December 5 – A prominent Brazilian businessman testified on Monday that he participated in a bribery scheme to buy the influence of key FIFA officials in order to win commercial rights to major tournaments, a decision he later regretted.
November 30 – A former accountant working with Argentina-based marketing firm Torneos y Competencias has told the FifaGate trial in New York how he handled the payment of millions of dollars in bribes to powerful south American officials in exchange for the rights to broadcast tournaments and matches.
November 30 – Real Madrid’s Croatian midfield star Luka Modric has become the latest high-profile player in Spain accused of tax fraud on revenue from his image rights.
November 28 -Fresh revelations at the FifaGate scandal trial in New York have heaped more unwanted publicity on 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar with the former president of Colombia’s federation testifying that a sports marketing executive told him that up to $15 million in bribe money was potentially available for South American officials to back Qatar’s bid.
November 24 – The son of disgraced former Ecuador FA president Luis Chiriboga (pictured) has testified against his father in the FIFAgate corruption trial in New York, admitting he facilitated bribery payments.
November 23 – The former owner of Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala has reportedly been questioned for two days in France following his arrest on suspicion of tax evasion.
November 22 – Despite Qatar’s World Cup organisers being at pains to stress that the FIFAGate corruption trial in New York has nothing to do with them, yet another connection – however tenuous – has emerged between the 2022 bid process and the three football powerbrokers on trial for allegedly taking multiple bribes.
November 22 – Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has avoided a possible jail sentence in the United States by agreeing to compensate police in Los Angeles for their repeated callouts over loud parties he held at a house he was renting in the summer.
November 21 – A prosecution witness in the increasingly revelatory FIFAGate corruption trial in New York says eight South American officials who received bribes in exchange for broadcasting and sponsorship rights were all given code names relating to different car brands, logged in secret Excel spreadsheets.
November 21 – Days after Mexican broadcaster Televisa was named in the New York corruption trial as paying bribes for World Cup rights, one of its senior executives, Adolfo Lagos Espinosa, was shot dead in Mexico City. It is unclear whether this was related to the courtroom revelation.
November 17 – A judge in Paraguay has authorised the extradition to the United States of former CONMEBOL boss Nicolás Leoz, alleged to have been one of the masterminds in the FIFAGate corruption scandal but who has so far managed to escape the clutches of US prosecutors.
By Paul Nicholson
November 16 – The second day of testimony by Alejandro Burzaco in the FIFA bribery case brought more drama to the Brooklyn court after one of the defendants, Peruvian Manuel Burga, was accused of twice making slashing motions across his throat towards Burzaco.
By Paul Nicholson
November 15 – The depth of the corruption around the sale of TV rights that has plagued South and North America and shattered the reputations of football officials worldwide, was unmasked in the federal court in Brooklyn yesterday. For the first time major broadcast networks Fox Sports (USA), and Televisa (Mexico) were dragged into the narrative alongside Brazil’s TV Globo, all of whom were accused of paying bribes for rights.
By Paul Nicholson
November 14 – With jury selection complete, the trial of three South American former football administrators began in earnest with opening statements on Monday in the Brooklyn Federal court.
November 13 – The Thai owners of surprise 2016 English Premier League champions Leicester City are reportedly being sued for £323 million over money owed to their government.