FIFA President Sepp Blatter is "facing fresh allegations" that he sold the TV rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups to the organization’s disgraced former VP Jack Warner "for a knockdown price," according to Jon Ungoed-Thomas of the SUNDAY TIMES. A document obtained by Swiss TV channel SRF said that Blatter "sold Caribbean media rights for the two tournaments" to an FA headed by Warner for $600,000. Warner subsequently "sold the rights to a sports broadcaster for millions of dollars." FIFA said that "this weekend it had arranged to receive a share of profit related to any subcontracting of the rights." Warner is among 14 football officials and execs who the FBI said in May "had been charged with racketeering, money-laundering and wire fraud." They are being investigated over more than $150M in bribes given for TV and marketing deals. Warner "denies any wrongdoing." The new document "details how Blatter sold the Caribbean media rights to Warner’s association -- the Caribbean Football Union." The rights, which covered 29 countries, "were subsequently transferred to Warner’s company JDI." He then sold the rights in '07 to TV station SportsMax in a deal reported to be worth between $18M and $20M. There "is no suggestion of wrongdoing by SportsMax" (SUNDAY TIMES, 9/13). The AFP reported the TV station showed the relevant contracts from '05 on screen during its "10 vor 10" program, claiming this was "around five per cent of the market value." By comparison, the TV rights for Brazil 2014 in France alone were bought in '05 by TF1 for €130M. In total, TV rights fetched €2.1B across the world. Australian businessman Jaimie Fuller, founder of the "New FIFA Now" movement pushing for greater transparency in world football's governing body, said that "this was the first time Blatter himself had been implicated directly in a document relating to a corruption case." FIFA issued a statement that said, "FIFA does not comment on allegations made in the press. Furthermore, as Mr Warner is under indictment in the United States, we are not at liberty to discuss matters concerning him" (AFP, 9/12).
