By DAN KARELL
Former FIFA and CONCACAF executive Chuck Blazer’s guilty plea to federal racketeering charges was unsealed on Wednesday afternoon, and in it, Blazer revealed a series of widespread corruption dating all the way back to his early days in CONCACAF in the early 1990’s to contemporary times.
In the guilty plea, Blazer admitted to taking bribes and kickbacks in the bidding process for the 1998 and 2010 World Cups, as well as accepting bribes for the media and marketing rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003 Gold Cups. Perhaps just as importantly, Blazer’s guilty plea includes admitting that he “and others” took part in these schemes.
Blazer additionally admitted to using e-mail, telephone, and wire transfer to transfer money into and out of the U.S. between April 2004 and May 2011, and specifically between December 2008 and May 2011, he transmitted funds by wire transfer or checks from the U.S. to places in the Carribbean with the purpose of promoting and concealing “my receipt of bribes and kickbacks.”
Blazer, who served as CONCACAF’s general secretary under president Jack Warner from 1990-2011 and as a member of FIFA’s Executive Committee from 1997-2013, admitted in the plea that he knew receiving the bribes was unlawful.
You can read the unsealed guilty plea by clicking this link.
Blazer was one of two individuals and four defendants who secretly pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges during a lengthy investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into FIFA and its members.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. DoJ unsealed an indictment against 11 individuals, and early in the morning of May 27 in Zurich, Switzerland, seven of the defendants were arrested and have since been detained while the U.S. works out the details of extradition.
As part of his guilty plea, Blazer paid an immediate sum of $1.9 million to the Justice Department, and he’s expected to pay another undisclosed sum at sentencing. Blazer is currently 70-years old and is dealing with a myriad of health problems. He’s reportedly confined to his hospital bed.
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What do you think of this news? Surprised by anything that Blazer said? Do you believe this could open up investigations into the 1998 and 2010 World Cup bidding processes?
Share your thoughts below.
This is all reminding me of an old simpsons episode involving the cayman islands. https://youtu.be/4BJEh78MAWc
This guy looks like Bruce Vilanch.
‘Yes, yes it was like in 1998 when I took all that money…’
‘I should not have said that, I should not have said that’
Yeah, so Jack Warner called a meeting today and linked Blatter and other FIFA officials to a 2010 election in Trinidad and Tobago. My better judgment says I want to see solid proof of this, but if it’s true… O_O
He’s the white Prop Joe
With that face, I wouldn’t trust not even with my dog…
The levels people will go to just for there cats.
I don’t think for a minute Grizzly Adams would ever take a bribe
Chuck Blazer= Mr Creosote 2.0.
I’m not mad, Hagrid. Just disappointed
Do you believe this could open up investigations into the 1998 and 2010 World Cup bidding processes?
Go as far as needed and bring down anyone and everyone that was involved in the state of corruption within FIFA present day.
It’s not hard to imagine a healthy amount of corrupt individuals still have posts within FIFA or regional federations. While Blatter “leaving”….in 6 months….will be nice, the entire state of FIFA needs to be vetted at every level to truly clean up the game behind the scenes.
Do you believe this could open up investigations into the 1998 and 2010 World Cup bidding processes?
I guess it depends upon what the statute of limitations is for whatever offeneses were suspected to have been committed. If the statute of limitations has run for the 1998 World Cup, then probably not.
Hmmmm!! Blazer admitted he took bribes for the 1998 WC. This World Cup was held in France and none other than Michael Platini was the co-organizer for that WC..Mon Dieu!
“Quick Sepp, you need to resign and lawyer up, the’re on to us” -Michael Platini in trying to convince Sepp Blatter to retire
Precisely.
This assumption Platini (and the rest of FIFA) is somehow exempt from corruption is laughable. I’d bet money we can count on one hand the amount of non-corrupt individuals associated with FIFA and it’s federations.
+1
I wonder if anyone in the Canadian FA ever took a bribe. They might be one of those handful of clean countries.
Speaking of the region, I don’t think our federation, i.e. Gulati, is out of the woods yet either.
If this interview doesn’t make you uneasy I don’t know what will: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8-y3VP8-Q
How in the world does that make any one uneasy?
Gulati seems like a sharp person. No individual in their right mind, free of corruption, would say half of the nonsense he did in that interview. To say nothing of declining a vote for abstention/protest.
