Embattled Franz Beckenbauer had a long-scheduled open-heart bypass surgery on Saturday in Germany, just days after Swiss authorities opened criminal proceedings for fraud, criminalmismanagement, money laundering and misappropriation against him and three other former members of Germany’s 2006 World Cup organizing committee.
fifa scandals
Posted inAround The Net in Soccer World Daily, Story
Spaniard Villar quits UEFA presidential race
UEFA’s acting president, Angel Maria Villar, pulled out of the race to decide who will replace Michel Platini. Villar’s exit leaves Slovenian Aleksandar Ceferin and Dutchcounterpart Michael van Praag as the two candidates. In 2015, Villar was warned and fined $25,000 for not cooperating with the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 bid process.Spain and […]
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Beckenbauer's 'summer fairy tale' turns into nightmare
Sixteen years after Germany won the right to host the 2006 World Cup and a decade after the “summer fairy tale” captivated Germans, the legendary Franz Beckenbauer and three of high-profileorganizing committee members are under investigation by Swiss prosecutors — suspected of fraud, criminal mismanagement, money laundering and misappropriation. Like Frenchman MichelPlatini, whose career as […]
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FIFA finally puts Infantino salary dispute and his 'dirty laundry' behind it
Deadline day across much of Europe overshadowed some other contract news on the soccer front. Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s new Swiss president, finally agreed to the salary terms of hiscontract. Soon after he was elected as Sepp Blatter‘s successor in February, talks Infantino had over the salary stalled as he termed “insulting” the offer of $2 […]
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Joao Havelange, soccer's godfather, and his U.S. legacy
Before he was the godfather of soccer, Joao Havelange was the godfather of Brazilian sports. And before that he was a two-sport Olympian. In a career that spanned 16 years and World War II, heswam for Brazil in Berlin in 1936 and played water polo in Helsinki in 1952. Havelange, who swam every morning before […]
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As if women's soccer didn't have enough obstacles in Brazil …
Brazil has advanced to the quarterfinals of both soccer competitions at the Rio Olympics. The men recovered from a pair of scoreless draws to pound Denmark, 4-0, with an impressive display of jogo bonito. On the women’s side, Marta and company have beenone of the hits of the Olympics, drawing huge crowds for their games […]
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Soccer corruption trial pushed back to late 2017
U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn said the trial in connection with eight former FIFA and soccer officials will likely begin in September or October 2017, instead of an early 2017trial date that federal prosecutors had sought. The defendants are accused of participating in schemes involving more than $200 million in bribes and kickbacks […]
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Former German soccer boss Niersbach handed one-year ban
Wolfgang Niersbach, the former president of the German soccer federation and a member of the FIFA council, was slapped with a one-year ban from soccer activities by FIFA’s ethics committee forone year over misconduct surrounding Germany’s successful 2006 World Cup bid. The 65-year-old Niersbach, a vice president of the 2006 World Cup organizing committee, resigned […]
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FIFA's Infantino faces ethics allegations
FIFA president Gianni Infantino will be interviewed by FIFA ethics investigator Robert Torres following allegations he breached FIFA’s code of ethics. It’s a preliminaryprobe into charges of conflict of interest. They include using private jets provided by a World Cup-bidding country, filling posts without vetting them and billing FIFA for mattresses, flowers, anexercise machine and […]
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Argentine soccer in chaos — it goes from bad to worse
Last month, there was the threat that Argentina would pull out of the Copa Centenario. It didn’t happen, and the Albiceleste went on to finish second at the tournament. But now there is the threatthat Argentina will pull out of the men’s soccer tournament at next month’s Olympics. That threat is real — put at 50 […]