Federal prosecutors in Switzerland have opened an investigation into bribery allegations over the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, just hours after the Wednesday morning arrest of a number of FIFA individuals who are to face charges in unrelated corruption investigation in the United States.
The Swiss investigation, which will also cover the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia, comes just six months after an internal FIFA probe found no evidence of corruption on the part of Doha or Moscow in the biding process.
Swiss police announced their intention to question at least 10 FIFA officials who participated in the December 2010 vote, which passed the controversial decision granting Qatar and Russia the upcoming World Cup events. Prosecutors also stated that they seized "electronic data and documents" during their raid of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich according to The New York Times .
The renewed attention of the Qatar allegations comes after Swiss investigators arrested seven FIFA officials Wednesday morning in cooperation with a corruption probe by the United States, which has indicted 14 individuals in total.
The investigation will look into suspected bribes totaling more than $100 million, going all the way back to the 1990s. The Swiss police said that their investigation was separate from that of the U.S. although they will extradite the six arrested officials to face charges there.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has escaped direct arrest or indictment, however, the investigation serves as a major blow to his re-election bid. Blatter has consistently denied charges of corruption throughout his tenure as FIFA president and until Wednesday was believed to be the clear winner in the forthcoming FIFA election.
Football officials are gathered in Zurich for the FIFA congress and the presidential election, with voting planned for Friday. A spokesperson for FIFA stated, "He is not one of the ones arrested. He is not involved at all," according to AP .
Earlier this week, Blatter's only opponent, Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, accused Blatter of being complicit in corruption at FIFA stating, "It is clear that things have to change. The conspicuous waste, the self-serving policies and controversial leadership style of FIFA today have disempowered our national associations, hurt our sport and cost us our dignity," according to Business Insider .
Qatar’s bid to host the international event hasn’t exactly been smooth since it was first announced in 2010. In March, FIFA officially rescheduled the 2022 World Cup to winter, citing the exceptionally high summer temperatures in Doha. The move left football clubs around the world frustrated with the effects that the shift will have on their tournament schedules.
Just when it seemed like Qatar's winter World Cup might fly, an international investigation of this magnitude might just be a game changer. We're waiting to see how this one play outs.