Football in Crisis Review

Now on BBC News, Richard Conway goes behind

the scenes at football's governing body, Fifa,

and examines how the crisis will impact on the beautiful game

in Review 2015: Football in Crisis.

It is the world's most popular sport but it has been an unprecedented

and unwanted year for world football.

This really is the World Cup of fraud.

Fifa, the game's world governing body, which controlled the rules

in the World Cup, has been brought to its knees.

I think this has been the year that has

proved that Fifa cannot do whatever it likes.

Already under the spotlight for awarding the next two

World Cups to Russia and Qatar, it has been hit by allegations

of corruption on a massive scale.

There is no corruption in football, there

is corruption with individuals.

Infiltrated by the FBI, the subject of dawn raids,

arrests and extraditions.

With repercussions around the world, scandals and shocks that have shamed

the game and left Fifa fighting for its very existence.

He clung to the last vestiges of power.

It was very Blatter-esque.

This is a Review 2015: Football In Crisis.

Lets go, Fifa, let's go, Fifa.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

2015 started for Fifa in the heat of Doha.

After years of discussion and talks, football

officials met to decide one of the most contentious issues

facing the game.

Should the controversial Qatar World Cup in 2022 be switched

from summer to winter?

Finally, a result emerged to play in November

and December that year.

On behalf of all the European leagues and the European clubs,

who provide most of the players for the World Cup, the idea

that we have turned up today, it is a pretty short meeting to be

told it is going to happen in November /December.

It is very disappointing.

Already the signs of strain were showing, with Fifa

officials forced to repeatedly defend their actions.

I definitely do not feel I have to apologise for the decision

which has been made yesterday to confirm that the World

Cup will not be played in summer but in winter.

As the dust settled in the desert, Fifa thought it had

dealt with the tricky part of the year.

Little did they know what was coming next.

Fifa officials were meeting here, their favourite 5-star

hotel in the centre of Zurich.

They were looking forward, of course, to the presidential

election, which was just two days away.

Then came the early morning wake-up call

no-one expected.

First, breaking news.

This is BBC 5live.

Our top news story are those reports that...

Six officials of the world's governing body, Fifa,

including the vice president, have been arrested

at a hotel in Switzerland.

In the last hour, news has emerged from

Switzerland of police raids on a hotel in Zurich.

Police led Fifa officials away from this back door

of the hotel.

It set in motion a chain of events that was scarcely

believable and ultimately changed world football for ever.

Information on what happened was initially sketchy.

After I got past the hotel's ever-watchful concierge,

I pulled up a chair in the lobby and watched as the FBI

made its first move.

Fifa officials have been arrested in a series of dawn raids,

as they are putting it.

I am at the hotel right now.

In the last few seconds, Fifa's General Secretary

has just walked in.

I asked him what was happening, if he could confirm

these arrests.

He said, "I do not know what is happening."

He has walked in.

Clearly, it has taken everyone at Fifa by

surprise.

Seven senior officials were arrested and eventually

extradited to the US to face bribery and corruption charges.

They included Jeffrey Webb, a man many

believed would be a future Fifa president.

# Money, money, money #

The FBI's move sent shock waves through the sport.

Later that same day they launched raids on offices in Miami,

seizing vital evidence.

This really is the World Cup of fraud.

Today we are issuing Fifa a red card.

Two generations of soccer officials used

their positions of trust within their respective

organisations to solicit bribes from sports marketers

in exchange for the commercial rights to their soccer tournaments.

They did this over and over, year after year, tournament

after tournament.

Back in Zurich, Swiss police raided Fifa's offices too.

The governing body reacted swiftly, called a news conference and put

on a brave face.

This, for Fifa, is good.

It is not good in terms of image, it is not good

in terms of reputation.

But in terms of cleaning up, in terms of everything what we did

in the last four years, this is good.

It felt like the Fifa machine, if you like, the people who work

here, all of the sudden didn't know which way to turn.

There was an element of comedy to it as well.

One person was doing a comedy turn, insisting everything was all right

and Fifa had sort of kick of these events and was in completely

in control of the situation.

Everything outside this building told you it just was not the case.

Fifa was in crisis yet again.

Just two days before the presidential election,

was there a chance for Prince Ali to seize the Crown and prevent Sepp

Blatter securing another four years in charge?

The elections should be suspended.

Common sense should prevail but common sense does not

seem to exist in the towers of Fifa.

