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U.S. senators call for reforms of FIFA at corruption hearing

U.S. senators call for reforms of FIFA at corruption hearing

Posted July. 17, 2015 07:09,   

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Members of U.S. Congress called for a U.S.-led, quick and extensive reform of FIFA, the corruption-ridden world soccer governing body, calling it more corrupt than the mafia.

The U.S. Senate subcommittee on consumer protection held a hearing on Wednesday on FIFA`s alleged corruption. Senator Jerry Moran (Republican) argued that FIFA`s corruption must be addressed quickly, urging the United States and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) to quickly embark on reforming FIFA. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, compared FIFA to a mafia-style crime syndicate, saying this was "almost insulting to the mafia … because the mafia would never have been so blatant, overt and arrogant in its corruption."

U.S. politicians are calling for cleaning up Zurich, Switzerland-based FIFA because some senior FIFA officials have been charged with crimes committed in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted 14 former and incumbent FIFA officials for having allegedly received a combined 150 million U.S. dollars in bribes in connection with the selection of World Cup host countries.

At the hearing, some opined that the USSF had been indifferent to FIFA officials` corruption. British journalist Andrew Jennings, who had long been digging into FIFA corruptions, told the hearing as a witness that USSF leaders "had to know" about the involvement of former FIFA executive committee members Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner in corrupt activities and tax evasion. Blazer, one of the most influential figures in the U.S. soccer community, sparked the investigation into FIFA corruption after he spilled the beans on FIFA corruption during his plea bargaining over his tax evasion charges.



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