Transparency International cuts ties with Fifa Fifa President Sepp Blatter in Zurich, Switzerland - 30 November 2011 Transparency International's move deals a blow to Sepp Blatter's moves to clean up Fifa A corruption watchdog that was advising Fifa after a series of bribery and corruption scandals, has cut its ties with world football's governing body. An official with Transparency International (TI) said two of its key recommendations had been ignored. TI said Fifa paying an expert to oversee major reforms to how it is run would jeopardise his independence. The expert, Mark Pieth, said he would not re-examine old scandals, another recommendation of TI. The move is being viewed by many as a blow to the credibility of Fifa's reform process, which has been led by its President Sepp Blatter, says BBC sports news correspondent Alex Capstick. Fifa has declined to comment on TI's move. 'Not independent' Sylvia Schenk, TI's sports adviser, said Mr Pieth could not remain independent of Fifa if he was being paid by the organisation. "We believe that someone paid by Fifa cannot be a member of the independent commission [overseeing reforms]," Ms Schenk told the Press Association Sport news agency. "He has a contract with Fifa so he is not independent in that sense." Mr Pieth said it was common for firms to pay outside advisers to evaluate their business practices. "We can't start asking audit firms to do their job for free just to make sure they are independent," he told the Bloomberg news website. TI had been invited by Fifa to sit on an outside panel headed by Mr Pieth to advise on reforms. Fifa has been embroiled in scandals that have seen four members of Mr Blatter's ruling executive committee banned or resign over allegations of bribery. TI's involvement was seen as a key element in Mr Blatter's strategy to clean up Fifa, says our correspondent. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15996806
On the same topic - i.e. FIFA - tonight on Radio 4 there's a closely linked programme. The Friday Play: The Bid covers the events leading up to England's failed bid to win the 2018 World Cup.
FIFA, dripping with venality and dishonesty will go down in history as the worst example of how power corrupts.
......and another old (alleged) crook bites the dust: Former Fifa president Joao Havelange resigns from the International Olympic Committee By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter Joao Havelange, the former president of Fifa, has resigned from the International Olympic Committee to avoid being potentially censured for receiving bribes. Former Fifa president Joao Havelange resigns from the International Olympic Committee Havelange was due to hear on Thursday the outcome of an IOC ethics committee investigation into allegations that as head of Fifa he received kickbacks from the collapsed sports marketing agency ISL. The Brazilian, who is 95 and was Fifa president from 1974 to 1998, is understood to have written to the IOC saying that he is standing down from what has become a purely symbolic role for health reasons. Havelange was alleged by the BBC to have received a $1.5 million (£960,000) payment from ISL for assisting in the awarding of television and marketing rights contracts. The BBC forwarded documentation to the IOC earlier this year and Havelange was likely to have been censured for breaching the IOC’s ethical code. By resigning he is no longer subject to the IOC’s rules however and thus can avoid the abject humiliation of being formally punished. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ol...from-the-International-Olympic-Committee.html
