Never saw that coming.

The Guardian’s live text feed.

I’m getting inundated with tweets and emails. It’s fair to say the word ‘shredder’ crops up in the majority of them.

Inevitable, really.

Maybe it was that 10million?

Still be around for a few months. Probably hoping the dust will settle and he’ll be persuaded to stay on.

Like everything else he’s ever done, it’ll just be manoeuvring before another massive scam! I predict a Nigel Farage style non-resignation as a distraction, while they get busy with the shredder and shifting some funds around

At least bernie ecclestone was smart enough to do his bribing in a country where you could pay off the legal system. Allegedly.

But in more important news Brendan Rodgers confirms he is staying on at Liverpool for next season ,, great 9 more months of comedy gold

ding dong the witch is dead..! I hope the fbi / swiss carry on their investigation and get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile Sepp can empty the coffers and do some deals before he buggers off.. If it were anywhere else he would be escorted off the premises and items put in a box faster than you can say ” it wasnt me guvnor”

as I posted on the other thread.

I still don’t think there will be any evidence of any irregular payment or bribe made by Blatter, made to Blatter or authorised by Blatter. Everything done by him will be all above board, of course he knew that all the money being paid into all those projects was being siphoned off by national officials, but there will be absolutely no evidence of his involvement.

I don’t think he was in it for the money, the fact that FIFA paid him a massive wage was just a bonus(allegedly as FIFA accounts don’t have to be submitted in Switzerland). He was in it for the power, he wanted to rule and manipulate, that was his motivation.

I still don’t think there will be any evidence of any irregular payment or bribe made by Blatter, made to Blatter or authorised by Blatter. Everything done by him will be all above board, of course he knew that all the money being paid into all those projects was being siphoned off by national officials, but there will be absolutely no evidence of his involvement.

Irrelevant. He doesn’t have to be involved in any of it. The FCPA (most likely way they’ll get him) could have him for just knowing about it and doing nothing, or even being wilfully negligent in NOT knowing about it. Failure to prevent bribery, books & records and more. He’s in trouble if they go after him.

I hear he’s running for parliament in orkney and shetland

Is it just me that gets’s quite concerned that the powers that be have no control of the powers that be.

I felt the same when the pensions went tits up.

Some serious money involved and it took action by the Americans to bring it to a halt?

He knows that they know, that they now also know that he knows that they know.

Or something like that.

Even Cameron knew and let him know that he knew people who knew

He knows that they know, that they now also know that he knows that they know.

Only because they told him this was the case.

Quits?

I thought he’d said he’ll resign – slightly different in my eyes.

Maybe once he’s had the docs shredded…

The FCPA (most likely way they’ll get him) could have him for just knowing about it and doing nothing, or even being wilfully negligent in NOT knowing about it. Failure to prevent bribery, books & records and more.

FIFA doesn’t have securities listed in the US (does it?) so books and records provisions don’t apply. your other stuff isn’t quite correct either but I’m off the clock. having said all that, if there is any evidence that Blatter benefitted (I think even just getting re-elected by giving out personal favours might count in the right circumstances – I think a number of the foreign delegates are public officials) and any interest in chasing him down, there will be no end of ways to snag him.

He’s a power crazed megalomaniac – why else would he go to all the trouble and expense of proving to the world that he was the only one that was worthy to lead only to give it all up a few days later? Absolutely barking!

I think even just getting re-elected by giving out personal favours

Eeeuuuu! Whatever are you insinuating now?! Can you back that up with evidence?! It’s not the FIA all over again is it?! 😉

Well when the first vote went down 133 backed Blatter, that would suggest that 133 felt more comfortable with the guy who looks the other way. T guess it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Eeeuuuu! Whatever are you insinuating now?! Can you back that up with evidence?! It’s not the FIA all over again is it?!

I wasn’t insinuating anything, just speaking absolutely hypothetically and actually, on reflection, I’m not sure if an individual retaining his status as an employment would be “retaining business”. the problem is that there is very little jurisprudence on the fcpa.

I don’t even know what FIA is or why it would remind anyone of FIFA.

Once the sponsors get twitchy then the end is neigh but I cant help feeling that he will come out of this a free man, possibly by simply letting those below him take the wrap (that is if he is guilty of anything, currently nothing is proved).

FIA is motorsport. I assumed it was a Max Moseley and S&M hookers reference.

