Includes 2 former FIFA officials.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Just one day after Sepp Blatter stunned the world by resigning as FIFA’s president, Interpol announced it put two former FIFA officials on its “red notice” wanted list at the request of U.S. authorities on Wednesday as the FBI’s investigation into corruption within soccer’s governing body continues to disrupt the status quo.
While Blatter was not on Interpol’s red notice list, shortly after his reelection and immediate resignation, it emerged he too is being investigated by U.S. law enforcement authorities. NBC News reported former FIFA vice president Jack Warner and former FIFA executive committee member Nicolás Leoz were the top names on Interpol’s lineup, followed by Alejandro Burzaco, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis, all heads of marketing businesses based in Argentina, and José Margulies, who runs Brazilian broadcasting firm Valente Corp. and Somerton Ltd.
Interpol said they were wanted “for charges including racketeering, conspiracy and corruption.” Red notices are issued by Interpol to inform member nations that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual, and that Interpol is seeking “the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful action.” They are not, however, international arrest warrants.
Blatter led FIFA for 17 years but was often associated with corrupt regimes and uncouth political maneuvering, such as the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a nation renowned for its human rights violations and where 1,200 migrant workers are estimated to have died while working in construction for the upcoming Cup, according to an investigation by the Washington Post.
The Qatari government has since said that it wants to prevent abuse, and it has introduced a system of oversight intended to ensure that workers’ salaries are paid. However, a report by Amnesty International released last month indicated that Qatar was failing to live up to the promises it made to the international community.
When English Football Association Chairman Greg Dyke suggested that the controversial and proven to be fixed vote that awarded Qatar the 2022 tournament should be re-run, Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Thani hit back, indicating the small Gulf state will not give up hosting soccer’s showpiece event without a fight, according to Reuters.
“We would urge Mr. Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar,” he taunted.
The Post also reported Russia — another nation known for its human rights violations — would fiercely object to any effort to strip them of their 2018 hosting rights. Putin even expressed his support for the embattled Blatter while saying the American inquiry amounted to nothing more than meddling.
Potential frontrunners in replacing Blatter include Michel Platini, the UEFA president who urged Blatter to resign leading up to the latter’s reelection win.