Chuck Blazer admits World Cup bribes

Court documents released tonight show for the first time – in his own words – the admission of guilt of one of Fifa’s former top executives to accepting bribes.

A transcript of a hearing in 2013 was unsealed by a New York court, and shows the former head of CONCACAF – Chuck Blazer – admitting to accepting and facilitating bribes, as well as tax evasion.

He says: “I and others agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.”

He also admits to the judge:

“I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups.”

Chuck Blazer was a Fifa executive committee member from 1996 to 2013 and was general secretary of CONCACAF for 21 years until he left in 2011 amid allegations of corruption.

As well as these bribery schemes, Mr Blazer admits facilitating the acceptance of a bribe in connection with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup.

In the Department of Justice document released last week that details the charges against Chuck Blazer, this was the passage that outlined Blazer’s role in the 1998 World Cup bribery:

“While in Morocco, BLAZER was present when a representative of the Moroccan bid committee offered a bribe payment to Co-Conspirator #1 in exchange for Co-Conspirator #l’s agreement to cast his secret ballot on the Fifa executive committee for Morocco to host the 1998 World Cup. Co-Conspirator #1 accepted the offer”

We don’t know for sure who the mysterious Co-Conspirator Number 1 is, but we are putting one and one together. And the Department of Justice know who it is, and doing their own calculations about who knew what when, before they make their next moves in an investigation that is only growing.

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