A German court has agreed to end the bribery trial of Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone in exchange for a $100m (£60m) payment from him.
Mr Ecclestone’s offer was based on an existing provision in German law.
Earlier on Tuesday German prosecutors accepted the offer from the 83-year-old billionaire who dominates motor racing.
He went on trial in April, accused of paying a German banker 33m euros (£26m; $44m) to ensure that a company he favoured could buy a stake in F1.

FIA – motorsport

Sponsors twitchy?
MacDonald’s are a main sponsor, they dont care , it costs millions to sponsor the world cup and in return biliions! Of people are exposed to your product they’ll take a bit o corruption to get that level of exposure

He’s only gone coz he found out the FBI were directly investigating him and its obvious he’d trousered millions

What’s laughable is that FIFA and the FA are on their high horses and excited eplacing him with their preferred candidate , there’s just as much corruption at their levels, there’s just less cash involved

yep twitchy

And McDonald’s said it “takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the US Department of Justice is extremely concerning. We are in contact with FIFA on this matter. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely”.

I guess it depends how you oiled the wheels to get your sponsorship deal…

Bl- Bl- Bl- Blatt’s all, folks.

What’s laughable is that FIFA and the FA are on their high horses and excited eplacing him with their preferred candidate , there’s just as much corruption at their levels, there’s just less cash involved

Uncle Greg has come out of this looking rather idiotic and clueless.

This image is brilliant;

Walking away from his job being ushered towards a harsh light that will illuminate more than he probably wants to be revealed.

So who’s going to tell this bloke they can’t have their world cup

Uncle Greg has come out of this looking rather idiotic and clueless.

Dyke ? I think he’s been proven absolutely correct and the FA where one of the first associations to stand up to FIFA. Chapeau I say.

@kona – I think the link to FIFA in Switzerland for the FBI is that the bribes where made is US dollars, that gives them jurisdiction pretty much anywhere especially as is likely those transfers where cleared through banks US offices. Secondly CONCACAF is HQ’d in Miami, so any corruption between CONCACAF and FIFA draws in FIFA in Switzerland. Thirdly the voting for the World Cup included bids from the US so would have involved US companies and probably some public money. Plus on top of all this the US will be in contact with Switzerland who after all the bank secrecy issues will be bending over backwards to help with the FIFA investigation.

So who’s going to tell this bloke they can’t have their world cup

The US could well do so. No love lost right now with the situation in Ukraine and Russians support of Assad in Syria

I have a small bit of sympathy for Sepp. It’s been made out in the media that he’s some kind of super-vilian, coordinating a worldwide web of corruption from his layer deep in a Swiss mountain.

FIFA is a global organisation. The way it is set up gives equal power to each member country. Corruption is endemic in most of the world. Western Europe and North America are exceptions, not the norm. FIFA reflects it’s member organisations.

Realistically, Blatter can’t fix corruption around the world which is effectively what he is being held accountable for. His mistake is hanging around too long.

Realistically, Blatter can’t fix corruption around the world which is effectively what he is being held accountable for.

Didn’t he set up the voting system of “one vote per country”, essentially enabling the corruption, in the first place?

Almost as if he was contemplating milking it for all it was worth.

Realistically, Blatter can’t fix corruption around the world which is effectively what he is being held accountable for. His mistake is hanging around too long.

@tomd Oh I think Blatter was very much part of creating the web of corruption, that’s what the investigation will prove IMO. thats what he’s been accused of for years. Its a nice convenient side effect of giving the Cayman Islands (for example) the same voting power as Germany, France or England that the ability to influence voting is very powerful. (EDIT I see whoppit has made the same point)

t’s been made out in the media that he’s some kind of super-vilian, coordinating a worldwide web of corruption from his layer deep in a Swiss mountain.

I think the charge is the organisation he runs is riddled with corruption and he has either turned a blind eye or joined in
Only the investigation will prove which
It seems quite unlikely he is innocent and knew nothing.

@tomd Oh I think Blatter was very much part of creating the web of corruption, that’s what the investigation will prove IMO. thats what he’s been accused of for years. Its a nice convenient side effect of giving the Cayman Islands (for example) the same voting power as Germany, France or England that the ability to influence voting is very powerful. (EDIT I see whoppit has made the same point)

Not just votes, but also money, all the member countries take an equal share of the money. Now I wouldn’t care if more FIFA money flowed into poorer countries to build football pitches and facilities, and if European nation got sweet fa. But to give the Caymen Islands or Montserrat (population 5000) the same share as say Cameroon (population 22 million) is blatantly ridiculous.

is blatantly ridiculous.

Literally?