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...and extradites them to US.

While FIFA corruption has been an open secret for decades, we're probably going to see most of these guys walk, simply because the US doesn't have jurisdiction over the activities of an international organization that don't happen here, particularly when they don't involve US citizens. NONE of those actually arrested are US citizens, and most if not all awaiting arrest (see the NYT link through the ESPN article) aren't, either. So they're probably going to get off because the US doesn't have jurisdiction over the activities of non-citizens that occurs on foreign soil. Unless, that is, prosecutors can prove that the offenses actually took place here, which is HIGHLY unlikely.

And whether anyone agrees with me or not, one amazing result of all of this is that the sitting FIFA president, under whom the corruption problem got REALLY bad, was left alone by the Swiss LEOs conducting this sting.



http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-soccer/ ... tscenterFB

EDIT: Later on in the article, the authors mention that Congress has given federal prosecutors wide latitude in processing charges against international terrorists for crimes "against the US" on foreign soil where the link is as tenuous as the use of a US bank to process funds. It remains to be seen if this is how the alleged corruption occurred. If that IS the case, we could see a conviction, as prosecutors have had some success under these circumstances against suspected terrorists. While this is clearly not a terrorist situation, and the Swiss government generally balks at extradition on tax cases, this is more of a general crimes case, with which the Swiss generally are more amenable to extradition. We might well see some action on this FIFA corruption, then....

Hell yeah 'Murica

There's no way these guys walk - you don't jump to an action like this and make these arrests and extraditions if you don't have a solid case. The US has had an inside guy (Blazer) copping a plea and spilling the beans (and doing undercover work) for years now, and the first guys arrested are the head of CONCACAF and COMEBOL (North America and South America federations). And now this has prompted the Swiss to open their own criminal investigation into the awarding of bids to Russia and Qatar (and it doesn't help that Qatar was already in the news for refusing to let Nepalese workers to leave the construction sites to go home and bury loved ones killed in the recent earthquake - it's still 7 years until that World Cup but darnnit, gotta stay on schedule and these guys are basically slaves anyway - mourn on your own time). Just like the Olympics before them, FIFA is clearly ripe with corruption.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1178 ... -says-espn

The documentary estimates that, at the current rate, more than 4,000 migrant workers will die by the time Qatar puts on the 2022 World Cup.

The scariest part is that ESPN’s calculation is at the current rate. So far, Qatar has only broken ground on one new stadium. By 2022, it needs to construct 12 of them. What happens when Qatar falls behind on construction, as every country hosting a major tournament does?

FIFA

So, our Attorney General's office found the time to investigate, arrest and charge multiple high-ranking officials from FIFA (fucking SOCCER) but can't seem to find/investigate charges that will stick against ANYONE on Wall Street....

AZGrizFan wrote:So, our Attorney General's office found the time to investigate, arrest and charge multiple high-ranking officials from FIFA (fucking SOCCER) but can't seem to find/investigate charges that will stick against ANYONE on Wall Street....

I'd love for someone to get charges that amount to abuse of power that will stick against Goodell and Selig, but that'll probably never happen. SMH....

Why don't they just stick them in a Swiss prison -- assuming the Swiss have prisons.

Better yet -- a Qatar prison.

SuperHornet wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:So, our Attorney General's office found the time to investigate, arrest and charge multiple high-ranking officials from FIFA (**** SOCCER) but can't seem to find/investigate charges that will stick against ANYONE on Wall Street....

I'd love for someone to get charges that amount to abuse of power that will stick against Goodell and Selig, but that'll probably never happen. SMH....

You may not like what Goodell and Selig do but they are authorized to do what they do generally. If they interpret something wrong, the courts have fixed it - but they have done nothing close to criminal in the legal sense.

What FIFA (and likely IOC) does is insanely worse than anything Goodell or Selig does and it's not even close.

I'd be surprised if the Feds don't have huge things on the FIFA guys. The Feds wouldn't just go in and ask for extradition unless the case is tight. May not see a court (settle before reaches trial) but that would be because the FIFA guys would be dead in the water if it went to trial

89Hen wrote:http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1178 ... -says-espn

The documentary estimates that, at the current rate, more than 4,000 migrant workers will die by the time Qatar puts on the 2022 World Cup.

The scariest part is that ESPN’s calculation is at the current rate. So far, Qatar has only broken ground on one new stadium. By 2022, it needs to construct 12 of them. What happens when Qatar falls behind on construction, as every country hosting a major tournament does?

That is the saddest part - although the estimate I saw was 5,000. Disgusting and criminal.

Ivytalk wrote:Why don't they just stick them in a Swiss prison -- assuming the Swiss have prisons.

Better yet -- a Qatar prison.

Pretend they are Nepalese migrant workers.

grizzaholic wrote:

....

dbackjon wrote:

89Hen wrote:http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1178 ... -says-espn

That is the saddest part - although the estimate I saw was 5,000. Disgusting and criminal.

