Jack "The Clown" Warner

[Vermilion]

With the BBC taking this moral high ground, will they refuse to do business with a corrupt organisation and not buy broadcasting rights? No, because there flimsy as ****

Will FIFA be suing the bbc or their journalists then ? I don't think so.

[Kenneth]

Apparently....The Court of Zug in Switzerland which has jurisdiction has looked at the evidence and no charges have been brought.

Sure, but there is fresh evidence since then. An invoice for the world cup tickets has appeared, as have some more details of the accounts of the company awarded world cup media rights.

[danperkins]

Blatant corruption. Jack Warner is one brazen cunt, FIFA is a cartel pure and simple. Shocking state of affairs.

[Fredo]

I haven't watched this. Might catch this on iPlayer later on.

[CJ]

its a crap program really

the guy who is doing it could have smartened up a bit

the message is a strong one but nothing new really

[Fredo]

So he didn't really lay into them then?

[CJ]

well a bit but he is banned by fifa (the only journo who is)

so he sort of has to shout at them from afar

[lfcred]

its a crap program really

the guy who is doing it could have smartened up a bit

the message is a strong one but nothing new really

I agree, the hype surrounding it and the damage it may cause far outweigh the content of the programme.

At times he just seemed like a doddery old man shouting random questions at rich men in suits getting into expensive cars.

[CJ]

its a shame because the actual wrongdoing is huge

[Leyton388]

Its always been the good old ****ing boys club and always will.

[dom9]

Well, he's been fined and banned.

Ironically, he'll miss the same meaningless game as Alonso et al.

[dom9]

Oops, wrong thread.

[Fivex]

The other guy's threatening to sue the Beeb...

Fifa chief Issa Hayatou denies bribery claims

Issa Hayatou says the money was part of a sponsorship deal
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Senior football official Issa Hayatou has denied bribery claims made in a BBC documentary and has threatened to sue.

Mr Hayatou, vice-president of football governing body Fifa, said money that the BBC's Panorama alleged was a bribe was in fact paid to the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

He said it was part of a sponsorship deal with sports marketing firm ISL.

The BBC said they stood by the claims, and that Mr Hayatou was given several chances to put his version of events.

"Mr Hayatou now seems to be saying that there is an innocent explanation for the payment from ISL," the BBC said in a statement.

"However, when Panorama wrote to him repeatedly and approached him in person offering him an opportunity to put his side of the story, he offered no explanation."

Earlier, Mr Hayatou strongly denied Panorama's allegations that he took 100,000 French francs (£12,900) in 1995 from sports marketing firm ISL, which was lobbying to gain lucrative Fifa deals.

"This money was not for me, it was for the 40th anniversary of Caf," said the Cameroonian, who also heads Caf.

"At that time ISL was the sponsor of Caf and they give the money to Caf and not to me, and the executive committee of Caf accepted it and approved it.

"I have got an appointment with my lawyers, I will talk to them and I will take it from there."

In a later statement, Caf supported Mr Hayatou saying: "The context within which this information was broadcasted does not reflect the truth of what happened."

The statement added that the money was a donation from ISL and that Caf's executive committee "were aware of the said donation and gave their approval".

Mr Hayatou was accused by Panorama alongside two other Fifa officials - Nicolas Leoz, from Paraguay, and Ricardo Teixeira, from Brazil.

All three are on the 22-strong panel currently deciding who will host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022.

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also announced it would look into the claims because Mr Hayatou is also an IOC member.

"The IOC has taken note of the allegations made by BBC Panorama and will ask the programme makers to pass on any evidence they may have to the appropriate authorities," it said.

Before Mr Hayatou spoke on the issue, Fifa issued a statement saying the allegations referred to events that had taken place before the year 2000 and had been investigated by the Swiss authorities.

"In its verdict of 26 June 2008, the Criminal Court of Zug had not convicted any Fifa officials," said Fifa, which is based in Switzerland.

"It is therefore important to stress again the fact that no Fifa officials were accused of any criminal offence in these proceedings."

England is competing with Russia, Spain/Portugal and Netherlands/Belgium to host the 2018 tournament.

England's bid team has criticised the BBC's decision to air the programme just three days before the vote is due to take place.


However, Mr Hayatou told the Press Association that he had no intention of punishing the England bid because he disagreed with the BBC's journalism.

"There is a big difference between Panorama and my relationship with the England bid, there is no confusion in my mind," he said.

The alleged bribes to the three members of Fifa's executive committee were paid by sports marketing company ISL (International Sport and Leisure) and date from 1989 to 1999, Panorama alleged. The company collapsed in 2001.

Fifa granted ISL exclusive rights to market World Cup tournaments to some of the world's biggest brands, and ISL received millions more from negotiating television broadcast rights.

[Kronenburg1892]

I hope Jack jumps on this one too and gets found out in 'legitimate channels'.

Edit - got post gazzumped

[BillobShaisley]

Apparently....The Court of Zug in Switzerland which has jurisdiction has looked at the evidence and no charges have been brought.

Thst is a big piece of misdirection though. The court in Zug which found no "Criminal" activity on behalf of any FIFA members was only concerned with what was "Criminal". At the time it wasn't illegal to conduct commercial bribery in Switzerland.