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Updated 16.21pm
FIFA HAS CONFIRMED that their presidential elections will go ahead as planned despite the opening of two separate criminal investigations this morning.
Seven Fifa officials were arrested at a hotel in Zurich, where members of the football governing body are gathering for their Congress.
The US Attorney General’s case centres on alleged corruption in commercial deals for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.
Separately, Swiss federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Qatar and Russia.
Sepp Blatter, who is expected to be elected to a fifth presidential term on Friday, is not one of those involved in the investigation, Fifa said in a hastily-arranged press conference this morning.
The prosecutors’ office says the proceedings are against “persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering” in connection with the votes won by Russia and Qatar. Up to 10 people will be questioned.
Prosecutors say they have seized “electronic data and documents” at Fifa’s headquarters as part of the probe.
US investigation
In a statement this morning following the hotel raid, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice said US authorities suspect the officials of having received bribes totaling millions of dollars.
It says the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes between the early 1990s and now.
The case involves bribes “totaling more than $100 million” linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America, the statement said.
The New York Times reports that the Swiss officers arrived at the Zurich hotel in plain clothes, went to the front desk to get keys, and proceeded upstairs to the rooms of the arrested executives.
Press conference
Speaking to reporters this morning, Director of Communications and PR at Fifa Walter de Gregorio declined to confirm the names or any further information regarding the officials involved.
“The timing may not be obviously the best but definitely Fifa welcomes this process and cooperates fully with the Attorney General of Switzerland and the Federal Office of Justice,” de Gregario said.
“In this case Fifa is the damaged party. This leads to the fact that there were no searches in the offices of Fifa.
“The people of the Federal Attorney are here, we cooperate with them, we provide all the information requested by them. This is for our own interest.”
This Friday’s planned elections would go ahead, he said. And there were no plans to re-vote on the locations of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
“What do you expect from us — that we start to speculate and say that with Russia and Qatar we will have to re-do the voting.
Russia and Qatar will be played. This is what is fact today and I don’t go into speculation what will happen tomorrow.
FAI reaction
“If it it wasn’t so serious it sounds like something out of a mafia movie,” FAI boss John Delaney, speaking to RTÉ radio, said this morning.
Nothing would surprise me at Fifa now, that’s the sad thing now.
While Uefa, the European governing body, is a “tremendous organisation” to work with, Delaney said – there has long been speculation of bribery and corruption within Fifa.
“There’s always controversy around Fifa and its decisions and its governance.
And the one person that’s always been at the head of that has been Sepp Blatter. And he has to take some responsibility at this stage.
Delaney, who said yesterday that the FAI wouldn’t be voting for him in the upcoming presidential election – reiterated that he thought Blatter should step down.
The governance of Fifa needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, Delaney said.
In my opinion he will win the election if takes place on Friday, but we won’t be voting for him. I don’t think we should.
However, he added that he believed the overnight events would “crystallise views” within Uefa – and that people would “take the view it’s time for a change”.
Fifa’s spokesman, meanwhile, said Blatter was “quite relaxed” this morning.
“…because he knows and he knew before that he is not involved. All the rest, he can accept what will happen.”
On a difficult day for Fifa, it was alleged by the US Attorney General that officials accepted bribes to help secure the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
It is also alleged that bribery was involved in Fifa’s 2011 presidential election and the 2016 Copa America tournament.
With reporting from Associated Press, Daragh Brophy, Niall Kelly and Paul Fennessy..
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Let’s blame Airbnb for a housing shortage that FG are unwilling and incapable of solving. Reduce capital gain tax and incentivise new developments through tax. Stop the building height restrictions. Half of north Dublin City is in ruin with empty houses all over it.
A few weeks ago he said he wasn’t going regulate it, I think this guy is making it up as he goes along.
Kirk he’s trying to be popular FG leadership coming up ok
A lot of people that rent out rooms etc on Airbnb, do so out of necessity. It provides an income supplement that many people needed during the height of the recession because of the austerity imposed by the government. Of course some people are going to make a fortune out of it, and more luck to them. In my opinion though, regulating Airbnb will only serve as a tax collecting tool, not something that will actually fix the housing crisis. I think their first port of call should be to reduce the tax on rental income that landlords have to pay. This would encourage more people to invest in property, as it would mean the property would pay for itself when rented out!
@pheilum. A lot of people also rent out entire properties on a full-time basis via airbnb. I agree that it won’t fix the housing crisis, but I strongly believe that those renting out full time should be regulated. They should have to apply for planning permission for change of use. After all, the premises is no longer a home. They should pay taxes and they should have to ensure that they meet health and safety standards. A person occasionally renting out a spare room entirely different.
Well if you agree that it won’t fix the housing crisis what is the problem? Btw who said they don’t pay taxes?
Coveney be better off regulating hotel prices in city’s over weekends ?
Only if he wants hotels to go out of business. Hotel prices are the sort of thing that don’t need regulation. If they’re too high, the rooms remain empty. If they’re too low, the hotel runs at a loss. Encouraging the building of more hotels – or the use of houses and apartments as short-term lets – would drive hotel prices down.
Convey, ask Europe what to do. If it suits FG, go for it , If not , ignore em. Ain’t that the FG way ?
Willy FG are a facist party
Regulate, regulate, regulate.
Keep regulating so that any competition to the status quo is abolished.
Keep regulating so that home owners can’t generate a small side income without being hammered with taxes.
Keep regulating so that there is no more innovation.
Keep regulating so that costs to employers are driver up thereby squeezing wages.
Keep regulating, Keep regulating, Keep regulating FFS.
Why isn’t there anyone standing up for property rights? Why is it the individual property owners responsibility to solve the housing crisis caused by government? The little guy paying the bills yet again
I don’t do ab&b but surely it’s a property owner’s responsibility to do what they want with he property they pay for?
Airbnb is responsible for bringing in tourists who spend a lot of €€€€€€€€, thread carefully.
Nanny state strikes again….
The more he interferes with the rental market the more flee from it ..including his beloved large professional landlord firms
The headline makes it sound like he’s looking for a brown envelope. “Satisfactory arrangement”, I wonder what that could mean?
When they say It’s not right, what they really mean is it exposes the government’s failure to adequately implement any real policy to address housing shortages. It has nothing to do with being right and everything to with making the government look incompetent and its housing policy look non-existent.
Airbnb overall increases the supply of accommodation. It has the potential to take an under-utilised resource… a house or apartment which is vacant part of the time or a place someone does not want to let long term and makes it available on the market.
Governments around the world are going to have to get used to a sharing economy and too technology easily, cheaply and efficiently connecting individuals with something to share with someone else that has need.
Why doesn’t he keep his fat nose out of our business?
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