“Another shot in the air”: Russia responded to US accusations of bribing FIFA officials when choosing the hostess of the 2018 World Cup

“Another attempt to denigrate our application”

Russia has denied allegations of bribing officials of the International Football Federation (FIFA) in choosing the host country of the 2018 World Cup. This was stated by spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

“We read the media report and do not understand what this may be about. Russia absolutely legally got the right to host the World Cup. This is in no way connected with any kind of bribe. We categorically deny it. And Russia held the best soccer world cup in history, which we are proud of and proud of our entire country, ”said Peskov.

On Monday, April 6, an indictment appeared on the website of the New York State Eastern Prosecutor's Office alleging that a number of FIFA officials received bribes for supporting the holding of the 2018 World Cups in Russia and 2022 in Qatar. Russian companies based in the United States allegedly transferred money to the accounts of members of the FIFA executive committee on the eve of the elections held in December 2010 in Zurich. The names of "companies" are not indicated.

Recall that the United States claimed the World Cup in 2022, but the organization of the tournament was entrusted to Qatar.

According to the head of the organizing committee of the 2018 World Cup, Alexei Sorokin, the accusations of the American side are another attempt to tarnish the country's reputation. He emphasized that Russia has nothing to hide, which was proved in previous investigations. In addition, he added that at the moment the organizing committee does not intend to file a protest, since he does not appear in the case.

“While all this is quite abstract, we don’t know what to catch on. A former member of the FIFA executive committee admitted that he was offered a bribe - it is very difficult to do something with such material. We look at it philosophically and see it as yet another attempt to denigrate our application, which, as we have repeatedly emphasized, was transparent in an understandable format, ”TASS quoted Sorokin as saying.

In turn, the Honorary President of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Vyacheslav Koloskov noted that the investigation of the American authorities is pointless, since the mundial in Russia has already taken place.

“For me, this is another shot in the air. Our business is to applaud again to the people who were organizing the World Cup in Russia. Also, as you remember, he was recognized as the best in the history of the tournament. Here we need to focus on this, ”the Championship quotes Koloskov.

Andrei Sozin, a member of the RFU ethics committee, recalled that Russia is constantly being accused by the United States of bribing sports officials. According to him, this was the case with the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk.

“Let's remember the Olympics-80, what happened then. After all, now everyone is at home, apparently they have nothing to do on a remote site. Therefore, they there in the USA only remember about Russia. All other major championships and competitions are clean, only everything is bought from us. Kindly prove, then people will be punished. Otherwise, it’s an empty hype, ”Sozin told Sport24.

In total, more than 30 people appear in the case. In particular, the former vice president of the Federation, Jack Warner, allegedly received a total of $ 5 million from November 2010 to April 2011. In addition to him, according to the document, the President of the Brazilian Football Confederation Ricardo Teixeira and the head of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) ) Nicholas Leos. The former president of the Guatemalan Football Federation, Rafael Salguero, was also promised $ 1 million, but it is not known whether this amount was eventually paid.

It is worth noting that they are all involved in the corruption case of the football authorities, launched in May 2015. All four were charged with criminal activity, money laundering and fraud.

Then, a few days before the FIFA presidential election, Swiss law enforcement authorities arrested senior officials, and searches were conducted at the organization’s headquarters. Applications for hosting world championships in Russia and Qatar were also suspected.

In addition to the Swiss authorities, the US Justice Department, as well as British law enforcement agencies, joined the case. At the same time, the FIFA internal investigation did not reveal any irregularities in choosing the host countries of both world Cups.

In addition, the American side found that the former heads of television companies belonging to the 21st Century Fox media holding, Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez illegally obtained the rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 world championships in the United States. They are also charged with fraud and money laundering.