Russia Accuses FIFA Of Overcharging For World Cup TV Rights

Russia accused FIFA of "overcharging for TV rights for next year's World Cup to cover financial difficulties," according to the AP. Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko said that FIFA asked for $120M from Russian TV channels, up from $32M paid by Russia for the 2014 World Cup. State-controlled TV channels bidding for the tournament "would make a loss on the deal, so FIFA is pressing the Russian government to contribute," according to Mutko. He said that it is "not really right." Mutko: "Russia is under special conditions because when the rights for (the 2014 World Cup in) Brazil were being sold, the dollar was worth about 30 rubles and now it's just under 60." Mutko said that FIFA is "squeezing" Russia because "if you look at their finances, you'll see that after the scandals, there are problems" (AP, 4/8).