A senior official said that FIFA "was forced to adopt radical reforms" after being threatened by the U.S. Department of Justice with being declared a "criminal organization on a par with the mafia," according to Pancevski, Boswell & Ungoed-Thomas of the SUNDAY TIMES.
Such a move "would have led to the freezing" of the organization’s assets. Sponsors would also have deserted FIFA, "effectively shutting it down."
The disclosure came as FIFA officials "embarked on a reform package" agreed by the FIFA congress in Zurich on Friday where UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino was elected as FIFA president to succeed Sepp Blatter.
Under the reform package, "the powers of the president will be restricted and the length of office capped at three terms of four years each."
The frantic efforts by FIFA to avoid being declared a criminal organization "were revealed by a senior source."
The organization "was told by investigators" that only three people at FIFA were not suspects or potential witnesses.
In an attempt to counter the threat, FIFA has used U.S. law firm Quinn Emanuel "to conduct internal inquiries into the organisation and forward any evidence of suspected corruption to the justice department."
The strategy is to ensure that FIFA is treated as a "victim" of crime rather than as a perpetrator (SUNDAY TIMES, 2/28).
