What are sports without corruption right? Well, not really, but this year we saw one of this biggest sports organizations get taken down. FIFA president Sepp Blatter may deny any wrongdoing within the organization, however, 14 former and current FIFA officials were indicted by the United States court system. The news initial broke when seven FIFA officials were arrested inside a hotel in Zurich by US officials.
Blatter was also under investigation by Swiss officials. He “retired” six days after news broke about the arrests. The FBI is hoping the officials who were arrested will cooperate and help them build a case against Blatter. This month, 16 more FIFA officials were arrested. In the recent arrest, the officials are accused of illegal kickbacks totaling $132 million.
FIFA has been under investigation for three years over the bidding process for the 2020 World Cup. Fourteen officials have been charged with varying crimes including racketeering and money laundering. The investigation is also looking into past matters like the bidding process of the 2010 World Cup.