Corruption adviser calls for Fifa ‘kickbacks’ document published

FIFA’s anti-corruption adviser called for swift publication yesterday of a Swiss court document revealing which football officials took millions of dollars from marketing agency ISL as kickbacks from World Cup broadcasting deals.

Mark Pieth said that Fifa and its president Sepp Blatter cited legal reasons for “repeatedly” denying his requests to see the document. “This is something that needs to be publicised. We asked Fifa to get it. We have repeatedly and right from the beginning asked,” Pieth said, acknowledging that to release the document now risked a contempt of court charge.

Earlier in the day, Switzerland’s Federal Tribunal announced it extended a block on publication requested by two unidentified parties.

The parties – widely reported to be Brazilian former football leaders Joao Havelange and Ricardo Teixeira – are appealing against five Swiss and British media organisations which have won lower court rulings to access the ISL dossier.

The document reveals details of a May 2010 deal in which two officials admitted taking kickbacks in the 1990s. They repaid 5.5 million Swiss francs (then $6.1 million) on condition their identities would remain secret.

“Nobody has really seen that document because it would be a contempt of court issue if they gave it to us,” the University of Basel professor said. “He [Blatter] has not given it to anybody because he is not allowed to. That’s the point.”

Pieth said it was “crucial” for his 13-member expert panel to study the ISL case, as they examine how serious FIFA was about investigating scandals, including alleged bribery and vote-rigging, in recent years. “This is another element for us to say, ‘Look, we are not satisfied how these things have been dealt with.’ But we want to see it officially and we want to see it published,” the former United Nations investigator said.