It's appalling - there's no way that thousands of people should die building soccer stadiums in a tiny country (really, why a country as small as Qatar would ever need 12 world class soccer stadiums is just mindblowing). I think Qatar is roughly 100 miles long in one direction, so that's more than 1 soccer stadium per 10 miles. Even more so than the Olympics, where frequently buildings are built that will never be used again (i.e. China's Bird Cage building they built for their Olympics) this is a collosal waste of time and money, and sadly, thousands of lives of workers, to build things that will never be used again. Disgraceful.

They need to build a permanent home for the World Cup in a non-third world country and leave it at that.

AZGrizFan wrote:They need to build a permanent home for the World Cup in a non-third world country and leave it at that.

When you think that some countries (USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain for instance) could host the World Cup and not have to build a single venue, and you have 4,000 migrant workers/slaves dying in some tiny Middle East country laboring away building a whole World Cup from scratch, it does put things into perspective. To quote the esteemed Ricky Waters, "For who, for what?".

GannonFan wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:They need to build a permanent home for the World Cup in a non-third world country and leave it at that.

When you think that some countries (USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain for instance) could host the World Cup and not have to build a single venue, and you have 4,000 migrant workers/slaves dying in some tiny Middle East country laboring away building a whole World Cup from scratch, it does put things into perspective. To quote the esteemed Ricky Waters, "For who, for what?".

Or if you really needed to rotate it, there are a number of countries that could host it with little new building - USA, Brazil (they could have done it with only a couple new stadiums, but choose to go overboard, Argentina, England, Germany, France - a combined SK/Japan bid again.

But FIFA insists on shiny new stadiums.

AZGrizFan wrote:So, our Attorney General's office found the time to investigate, arrest and charge multiple high-ranking officials from FIFA (fucking SOCCER) but can't seem to find/investigate charges that will stick against ANYONE on Wall Street....

Wall Street is smarter than FIFA

dbackjon wrote:

GannonFan wrote:
When you think that some countries (USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain for instance) could host the World Cup and not have to build a single venue, and you have 4,000 migrant workers/slaves dying in some tiny Middle East country laboring away building a whole World Cup from scratch, it does put things into perspective. To quote the esteemed Ricky Waters, "For who, for what?".

Or if you really needed to rotate it, there are a number of countries that could host it with little new building - USA, Brazil (they could have done it with only a couple new stadiums, but choose to go overboard, Argentina, England, Germany, France - a combined SK/Japan bid again.

But FIFA insists on shiny new stadiums.

I could be wrong, but I think FIFA requires a minimum number of stadiums capable of hosting.

dbackjon wrote:

GannonFan wrote:
When you think that some countries (USA, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain for instance) could host the World Cup and not have to build a single venue, and you have 4,000 migrant workers/slaves dying in some tiny Middle East country laboring away building a whole World Cup from scratch, it does put things into perspective. To quote the esteemed Ricky Waters, "For who, for what?".

Or if you really needed to rotate it, there are a number of countries that could host it with little new building - USA, Brazil (they could have done it with only a couple new stadiums, but choose to go overboard, Argentina, England, Germany, France - a combined SK/Japan bid again.

But FIFA insists on shiny new stadiums.

This, same can be said about the Olympics.

Grizalltheway wrote:

dbackjon wrote:

Or if you really needed to rotate it, there are a number of countries that could host it with little new building - USA, Brazil (they could have done it with only a couple new stadiums, but choose to go overboard, Argentina, England, Germany, France - a combined SK/Japan bid again.

But FIFA insists on shiny new stadiums.

I could be wrong, but I think FIFA requires a minimum number of stadiums capable of hosting.

They require 8 to 12, I believe. USA could host tomorrow.

dbackjon wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:
I could be wrong, but I think FIFA requires a minimum number of stadiums capable of hosting.

They require 8 to 12, I believe. USA could host tomorrow.

10 times over.

SDHornet wrote:

dbackjon wrote:

Or if you really needed to rotate it, there are a number of countries that could host it with little new building - USA, Brazil (they could have done it with only a couple new stadiums, but choose to go overboard, Argentina, England, Germany, France - a combined SK/Japan bid again.

But FIFA insists on shiny new stadiums.

This, same can be said about the Olympics.

Yup, nothing says waste like demanding some poverty-stricken nation to build a velodrome so that athletes from rich nations with fancy bicycles can pedal in circles for two weeks and then never have the building used again. If the Olympics or World Cup aren't held in first world nations (I know the term's a bit outdated, but you get the point) where most of the infrastructure is already in place, then it is simply deplorable that poor countries (or even rich ones like Qatar) build all these stadiums they never need outside of the once in a lifetime event they are hosting. It's a huge waste of money and, in the case with Qatar, will come at the cost of thousands of lives. It would be a joke if it wasn't so disastrous.

Plus Qatar is in the desert. How hot does it get in Qatar in the summer when the World Cup is held. 120? 130? They gonna have water breaks every 5 min?

BDKJMU wrote:Plus Qatar is in the desert. How hot does it get in Qatar in the summer when the World Cup is held. 120? 130? They gonna have water breaks every 5 min?

They decided about a month ago or so that they were going to play it in November/December because of the heat.