Fifa has to be rid of Sepp Blatter.

Whether he is involved in any of these shenanigans or not,

it is irrelevant.

He is the person who has led Fifa for six to years and now we look

at the results.

It is completely nauseating to be involved in football and have

to suffer this ongoing embarrassment to the game by the governing body.

With Fifa under intense scrutiny, Sepp Blatter went

to ground.

He cancelled a series of planned appearances.

President Blatter apologises not to be able to come today

because of the turbulences you have probably followed in the media.

It was left for Michel Platini to face the cameras.

The storm around Fifa now of global interest.

The top man in European football told Sepp Blatter directly

his time was up.

It was not a message that was well received.

He was very sensitive.

He said, it is too late, we cannot continue like this with Fifa.

Others were complaining that a US conspiracy was to blame.

to other countries.

I have no doubt at all that is blatant attempt to prevent

the re-election of Mr Blatter as president of Fifa.

Eventually Sepp Blatter did reappear, in time to open Fifa's

annual jamboree in front of it 209 member nations.

With dancing over and the Congress open, Sepp Blatter

came out fighting.

These actions bring shame and humiliation for football

and demand action and change from us all.

We cannot allow the reputation of football and Fifa

It has to stop here and now.

Mr Blatter, are you worried?

Sepp Blatter slipped out of the back door.

Those tricky questions, they would not go away.

Sepp Blatter was under pressure like never before.

There were calls for the election to be postponed.

There were calls for him to resign, not just from those

within football but from world leaders as well.

With less than 24-hour is until the ballot was due

to take place here, at the conference centre in ceric,

-- in Zurich, the question was about whether he had

courage and determination to fight on.

If so, could he win?

With Sepp Blatter defiant, delegates arrived

knowing it was a choice between him and Prince Ali for the Fifa

presidency.

We have had questions raised about whether our family

is morally bankrupt.

If you give me the honour of your vote, I will take

full responsibility and hold myself accountable to all

of you and to the world.

With the votes counted after the first round,

Blatter had a majority, but not by a big enough

margin to be declared victor.

Sepp Blatter's future as Fifa president hangs in the balance

as voting goes to a second round.

Just as quickly as those calling for change

sensed an opening, it closed.

Prince Ali accepted defeat.

Blatter victorious once more.

But he was wounded and grateful to survive.

I thank you that you access to me for

-- accepted me that for the next four years.

I will be in command of this vote called Fifa

and we will bring it back.

We will bring it back offshore.

His critics were forced to accept they faced another four years

of his rule.

The events of this week are so profound.

If you listen to what the Attorney General in America said,

this is the beginning and not the end.

I think there was an awful lot more for this

to play out.

You had media amassed outside.

You had the police outside, kind of waiting to pick off these

guys outside the conference call.

Inside the Congress Hall, it felt as if Blatter was master

of all he surveys.

He got victory, gave a bizarre speech.

In his mind, at that point, that was that.

Blatter celebrated and those who voted for him partied.

Despite the arrests and allegations, he had

secured a record fifth term in office.

All was not well in the Sepp Blatter camp.

Two days after his re-election, I met his daughter, who serves

as his close adviser.

I got the sense that pressure was beginning to bear on her father.

Does he really think this is a conspiracy

between Britain and America?

I would not say for the Americans and the British.

For people working behind-the-scenes,

yes, absolutely.

Dark forces?

I do not know if you want to call them

dark forces, they really tried hard.

He is not a person who is taking money.

All the money he earned, he earned it by working.

He is a hard-working president.

His character is not like that.

He is not taking any money.

Is he concerned about being arrested?

No.

We talked about that this morning and, no, he is not

concerned about that.

That pressure built further.

On 2nd of June Fifa was forced to deny

complicity in an alleged $10 million ban by the South African World Cup

team, paid via a Fifa account.

For Sepp Blatter, the years of handing

over the World Cup must have seemed a distant memory.

He held a series of meetings with lawyers and close

friends over his future.

Their message to him was clear.

What followed shocked Fifa and the watching world.

Sepp Blatter is to stand down as president of world

football's governing body, Fifa.

Our sports correspondent was the early

-- only British journalist at today's news conference in Zurich.

He is on the line now.

What was the reaction when he made that announcement a short

time ago?

He was told to come up to Fifa headquarters at very short

notice.

It was clear that something significant was about to be

announced and so that became true.

Sepp Blatter walked into the room.

