The leaders of soccer federations corrupted the sport for nearly a quarter century by taking $150 million in bribes and payoffs, U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday as they laid out a sweeping case involving 14 people and marquee events as the World Cup.
“They were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest and to protect the integrity of the game,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in announcing indictments in the Eastern District of nine current and former officials with global soccer governing body FIFA, four sports marketing executives and an accused intermediary. “Instead, they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves.”
