FIFA: Jack Warner denies illegality with an article from The Onion
Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner has been accused of racketeering. He’s been arrested. Warner says he’s innocent. Warner says his arrest is rooted in the US’s failed World Cup bid.
He accuses the US of gross hypocrisy. How can the US attack FIFA when it was offered the World Cup 2015.
“The U.S. applied to hold the World Cup in 2022 and they lost the bid to Qatar — a small country, an Arabic country, a Muslim country,” says Warner. “I could understand the U.S. embarrassment… Why is it [American prosecutors] believe that they have a right to the World Cup?”
He cites a story that FIFA allowed the US to stage the 2015 World Cup:
“Summer World Cup, 2015, from the very same organization that they are accusing of being corrupt. That has to be double standards.”
Problem is that the story of USA 2015 is a satire.
As The Onion – the spoof news website – said:
After the Justice Department indicted numerous executives from world soccer’s governing body on charges of corruption and bribery, frantic and visibly nervous officials from FIFA held an impromptu press conference Wednesday to announce that the United States has been selected to host this summer’s 2015 World Cup. “We are thrilled to reveal that, for the first time in 21 years, the World Cup will finally return to America, with matches set to kick off today at 5 p.m. local time in Los Angeles,” said FIFA president Sepp Blatter, smiling broadly before unveiling the tournament’s official logo, a hand-drawn stick figure kicking a soccer ball with “USA 2015!” hastily scribbled in black marker above its head…
FIFA might be beyond parody. But isn’t:
Posted: 2nd, June 2015 | In: Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
