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FIFAGate: The Disgraced Officials

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Several top FIFA officials have been arrested by Zurich police on corruption charges and they will now be deported to United States and tried in the US courts.

FIFA has been accused of corruption for long now, and fans across the globe have been demanding the cleaning of the governing body of ‘The Beautiful Game’.

The list of officials arrested and the charges on them are as follows:

FIFA Vice-President Jeffrey Webb

The president of CONCACAF and the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA), and FIFA vice president.

Webb was appointed as President of the Cayman Islands Football Association in 1991.

In 2002 he became deputy chairman of the FIFA internal audit committee. Webb was an unanimous choice to lead CONCACAF in 2012, which made him the youngest regional association leader within FIFA at 47.

He was responsible for the launch of an integrity probe into his predecessor, Jack Warner, who was among 13 others to be indicted by federal prosecutors. That inquiry concluded that there had been serious managerial failings and that millions of dollars of funding had been misused.

In September 2014, FIFA’s vice president was one of several officials to call for the publication of the Garcia Report into corruption allegations around Russia and Qatar’s successful World Cup bids, but was then arrested just eight months later in the indictments that rocked world football.

FIFA Vice-President Eugenio Figueredo

Eugenio Figueredo rose to the FIFA vice-presidency after his predecessor Nicolas Leoz resigned citing health reasons, before a FIFA ethics committee revealed he had taken kickbacks.

The 83 old is a member of the FIFA organizing committee for Olympic soccer tournaments.

Figueredo took over as the head of South America’s football federation CONMEBOL in 2013.

Figueredo’s tenure as the head of the Uruguay FA was tainted by alleged claims of cronyism.

Figueredo also publically backed Luis Suarez after the Uruguay striker bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during a knock-out clash at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

FIFA Executive Committee Member-Elect Eduardo Li

Eduardo Li is the president of the Costa Rican Football Federation.

Li has also served as special advisor to the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 and U-17 Women’s World Cups.

Set to join FIFA’s executive committee this week, Li is also a member of the CONCACAF executive committee.

FIFA development officer Julio Rocha

Julio Rocha is a Nicaraguan football administrator, and former president of the Nicaraguan Football Federation (FENIFUT).

Rocha is also a former president of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF).

He serves as the FIFA development officer.

Costas Takkas

Costas Takkas was general secretary of the Cayman Islands federation for 15 years and that since February 2014 he has been Chief Financial & Accounting Officer at Abakan, Inc.

Takkas is said to have worked at several companies and he is a holder of a diploma from Imperial College of Science and Technology of London.

The 58 year old is from Britain, and he is Attaché to the president of CONCACAF, the governing body of soccer in North and Central America.

Rafael Esquivel

The 68 year old is a former president of the Venezuelan Soccer Federation.

Rafael Esquivel was also former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) between 2012 and 2015.

He was also the president of the local organising committee for the 2014 World Cup.

Esquivel was also the former governor of Sao Paulo State from 1982 to 1983.

He is a current member of the CONMEBOL.

José Maria Marin

Jose Maria Marin, 83, was president of the Brazilian soccer federation from 2012 to April 2015, the head of Brazilian soccer during the 2014 World Cup.

Current member of FIFA organizing committee for Olympic soccer, he is also a member of the organizing committee for next year’s Olympic soccer tournament in Rio.

He has previously served as vice-governor and governor of São Paulo state and is a former football player.

José Maria Marin was city councilor in 1960, state deputy in 1970 and from 1979 to 1982 he was vice-governor of São Paulo. He was governor of São Paulo from May 14, 1982 to March 15, 1983.

Also read : Fifa Officials Arrested In Zurich Over Corruption Charges

Nicolás Leoz

Nicolás Leoz was President of CONMEBOL between 1986 and 2013.

Before his position as President of CONMEBOL, Leoz was President of the Justice Department of the Paraguayan Basketball Confederation (1957–1959), President of Paraguayan Soccer Club Libertad (1969–1970 and 1974–1977), President of the Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (1971–1973 and 1979–1985) and Vice President of CONMEBOL (1972–1974 and 1980–1986).

In November 2010 he was alleged by the BBC to have taken bribes in the 1990s regarding the awarding of World Cup television rights.

Also read: US Has No Jurisdiction Over FIFA, Says Vladimir Putin

In November 2010, Andrew Jennings, the presenter of FIFA’s ‘Dirty Secrets’, alleged that Leoz had taken bribes in the 1990s regarding the awarding of contracts for the sale of television rights to the football World Cup. Panorama claimed to have obtained a confidential document from a company called ISL which showed that Leoz was paid $730,000 by the company.

Nicolas Leoz has been accused of requesting an honorary knighthood in reward for supporting a World Cup bid for England. It was later revealed in email exchanges involving his aide that Leoz would consider visiting England if the FA Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world, were to be named after him.

Must Read : US Has No Jurisdiction Over FIFA, Says Vladimir Putin

Jack Warner

Jack Warner is  a politician, businessman, and former football executive.

Warner held the offices of Vice president of FIFA and President of CONCACAF until his suspension and eventual resignation from these roles in 2011.

He is also the former Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago and was an elected member of that country’s parliament from November 2007 to 26 April 2013.

Warner was charged with “wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering”, Warner is expected to be extradited to the US.

Abhishek Chaudhary
Abhishek Chaudhary = The Blues, who have left an indelible impression on his life. Factoid :- He cried inconsolably for a week when Jose Mourinho was sacked by the bosses at Stamford Bridge 2nd time round. His passion for the beautiful game is only matched by his fascination for beer! Supports Chelsea

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