I will tell you an interesting story, in which there was a lot of deceit, bribes, mutual guarantee, investigative actions and sentences.

A story that ended relatively well.

Fast forward to 2015.

By this time, the International Football Federation (FIFA) had been headed by Sepp Blatter for 17 years.

He was first elected back in 1998 and has since won the election of the head of the organization four more times.

From time to time, leaks appeared in the media about bribes that FIFA leaders and heads of regional federations received for voting in the elections of countries hosting the World Championships, as well as for ensuring the desired result in tenders for the rights to broadcast the competition and place advertisements.

The biggest suspicion was the choice of Qatar - a country with not the most suitable climate for football - to host the World Cup in 2022.

The Sunday Times conducted an investigation based on the leaks and found that the long-term head of the Asian Football Confederation of Qatar, Mohammed bin Hammam, spent at least $ 5 million to bribe representatives of African countries.

They provided the required number of votes to win the competition.

Pandora's box was not even opened, but exploded two days before the new election of the head of FIFA on May 29, 2015.

On the morning of May 27, the Swiss authorities arrested seven high-ranking FIFA officials at once - from the vice-president of the organization to the head of the Football Confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).

Despite the scandal and searches in the offices of various federations, Blatter won the election in the second round and remained president ... for only four days.

Trying to save face, he voluntarily resigned, but announced that he would remain acting president until the new elections. 

Blatter lasted until October.

And when investigators found out that Sepp transferred 2 million Swiss francs personally to the head of UEFA, the legendary footballer Michel Platini, both were disqualified for six years and eight months and six years, respectively.

Looking ahead, I will say that on another charge, Blatter received another six years of disqualification and a 1 million Swiss francs fine. 

The investigation did not end there, and more than 50 FIFA and regional federations officials were charged with organized crime.

Most of them admitted their guilt and made deals with the investigation. 

"And what is the happy ending?"

- you ask.

The fact is that the US Department of Justice managed to arrest more than $ 200 million as part of this investigation. 

And the new head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, initially said that the federation is a victim of individual crimes, and not an organized criminal group.

Now the federation should get all this money back, and $ 32 million has already been distributed between FIFA itself, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and CONCACAF. 

All this means that we live in a transparent world where the old rules are beginning to crumble.

And if you bribed someone somewhere, the probability that they will find out about it is 100 chances out of 100.

Therefore, a new reality, a new sincerity and a new transparency will transform all sports institutions.

Starting with FIFA and UEFA and ending with all the institutions that used to be sacred to everyone, and now, thanks to new technologies, they are becoming more open, accessible, understandable and, most importantly, controlled not only by the relevant authorities, but also by the entire audience of the globe. ...

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.