Fifa Officials Arrested In Corruption Case

Seven FIFA officials have been arrested on suspicion of corruption in dawn raids at a Zurich hotel ahead of Friday’s presidential election.

The members of football’s world governing body – including vice-president Jeffrey Webb – were reportedly held by Swiss police at the US Department of Justice’s request.

Swiss authorities explained that they are suspected of having received bribes totalling millions of US dollars.

Alongside Webb – head of the North America, Central America and Caribbean football federation is among those held – Eduardo Li of Costa Rica, Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay and the Brazilian deputy FA chief Jose Maria Marin were also taken away.

The latest development comes as Swiss legal authorities announced they had opened separate criminal proceedings into how the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar were allocated.

According to BBC Sport, Swiss authorities began their operation to arrest the FIFA officials at the exclusive Baur au Lac hotel, pending their extradition to the US, early on Wednesday.

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice added those held were being investigated on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kick-backs between the early 1990s and the present day, totalling “more than $100m (£65m),” with the alleged crimes agreed to and prepared in the US via US bank accounts.

According to reports in the US, former FIFA official Chuck Blazer became an FBI co-operating witness and was given a wiretap used in a series of meetings in London in the summer of 2012.

Sepp Blatter is aiming for a fifth term in charge of FIFA by going head-to-head against Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan in Friday’s election.

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