FIFA corruption trial ensnares U.S. media companies in bribery claims
The first U.S. trial in the massive FIFA corruption case began Tuesday in Brooklyn, with a key witness alleging that six media companies, including Fox Sports, paid bribes for soccer rights, BuzzFeed News' Ken Bensinger reports. The prosecution's witness, Argentinian-Italian sports marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco, "said his company had partnerships with all those companies and he is personally aware of their bribery," Bensinger tweeted.
Three South American soccer officials — including the president of the region's governing body, Juan Ángel Napout — are accused of conspiracy to "take bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for lucrative marketing rights to soccer tournaments, including the Copa America and Copa Libertadores," Reuters writes. Napout's lawyer told jurors that after Burzaco was indicted, he "cut a sweetheart deal with the government and began telling stories."
As sports analyst Roger Pielke Jr. observed on Twitter, FIFA "gifted" Fox the 2026 World Cup rights in 2015. "The [2022] Qatar World Cup has never made any sense outside FIFA's burgeoning pursestrings, but in order to forge ahead with the tournament it looks like they're going to have to make some sacrifices and financial make goods elsewhere," reported Awful Announcing at the time. "How else does one explain the stunning announcement that FIFA has suddenly agreed to extend their agreement with Fox and Telemundo for American television rights through the 2026 World Cup instead of opening them up for bidding?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy
-
TikTok secures deal to remain in USSpeed Read ByteDance will form a US version of the popular video-sharing platform
-
Unemployment rate ticks up amid fall job lossesSpeed Read Data released by the Commerce Department indicates ‘one of the weakest American labor markets in years’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
