FIFA’s ethics panel has suspended two officials for their role in a World Cup vote-selling scandal. The two officials, Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti, were allegedly tricked by undercover journalists who were posing as lobbyists into offering to sell their secret ballot World Cup votes for cash in return. Adamu was even supposedly caught offering to sell the vote regarding the destination of the World Cup on video tape. The Nigerian man denies any wrong doing despite the visual evidence.
Adamu’s statement regarding the allegations presented that he was willing to sell his secret ballet vote for cash:
Whilst I wholly refute all allegations made, I fully support the inquiry since it is important that these claims are thoroughly investigated. Only by doing this will FIFA — and the wider football community — be able to trust that its appointed representatives are beyond reproach. I have yet to present my position to those investigating this matter. However I am confident that my actions, the full and true extent of which were not detailed in the story published, will demonstrate not only my innocence and integrity, but also my commitment to football and to FIFA. Since investigations are not yet complete, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further and I will not do so until FIFA’s final conclusion is made public.
Both men were suspended indefinitely and are barred from all soccer-related duties until the probe has ended. The case is a huge story in the world of football considering the rampant corruption charges that were just discovered in Nigeria weeks back. It appears that the Nigerian Football Federation isn’t the only football federation that exists of at least one corrupt Nigerian man.
Adamu believes that he will be proven innocent once the probe is complete, but all signs point to the fact that corruption appears to have reared it’s ugly head into the home of FIFA. No news yet on long term solutions to such a problem of black market World Cup votes being sold to the highest bidder.
http://www.france24.com/en/files/imagecache/aef_ct_wire_image/images/afp/photo_1287316715827-1-0.jpg
