The world of international soccer was rocked when seven officials from its governing body, FIFA, were arrested, and many more indicted, by US and Swiss authorities in Zurich on charges of racketeering, fraud, and money laundering as part of an investigation that the US Justice Department has declared has only just begun. But what does this have to do with art?
It’s alleged that soccer authorities systemically took personal
bribes, some $150 million according to the New York Times, to sway their
decision-making about things like who would get to televise games, who
would oversee the worldwide soccer organization, and who would get to
host the World Cup.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was accused this past December
by England’s 2018 World Cup bid committee of having bribed Michel
Platini, the president of the Union of European Football Associations
(UEFA) and FIFA executive committee member with a painting by Pablo
Picasso in exchange for voting for Russia to stage the next World Cup.
The painting was reportedly taken from the Hermitage Museum in St.
Petersburg.
The committee got its information about the Russian bid “from a
network of British embassies and private intelligence firms staffed by
former MI6 officers” and was disclosed in a dossier that parliament
published.
Perhaps it’s because the Russian President has a greater vested
interest in Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup than previously thought.
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