9 FIFA officials arrested on suspicion of corruption and bribery

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The organization that governs international soccer, known as FIFA, is in crisis tonight after nine senior officials were arrested on suspicion of corruption and bribery. It’s something people have speculated about for years, but independent investigations turned up nothing… today that all changed as a large portion of FIFA could soon be facing corruption charges that date back as far as the 1990’s.

An early morning raid, at a five star hotel in Zurich sent shock waves through the soccer world, and the organization most affected is the one claiming damage.

They were gathered in Switzerland to elect the next FIFA president. Current president Sepp Blatter is not implicated and says he welcomes this investigation. The investigation was carried out by the United States.

The indictment accuses officials of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves involving 150 million dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

Questions reached a boiling point when Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup having beat out countries like Australia, Japan, and the United States. Those who were arrested today await extradition to the United States.

These criminal charges come just as Canada prepares to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in a little more than a week’s time. But Canada’s federal sports minister, Bal Gosal, says he’s confident Canadian soccer officials won’t be pulled into the investigations. The Canadian Soccer Association said that they don’t believe that this scandal will tarnish the Womens World Cup.