
It is also alleged that bribery was involved in Fifa’s 2011 presidential election and the 2016 Copa America tournament.
With reporting from Associated Press, Daragh Brophy, Niall Kelly and Paul Fennessy..
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Well done lads. People homeless and good educated kids leaving the Country in the thousands and all they worry about is a prayer. Well Trump will have the last laugh on these politicians and I hope he recinds the invite for Paddys Day to them
@linda o keeffe: The opposition,that’s why they lost the election.
@Gerard Mahady: top comment 100% the invasion and erosion of our culture and land by Islam enabled by our liberal left government and opposition and sure we the people are all far right better watch what we say especially after the Garda bugging of journalists in our so called democracy freedom of speech will be a distant memory
@Gerard Mahady: They’d introduce it, if they could!
@I’m a robot Robot: we have established right wing parties only very recently. They are very inexperienced and it will take a few years for people to trust them handling our problems. It will inevitably happen where we will get an actual right wing party. Next election will definitely see a growth in right wing parties popularity. 8 years time there will be a right wing party in charge no doubt. Just look across Europe. Reform UK were established recently, and didn’t get voted in because people didn’t trust them handling the money because of their inexperience. Now Nigel Farge is favourite to be the next prime minister of the UK. (Check Paddy Power). Right wing parties are winning in Sweden, Austria, Denmark, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany, Italy, Poland etc. It’s inevitable thankfully
@Joe Willis: reply meant for David
Nope!!!!
@Dman: why not?
@Darius Guppy: Why change it? The country didn’t vote for the opposition.
@Daniel Roche: Ridiculous comment and how did the opposition get elected, osmosis?
It would be much better if the state took the church to court for the hundreds of millions, still owed, to the people of Ireland for what happened to our citizens.
@Jimmy Donovan: That will get silence guaranteed Mr Donovan ,many moments me thinks.
@Jimmy Donovan:
Hundreds of Millions from where? What do you thinks the market values of cathedrals, monasteries and churches are? Mostly negative equity considering the maintenance costs.
We are facing dangerous times and this . Please don’t waste our time with nonsense. The best can can be managed are compensation schemes, which mean the we the taxpayers pay, for state negligence 50 + years ago. BTW these compensation /redress schemes should be out, they are totally abused with false and exaggerated claims
@Antony Stack: The Vatican Bank ,I believe they are quite liquid ,maybe there ,what you think before we start selling Cathedrals?
Excellent. No place for religion in politics
@FoxyBoiiYT: The opposition lost the election.
@FoxyBoiiYT: NO Place for any religion in these times. It’s easy to start a Cult!
@Daniel Roche: You must be a detective?
A prayer gets first headline over TD’s declaring any additional income & liabilities !!
.
Let us pray.
@Tom: Praying? While Homeless people haven’t a prayer of getting a roof over their head’s! Beautiful Hypocrisy Isn’t!???
Half their time is spent governing themselves, and the other half is spent solving the problems of other countries.
What a shower of wasters.
Good to see they’re focusing on the important things ffs.
At last. They are really getting something done up there…….
@Oh Mammy: yes, they have loads to do and prayer is a waste of time. They don’t need a moment of reflection either, it’s codswallop.
None of the above ideas will ever come to fruition. All I can see is the moment of reflection being brought in. As your asking a Minister to be held accountable, your making me laugh writing this. As it’s the Civil Servants who are wasting money like the OPW – Office of Professional Wasters
If that part of our culture and heritage can go so can the Irish language.
@Vincent Alexander: Religion is forced on people…NO getting away with that. Look at the Apologies the RCC had to say about Native Canadian People. And THAT is not that far back in History.
@Mick Hanna: So is the Irish language being forced on people currently.
Honestly can’t believe they pray in the Dáil. Such anachronistic nonsense
Tackling the big issues
Since they came back, they’ve elected a not so new taoiseach, had a week off, then decided to have a big hullabaloo over the. Irish language and proposed a moment of reflection to t replace a prayer. Have they done anything worthwhile since the Dail recovered?
SInn Fein in progressive vestments again. it used to be said the the quality of a government was due to the quality of the opposition. The Middle East and Ukraine are existential threats to everybody including us and this is SF’s big issue. A party which has dome it’s best to overthrow the state for 100 years so that they can start a Hamas inspired war with UK. WIle failing to notice the mayhem in the streets casued by their own failure to defend Ireland
Praise the Lord.
This is still a Christian Country..Found by..fought for by christians so hzve some respect and Say your prayers Before Dail sittings…
A BUNCH OF PAGANS THEY CANT PRAY OR GOVERN
@Thomas Brophy: Really not fair on Pagans
It easy understand why people reelected the last government because the state of this opposition is unbelievable. They continue with stupid irrelevant clap trap about the most stupid rules and regulations.
@Tim Brennan: Tim, not nice, but dim the gift that keeps on giving. Stay off the sauce, Brennan.
About time.
Form a committee to discuss the remit of the committee and which snouts are in the trough. Do anything and everything to suit the new waves of the death cult fawning hamas loving brigade.
have your say