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THE DARK SIDE
StarTwo, June 16, 2006
Andrew Jennings speaks to BRIGITTE ROZARIO about his new book, Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals.
LAST month, Foul! was released in bookshops around the world. It exposes bribes, vote rigging, corruption and ticket scandals within the highest echelons of FIFA, the governing body of world football.
Author Andrew Jennings spent nearly six years researching and writing the book. For 10 years before that he had been investigating much of the sports politics and business contracts surrounding the World Cup.
The research involved interviewing key personalities and waiting patiently for documents and information. Before the book went to print, FIFA tried to have a global ban imposed on it. Last month, FIFA withdrew this request.
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Andrew Jennings: I don't write fiction. |
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Jennings has been working with the BBC on a film on the corruption in FIFA. In the midst of putting the final touches to the film, Jennings found time for a quick phone interview from London.
How has the book been received by fans?
I get masses of e-mail from fans all over the world saying they love it because they’ve never trusted FIFA. The book is reprinting in France, even in Germany where it’s not in the German language. I’ve been doing German television interviews and newspaper interviews nearly every day.
How about feedback from footballers and managers?
I know they love it because FIFA is never kind to the players. The big European clubs like it because it shows the truth about FIFA. The only people who don’t want it are a tiny leadership at the top of FIFA. And, indeed, the book does not attack FIFA. It is critical and makes many serious corruption allegations against a tiny little group in the leadership.
At any time was your life in danger or threatened because of this book?
Not my life. I’ve had that in other stories I’ve done on the Mafia. But on this one, I’ve had three years of ceaseless bombardment by FIFA’s lawyers telling me my allegations were untrue, unsubstantiated; they’re going to sue me.
(CONCACAF president) Jack Warner has also threatened legal action, hasn’t he?
Well, he’s been doing that for years. Jack Warner isn’t suing anybody, ever. He’s written to the BBC saying that he’s going to sue me and that was weeks ago. His lawyers told me for years they were going to sue me. Jack Warner is not suing anybody. He cannot go into court.
Who do you think is the greatest “villain” in the book – Blatter or Warner?
Well, I think Sepp Blatter has to be held responsible for nearly everything that’s gone wrong because he could have stepped in and stopped it and he didn’t. He doesn’t take action against Warner because Warner supplies him with a guaranteed 35 votes at every presidential election. So, Warner could have been stopped, and lots of other corrupt people in FIFA could’ve been stopped. But it suits Blatter to let them be corrupt.
Blatter has said that you write fiction. Would you like to comment on how much of the book is fiction?
None (of the events in) the book is fiction. I don’t write fiction. He said that three years ago. On March 18, 2003, after I’d just published a story in England revealing a secret bonus he pays himself that nobody knew about, he announced at the top of FIFA’s homepage that, and I can still remember it vividly: FIFA will sue Andrew Jennings and the Daily Mail (which is the newspaper that published my story) for “fiction”. And he didn’t. There’s no fiction.
Have there been any follow-up investigations as a result of your book and articles?
Oh, yes, there is a major criminal investigation. FIFA House was raided by detectives on Nov 3 last year.
The fraud squad from the city of Zug (in Switzerland) investigated and indicted six executives of the ISL company for embezzling £45mil (RM301mil) from FIFA. That was the first stage. The second stage in the investigation, which is why FIFA was raided on Nov 3, 2005, looks into certain FIFA executives’ roles in the bribery scandal. That police investigation is going on even as we speak.
The legal warrant that’s permitted the magistrate Thomas Hildbrand to lead the detectives in the raid specifically named searching the offices of Blatter and General Secretary Urs Linsi.
Have you been requested to help in any investigations?
Yes, but I’m not going to say what they are because they’re confidential. I’m sorry, I’ve only talked on the basis that it would be confidential.
Do you think that justice will be served and there will be improvements in FIFA?
Well, you never know. There should be and this time for the first time in 30 years there are serious criminal investigations going on into FIFA. I don’t think the world has quite realised it’s that serious.
A police raid is a very serious matter. To get the warrant permitting him to conduct a raid, the investigating magistrate Thomas Hildbrand had to show a judge in the city of Zug the evidence he had which gave him serious suspicions about bribes and corruption at FIFA.
If Hildbrand had made a mistake, his career would be in jeopardy. Far from it, I know. And in our film we are showing the latest things he’s been doing in the last few weeks since the book.
We’ll certainly do a later edition, I think, because there’s so much happening at the moment. We wait to see what happens when the ISL executives go to trial later this year, where bribes will be mentioned in the court case; (I know) because I’ve seen some of the evidence. We wait to see if Thomas Hildbrand will indict President Blatter, General Secretary Linsi and any others. Certainly, it looks like he’s going to because he’s been working on it for a year.
Do you think there’s hope for the future of football?
Well, I think FIFA needs to be de-constructed and built up again on democratic transparent foundations. Basically, there’s not a lot wrong with football around the world. It’s this little leadership group at FIFA that has got to be evicted, banned forever from the game.
Copyright Star Publications
Related story:
Stain on the game
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Up for the Cup, June 6, 2006
Getting Ready for World Cup, May 26, 2006
Talking Ball With: Shebby, September, 2005
Woosie the Wee Wonder, Feb 18, 1993
The Affable Lineker, June 17, 1991
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