|
 FIFA also faced growing calls -- this time from the European
parliament -- for its outgoing president, Sepp Blatter, to step
aside at once, while plans by Germany to reform the way the
organization is run were roundly rejected by soccer chiefs in Asia,
Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Interpol's decision to freeze funding from FIFA to fight match
fixing and illegal gambling was perhaps inevitable, coming only days
after the international police organization put two former FIFA
officials on its most-wanted list and the corruption crisis in world
soccer deepened.
The increasing damage to FIFA's reputation raised questions about
how long other associated bodies and even sponsors would continue to
work with it.
"The real damage of this decision by Interpol is the wider
perception that conflicted organizations are now deserting FIFA. It
further exacerbates FIFA's 'unclean' image and its escalating
isolation," said Chris Eaton, an ex-Interpol officer and former FIFA
adviser on anti-corruption, now with the International Center for
Sport Security.
Interpol's decision was a disappointment, FIFA said, since the 2011
"integrity in sport" program was not connected to the "current
issues" it faced.
The corruption scandal erupted when police descended on a luxury
hotel in Zurich on May 27 and arrested seven FIFA officials, pending
extradition to the United States.
At the center of the investigation are transactions that went into
accounts held in a bank in Trinidad in the name of CONCACAF, the
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association
Football, that were "controlled" by former FIFA Vice President Jack
Warner.
In an interview with British television, Oliver Camps, described as
Warner's right-hand man, said he felt "used and abused" by his old
friend and associate.
"We were like brothers. I realize that I should not have put so much
confidence in him because he made me do the wrong thing and I was
doing it very innocently. I knew nothing about those things," Camps
told Channel 4 News.
Warner has denied all charges leveled against him. He was not
immediately available for comment.
Channel 4 News said Camps, Caribbean soccer's finance committee
chairman, had signed cheques worth millions of dollars on Warner's
behalf, which were supposed to finance Trinidad's team in the 2006
World Cup in Germany. It said he was still signing the cheques three
years after the World Cup ended.
SCANDAL WORSENS
It has been another bleak week for FIFA.
On Wednesday, FIFA postponed the bidding for the right to host the
2026 World Cup, with Secretary General Jerome Valcke saying during a
visit to Russia that it would be "nonsense" to start the process
under present circumstances.
Then, perhaps reflecting the growing crisis, the usually composed
Valcke unburdened himself of an emotional tirade, saying he was
being destroyed by the media in his native France and defending his
decision to sign off on a $10 million payment at the center of the
U.S. bribery investigation.
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Brandishing his pen, a clearly irritated Valcke demanded of
journalists: "You want me to take this pen and to hit my head and
say 'Hey! I have been stupid, I should have asked many more
questions?'"
"You have decided that after Blatter I have to be next head to be
cut?" Valcke told a news conference.
On Thursday, Communications director Walter de Gregorio, the public
face of the soccer body, resigned after telling a joke at the
expense of his employers on Swiss television.
"The FIFA president, secretary general and media director are
sitting in a car. Who's driving. Answer? The police."
Despite announcing his resignation, Blatter has remained at his
desk, saying he wants to usher in reforms at FIFA before his
successor is chosen. FIFA announced that would happen at an election
some time between December and February.
The German Football Association meanwhile came up with a radical
reform plan under which FIFA's voting structure should be based on
the "size and sporting relevance" of its member federations.
At present, each of FIFA's 209 members has a vote, giving soccer
power-houses Germany and Brazil the same influence as tiny Pacific
islands.
Soccer chiefs in developing countries, who have enjoyed generous
funding to promote the game from FIFA during Blatter's 17 years in
power, denounced the plan as unfair and racist.
The South American confederation CONMEBOL meanwhile came under
pressure of its own when Congress in Paraguay, where the soccer body
is based, approved a measure withdrawing immunity from its Asuncion
headquarters.
A draft bill to remove the immunity was put to Congress last month
after U.S. authorities announced indictments of 14 past and present
senior soccer officials and sports media executives connected to
FIFA.
"There is an urgent need to repeal this law and get on with the
investigation," Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna said during a debate
over the measure, which is expected to be signed into law by
President Horacio Cartes.
(Writing by Giles Elgood and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Peter
Millership and Andrew Heavens)
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