New York Times alleges that Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner among FIFA officials set for indictment and extradition request from United States Attorney General: Swiss authorities began an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges. …
Read More »PNM treasurer praises FIFA “mafia”; will the Rottweiler bite back?
PNM treasurer and Port of Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee continued his alleged double-life as a “mafia man” today when he figuratively kissed the ring of his professed godfather and FIFA president, Sepp Blatter. Well, that is what Opposition Leader Keith Rowley thinks anyway. “I knew long ago that FIFA …
Read More »Blatter’s presidential rival, Mayne-Nicholls, faces possible FIFA suspension
ONE OF FIFA’s top corruption investigators is claiming that the inspection report on countries bidding to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 can no longer be trusted, calling into question the votes that gave the tournament to Russia and Qatar. How come? A Zurich lawyer, hand-picked by Sepp …
Read More »Omertà (part twelve): Jean-Marie Weber Must Not be Sacked!
Why Do Blatter and Havelange need him? Tuesday March 11, 2008, Zug: Here they come, smartly dressed in their businessman suits, pretending it’s an ordinary day at the office, walking quickly past the pack of jackals with their TV cameras and notebooks blocking the glass and brick canyon leading to …
Read More »Omertà (part eleven): Hildbrand’s Game of Two Halves
Investigating the Bribe Master and the Bag Man THE ARROGANT OLD MAN in Rio, now aged 94, refused to admit his guilt, refused to say sorry for his quarter century of stealing millions from world football, refused to give back those millions. Castor Andrade never said sorry. Why should he? …
Read More »Omertà (part ten): How The Belly flattened Warner
…Then was caught by a ‘Useless’ journalist ‘ CONGRATULATIONS JACK, MAUREEN, all of my Trinidadian family that I love for these many years.’ Chuck was blogging after Trinidad held Sweden to a 0-0 draw in Dortmund in June 2006. The love for Warner and his wife lasted another five years. …
Read More »Omertà (part nine): The Belly Eats FIFA
Chapter 9: Blazer’s Michelin Guide to the World CHUCK STUFFED HIS FACE in the world’s most expensive restaurants. Football paid. When, at the end of 2012, the new people at Concacaf sacked him, they forbade him to pay himself any more money. The money tap was being turned off. But …
Read More »Satirical shorts: Bashing Balotelli, timeless Platini and small-minded Pellegrino
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli saw something that tickled him during Manchester United’s controversial 5-3 loss to newly promoted Leicester City yesterday and tweeted: “Man Utd… LOL.” Naturally, it was met with an explosive response from sad, little “fans” who saw it as an excuse to abuse the 24-year-old Italian football …
Read More »Omertà (part eight): How Blatter keeps Power at FIFA
Chapter 8: Sepp buys votes with FIFA’s money JACK STEALS. He is a career thief and it has made him a multi-millionaire. To hide his stealing, he lies. He lies to his colleagues in football, he employs a bookkeeper in his homeland to pose as an auditor and lie for …
Read More »Omertà (Part six): Knifing Mandela in the back
Chapter six: Bribes took the World Cup to Germany A RIO RACEHORSE OWNER was paid $1 million to strangle Brazil’s faint hopes of hosting the World Cup. The dark campaign to give the 2006 tournament to Germany involved the humiliation of Brazil and …
Read More »Omertà (Part five): Looting Brazilian Football
Chapter five: Ricardo’s favourite shoemaker IF YOU BELIEVE Ricardo, he discovered the world’s most generous bank. It was located in Vaduz, in Europe, it lent him millions and charged interest, in the words of the Senator Alvaro Dias investigation, ‘absurdly below market rates.’ In fact, he never paid any interest …
Read More »Omertà (Part four): At Last! The Secret Bribes List
Chapter 4: How Mobsters João and Ricardo got rich Baur au Lac hotel,Zurich October 2010 ‘Mr Teixeira, Mr ‘Teixeira!’ Ricardo turns to look. It is a scruffy, grey-haired man in a Joe Colombo-style beige raincoat shouting at him from the hotel gateway. ‘Mr Teixeira, did you take your bribes through …
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