Either Gulati is naive, looked the other way, directly involved or just plain ignorant. Time will tell, but the leader of the US Federation showing one/more characteristics of above is reasonable to make anyone uneasy.
I don’t see anything wrong with what he said. He’s being political, and holding back in some aspects from speculation versus truth.
If you think that is somehow damning you must think way beyond everything that is said in an interview with anyone.
I’m not trying to campaign or change someone’s mind. I’m giving an example/context of why I don’t view Gulati favorably in recent years.
There is absolutely nothing in that interview that makes me suspicious of Gulati. Quite the opposite. He was diplomatic in his expression of disgust with the way FIFA is run. That is exactly what you would expect from someone in that type of leadership position. Because he didn’t abstain means he is corrupt? That is some weird logic. He was very outspoken about the need for reform and specifically said that there needs to be transparency and more outside influences governance. Those are things that prevent/discover corruption.
Didn’t Platini vote for Qatar bc he was ‘told’ to by the French gov after a huge Qatari investment? The guy seems more interested in the power that Sepp was loosing than the actual reform.
I had a professor who of Western Civilization that said ad nauseum “history is full of examples of transition from less efficient tyranny to more efficient tyranny. “
I had a professor
whoof Western Civilization that said ad nauseum “history is full of examples of transition from less efficient tyranny to more efficient tyranny. “Correction: Blazer took bribes to vote for Morocco, not France.
This is not to suggest that Platini is not dirty. I’m sure he’s just another Blatter.
You know we’ve had a whirlwind week of corruption revelations when this particular one is just kinda of “meh.” Don’t get me wrong. Racketeering, bribes, and kickbacks are a BFD, but the 17-year president of FIFA just announced his resignation in disgrace yesterday, so by comparison, this just seems a little anticlimactic. In any case, let’s hope we find out who the “and others” are sooner than later so we can get to the good part: Rebidding on the 2022 World Cup!
Hidden under than filthy Santa beard was fat Gordon Gekko or something.
“Hidden under than filthy Santa beard was fat Gordon Gekko or something.”
I did not see this comment coming, but I did laugh.
nice closing +1
There were bribes involved in awarding these World Cup games?
We better move the ones recently awarded………to a country that took bribes.
Well, don’t take the actions of 1 man and say an entire country took bribes. Concacaf’s leading officials have been pretty bad, there is no mistaking that. I don’t necessarily think the U.S. should receive the 2022 world cup, but the actions of Jack Warner and Chuck Blazzer do not seem to involve the USSF at all (that we have seen) and thus should not count against their bidding. I do find it funny that there is so much attention on the head of the FIFA organization when a lot of the corruption being reported right now is within Concacaf itself. I just would have thought there would be more embarrassment on fans within Concacaf itself over what has been happening.
The facts seem to be lost on so many…
The FAs within CONCACAF and CONMEBOL were an easy place to begin for the DoJ and FBI because of the use of our banking system. Does that mean these are the only regions within FIFA that were or are corrupt? No way. Basically, the countries that voted for Blatter in the last election are probably still riding dirty.
Good comment. I do think that concacaf was at the center of it all, but its a safe assumption that they are just the first of many to be indited because of their connection to the DoJs turf.
Niiice. How do you get a high-level job in Concacaf/Fifa? I gotta find a way to get my foot in the door (immediately googles ‘Concacaf internships’).
Why not go all the way for some sweet European football cash? I’ll look up UEFA internships!
Cool. Hope this ends up snagging corrupt goons like Gulati and Garber.
Senator George Mitchell should’ve cleaned all this up 10 years ago when he eliminated drugs in baseball and cleaned up the olympic committee.
Sen Mitchell’s ‘witchhunt’ served for nothing, helped no one but destroying baseball, and wasting taxpayers’ money on useless purpose.
Gulati and Garber are not corrupt.
Anything is possible with money as it can corrupt even those we least suspect. However, I will make a hypothetical argument why Gulati is not corrupt.
(1) He already worked his way up the food chain as an economist and has a good gig.
(2) Soccer was not his meal ticket until recently and even now may not be.
(3) The guy got into this because he loves the game.
(4) He was not heavily involved in CONCACAF until recently. His best opportunity for graft would have been the 1994 World Cup. But at that time, he did not have the stripes on his sleeves to command bribes. Now Alan Rothenburg…
Sadly, I will cop to having tried this too. Something’s gotta open up soon!