South African businessperson Tokyo Sexwale, a candidate for FIFA's presidency, has "appeared before a U.S. grand jury in New York as part of an on-going investigation into World Cup bribes," according to Richard Conway of the BBC. Sexwale was questioned in relation to an alleged $10M "corrupt payment" from South Africa to former FIFA VP and CONCACAF President Jack Warner. Sexwale "appeared as a potential witness at the FBI's request" on Dec. 17. Sexwale is "one of five candidates in the running" for the FIFA presidency, with the election taking place on Feb. 26 (BBC.com, 12/21).
FRONT-RUNNER NO MORE: UEFA President Michel Platini, who yesterday received an eight-year ban from FIFA's ethics court, said that he "planned to take his case to the FIFA Appeals Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, an independent panel with final say in sporting disputes." He added that he "still hoped to seek the FIFA presidency." But the WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joshua Robinson cites sources as saying that the chances of him winning an appeal before that date "are nil." Only three months ago, Platini "had been the front-runner." Sources said that this distinction now "belongs to Sheik Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a FIFA executive from Bahrain" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/22). Platini said of yesterday's ruling, "The decision is no surprise to me, the procedure initiated against me is a pure masquerade. It has been rigged to tarnish my name by bodies I know well and who for me are bereft of all credibility or legitimacy. I will fight this to the end." In London, Charles Sale notes Platini was "backed by UEFA" following the ruling (London DAILY MAIL, 12/22).
GAME, SEPP, MATCH? USA TODAY's A.J. Perez writes FIFA President Sepp Blatter "blamed the United States for his eight-year ban," which was also handed down by FIFA's ethics court yesterday, during a "meandering, nearly one-hour news conference in Zurich." Blatter said, "If we had awarded the World Cup in 2022 to the USA, we would not be here." Perez notes on-point answers to reporters’ question were "rare for Blatter at the news conference." Blatter said that he "should have quit" after the '14 World Cup in Brazil and vowed to "fight his ban in the courts" (USA TODAY, 12/22). In N.Y., Michael Powell writes Blatter’s performance yesterday "had a wonderful, ever-so-slightly unhinged quality." He "spoke for almost an hour, mixing pepper-pot defiance and poetry-slam stream of consciousness, all delivered excitably in four languages" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/22).
