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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)—One of the men who decided to suspend leading FIFA executives Jack Warner and Mohamed bin Hammam says while soccer’s world governing body has been tainted, the game will overcome bribery and corruption issues.

Veteran Australian soccer broadcaster Les Murray, one of the 13 members of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that FIFA is still badly in need of reform to rebuild its integrity.

Warner resigned as FIFA vice president, president of CONCACAF and all soccer duties on Monday, maintaining what was described as the “presumption of innocence” by ensuring the sport’s governing body closed its investigation into his part in alleged bribing of Caribbean soccer union leaders in his native Trinidad last month during bin Hammam’s campaign to unseat Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.

FIFA vice-president Jack Warne…
AFP - Jun 20, 1:45 pm EDT

Bin Hammam and two Caribbean soccer union employees, meanwhile, remain provisionally barred from all soccer-related duty while facing accusations of paying bribes to up to 25 Caribbean voters during the campaign. All have denied any wrongdoing.

There have since been calls for bin Hammam to follow Warner’s lead and step down for the good of the Asian soccer confederation and FIFA.

Murray said he was unable to comment on bin Hammam or Warner due to his role on the ethics committee.

“We know that Jack Warner has resigned, we know the terms of that resignation and those are the facts, but beyond that I can’t really comment on it,” he said.

“But I’ve said previously that FIFA is badly in need of broad structural and constitutional reform, so that its constitution and structure is such that it’s not so political, and that it is less vulnerable to corruption or suspicion of corruption.”

While the bribery and corruption charges are yet to be proven, Murray said FIFA had already suffered considerable damage through implication.

“We don’t know anything until we have evidence, but the perception is very, very bad,” he said. “When four people from the FIFA executive committee in the last seven months have been either banned or suspended—and one of them has resigned—from all football activities, it’s not a good look.”

Murray said it was obvious FIFA needed to act quickly to reverse that perception.

“There are 24 men on that (executive) committee and four of them have been implicated, plus a lot of people outside the executive committee,” he said. “So it’s not a good look and FIFA has some serious work to do to clean up its image.”

Despite much of the focus now centering on the Asian and CONCACAF confederations, Murray said corruption was not just a regional problem for soccer.

“Corruption can occur anywhere, in sport and in football in particular because it’s such a big game and there’s so much money involved in it,” he said.

But despite the allegations besieging FIFA and the damage done to its image, Murray said soccer is strong enough to survive.

“The game is unbelievably strong and appealing,” he said. “What matters most of all is what happens in the 90 minutes of a football match; and what is on the nose is FIFA, not the game itself.”

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Labels: committee, ethics, image, member, urges

ZURICH (AP)—Sepp Blatter said rebuilding FIFA’s image would be his top priority if he is re-elected as president next week after a series of corruption allegations leveled at soccer’s ruling body.

Blatter told reporters of his firsthand experience of attempted bribery when he received a cash-filled envelope while FIFA secretary general before becoming president 13 years ago. He said he handed over the money to a FIFA colleague and it was returned to the unnamed bribe-giver.

He promised to tackle allegations of past corruption and strengthen FIFA’s panels that investigate alleged wrongdoing.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter li…
AP - May 23, 7:04 am EDT

“We shall find a solution how to handle the past … in order that we can stop forever in the future all these damaging things about corruption,” Blatter said.

“We have to make sure that in the next term of office immediately starting after the election that we rebuild the image of FIFA,” said the 75-year-old Swiss, who joined soccer’s governing body in 1975.

Blatter pledged “there will be facts” revealed in his zero-tolerance project being presented to the FIFA Congress on June 1, immediately before his election contest against former ally Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar.

Their campaign has been clouded by fresh allegations of World Cup bid corruption.

Bin Hammam’s native Qatar has been accused in England of bribing two FIFA executive committee members to help secure 2022 hosting rights.

Blatter, who wants the case resolved before election day, said it hurt him that people believed FIFA was corrupt.

His first presidential election in 1998 prompted allegations of vote-buying by his supporters in Paris, and some high-ranking colleagues have been linked to corruption scandals on his watch.

Senior FIFA officials have been accused of taking kickbacks from television rights deals, profiting from World Cup tickets sales and pocketing or seeking bribes to vote for World Cup hosts.

Though retrospective disciplinary action is unlikely, Blatter said he wants to improve FIFA’s ability to investigate internal affairs.

“For the future we must have, I would say, a stronger organization,” he said at a briefing at FIFA headquarters.

Responsibility for choosing leaders of FIFA’s ethics, disciplinary and appeal committees could be given to members at Congress, Blatter suggested. Currently, power to appoint the investigative positions lies with FIFA’s 24-member executive committee, which has been severely discredited.

Blatter acknowledged that some people “do not deserve to be … in the government of FIFA.”

He distanced himself from the continental bodies who elect their delegates to the ruling panel he chairs.

“They have their own agenda. I have no influence and I cannot take any responsibility,” said Blatter, lamenting that he erred in “trusting people too fast.”

Blatter said he was only once offered a bribe, during his 1981-98 stint serving as chief administrator to then-president Joao Havelange.

“In this envelope there was an amount of money. I couldn’t refuse because he put it in my pocket,” said Blatter, declining to identify who made the offer. “I came home here to FIFA and gave it to the finance director and he put this money on the account of the Swiss Bank Corporation.”

The cash, which Blatter has said amounted to 50,000 Swiss francs, was later withdrawn by the bribe-giver.

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Labels: Blatter, FIFAs, image, pledges, restore

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Labels: Associate, boost, England, ESPNcricinfocom, image, Netherlands

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Tottenham Hotspur FC today released the first image of the proposed 60,000 capacity football stadium that would sit in the heart of the Olympic Island site if Spurs /AEG become the successful bidder with the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur FC said:

“We are proposing one of the most advanced, state-of-the-art stadiums in Europe that will deliver an exceptional spectator experience. Fans will be closer to the pitch than at any other comparable size stadium in the UK, while its acoustic design will ensure that the noise from spectators remains within the stadium.

“Our partner AEG would attract and manage a wide range of events for the stadium and surrounding public realm including world class sport, music, festivals, and exhibitions. Tottenham Hotspur would also commit tens of millions of pounds for local sports and community projects and our Foundation would work with relevant partners to bring these to life. Ensuring the stadium and the surrounding space is sustainable, exciting and viable 365 days a year is crucial to our proposal and to the whole future of the Olympic Park.

“Accusations that we would ‘demolish’ £500m of stadium are hugely inaccurate and highly irresponsible and I want to be very clear on this issue. Our proposal will retain around £420m worth of the Olympic Stadium, and we will re-use or recycle the £80m that will be dismantled with zero landfill. It is also important to remember that two thirds of the Olympic Stadium, under the original legacy plan, was to be dismantled – it was not designed to be a permanent structure. Recent scaremongering conveniently forgets this fact.”

As part of its bid to the OPLC, Tottenham Hotspur FC is also proposing the significant redevelopment of Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium that would see its capacity increase to 25,000, with the ability for it to be increased up to 40,000 for major championships.

Daniel Levy added:

“We would increase the current capacity of Crystal Palace by 9,500 to 25,000 and a new 4 lane warm up track and all weather hockey pitch would also be built. With these proposals, Crystal Palace would become a re-invigorated dedicated facility, bringing more activity to the area and be available to the athletics community every single day of the year.”

To view pictures of how Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium would look, please click the arrows at the top of the page...

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Labels: 60000, capacity, Football, image, Olympic, proposed, releases, stadium, Tottenham