Corrupt Passions: An Analysis of the FIFA Indictments
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Corrupt Passions: An Analysis of the FIFA
Indictments
By: Vincent Sheu*
I. THE ARRESTS
On May 27, 2015, just ten days before the start of the 2015 Women's World Cup in
Canada, seven executives of the Fd~ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
gathered at the Baur a Lac hotel in Switzerland. Later that day, those seven executives were
led out of the five-star hotel in handcuffs by plainclothes officers. Their arrests had been
made on behalf of the United States as part of an extensive three-year investigation into
FIFA officials and event bidding processes. All seven face extradition from Switzerland to
the United States. The Department of Justice said authorities had charged seven other
officials as well, for a total of fourteen-nine of whom are current or former FIFA
executives (Figure A). Indictments and prior guilty pleas of four other football executives
and two corporations were also unsealed (Figure A).
In a news conference, United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch said:
[Fifa executives] used their positions to solicit bribes. They did this over and
over. Year after year. Tournament after tournament .... The indictment
alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and
here in the United States .... It spans at least two generations of soccer
officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire
millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a
multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that
should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these
organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose
support for the game makes those rights valuable.12
The soccer world erupted in shock. Of all countries, the United States was the one
galvanizing a FIFA cleanup? The United States, where soccer falls behind American
football (NFL), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), and until recently, hockey (NHL) in the
sporting interest pecking order?3 The United States, where most professional soccer players
make less money than software programmers fresh out of college?4 The Americans
* J.D./M.S. Computer Science Candidate, Stanford Law School/Stanford School of Engineering, 2018.
Many thanks to David Mills, Robert Weisberg, Glenn Wong, Hannah Gordon, Johnathan Mondel, and Angela Guo
for helpful guidance, discussions, and encouragement that greatly benefited the substance of this piece. Thanks
also to the editors of the Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, particularly Nick McCoy, Amanpreet
Arora, and Ryan Phipps, for their diligent editing and improvements.
1. Fifa Corruption: Congress Opens as Sponsor Concerns Grow, BBC NEWS: EUROPE (May 28, 2015),
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32910235.
2. Nine FIFA Officials And Five Corporate Executives Indicted For Racketeering Conspiracy And
Corruption, U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, E.D.N.Y.: NEWS (May 27, 2015),
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/Mayl 5/2015-May-27.php [hereinafter U.S. Attorney Press Release].
3. Rich Luker, Survey says: Twenty Insights from Poll's 20 Years, SPORTS Bus. J. (Jan. 6 2016),
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Joumal/Issues/2014/01/06/Research-and-Ratings/Up-Next.aspx.
4. MLS PLAYER SALARIES: SEPTEMBER 15, 2014: BY CLUB, MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER PLAYERS UNION (Sep.
14, 2014), https://www.mlsplayers.org/images/September%2015%202014%2OSalary%20Information%/ 20-](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/tresl18&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Corrupt Passions: An Analysis of the FIFA Indictments
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