Rabat – FIFA is amid a new crisis dubbed by the media as one of the biggest crises in the organization’s history.
After the Qatar 2022 World Cup bribery scandal, FIFA president and 26 top executives at the world football governing body are accused of receiving watches worth around €20,000 each as commemorative gifts from the Brazil FA (CBF) upon their arrival to attend the World Cup during the summer.
According to the British newspaper The Sunday Times which has history in revealing the dirty secrets of FIFA, President Sep Blatter and his elite executives who make the FIFA’s ruling executive committee were handed luxurious watches manufactured by leading Swiss brand Parmigiani as part of a welcome bag distributed by the Brazilian football association on the occasion of its centennial celebrations.
FIFA confirmed in a statement the receiving of the expensive watches and said that its ethics committee is looking into the matter.
“The CBF distributed commemorative watches at the World Cup in Brazil from their own sponsor to various people, including the members of the FIFA Executive Committee,” the statement explained.
“The Ethics Committee was informed about this accordingly and is dealing with the matter.”
Three FIFA executives, Sunil Gulati, Moya Dodd and Prince Ali bin-Al Hussein admitted receiving the watches in the belief that they breaches FIFA’s ethics code which bans members from receiving anything of more than trivial value, according to media reports.
The Football governing body also confirmed that attempts by Hublot, FIFA’s official watch sponsor, to present similar items to committee members were passed by Michael Garcia’s ethics committee and deemed to be inappropriate.