He made a speech that lasted a little

over five minutes he talked about how he wants to do his best

for Fifa and his best for the game he loved.

He said he decided to resign for those reasons.

TRANSLATION: I do not feel I have a mandate from the entire

world of football.

There is still an element of mystery about exactly what changed

between his presidential victory and his decision to lay down

his mandate in that convoluted language.

It may be some time before he reveals exactly what it was that

changed his mind.

To my mind, he switched very quickly from utter

defiance and having Putin on his side and thinking

it was all a US plot, to some of those closest to him

ramming home just how serious it all was.

A month later, Fifa decided a date for a fresh election.

Sepp Blatter confirmed he would not be a candidate but it came

accompanied with the defining image of the year,

as a British comedian showered Sepp Blatter with cash.

As Fifa prepared for life without Sepp

Blatter, the fallout from the US and Swiss investigations continued.

In New York, the evidence provided by larger than life Chuck Blazer...

The Fifa executive turned supergrass...

Revealed new and shocking claims of alleged corruption.

Over in the Caribbean, Jack Warner denied any

knowledge of a $10 million bribe from South Africa.

Despite a BBC investigation suggesting he had

siphoned off all of the cash.

Jack?

Can you tell us where the $10 million went,

Jack?

Mr Warner clips where did the $10 million go?

Can you tell us one project, Mr Warner?

Can you tell it about one project he spent

the money on?

In South Africa, similar angry denials over analleged bunk

to secure votes for the 2010 World Cup.

The man at the centre of it all was meanwhile

trying to continue with life as usual.

To relax.

For the people how they have received me, you have seen it.

In his Alpine home he is still welcomed as the local boy made good.

At the summit Charity Festival, he put his troubles behind him,

at least for a few hours.

He finally broke his silence with the British

media and spoke exclusively to me.

The public opinion right now, the fans opinion, rightly

or wrongly, is that this organisation has systemic

corruption at its heart.

That is not true.

It is not true.

This has been created.

The institution is not corrupt.

There is no corruption in football.

There is corruption with individuals.

That is not general, organised corruption.

There is no corruption within Fifa?

No, it is with people.

The institution, Fifa, is not corrupt.

You knew about this and turned a blind

eye to it?

Or, you did not know about it and that shows a level,

perhaps, of incompetency, that you let this flourish.

The problem with Fifa, and this is the ultimate

reform we have to do now, the problem is the executive

committee.

The executive committee is not elected by the same entity

as the president.

The World Cup Africa was the cleanest World Cup ever been

done.

There was no fraud in 2010?

I said it was all correct.

$10 million passed from a Fifa account.

I do not enter into this discussion.

No, I am not a worried man.

You are trying to break always the same thing back.

Look forward and help us to investigate

what really has happened.

Millions of people want to clear up these big

allegations and claims.

I cannot go into investigations they are

running.

It turned outthose investigations ran deeper than he could

ever have imagined.

As the weeks went by, it was clear the waters were far

from calm for Fifa.

Its general secretary was suspended over allegations concerning the sale

of World Cup tickets.

There was then another incredible twist when Swiss

prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter.

The office of the Attorney General in Switzerland says Sepp Blatter

is suspected of criminal mismanagement

over TV rights deal signed with Jack Warner in 2005.

In addition he is also accused of ?1.3 million disloyal

payment in 2011 to Michel Platini.

Today, the office of the Attorney General in Switzerland

searched Fifa's headquarters, including the office of Mr Blatter,

and Mr Blatter himself, he was questioned and

interrogated as a defendant.

Mr Platini, why did you wait nine years before asking

for payment from Mr Blatter?

Did you do a deal with Mr Blatter?

Michel Platini, is your Fifa campaign now over?

Do you have anything to say at all?

Do you want Uefa to back you tomorrow?

One of Sepp Blatter's analogies is comparing

Fifa to a boat and himself as captain steering a ship

to calmer waters.

That may well still happen in due course.

Mr Blatter, he has been tossed overboard.

Several of Fifa's big sponsors called on Sepp Blatter

to resign immediately.

Fifa's ethics committee acted quickly,

provisionally suspending both Blatter and Michel Platini for 90

days.

Six months ago, you could not have conceived the ethics committee,

set up by Sepp Blatter, housed within Fifa, had recommended

the banning for life of Sepp Blatter.

With its two most senior men now officially accused of wrongdoing

and suspended, suddenly this crisis had gone right to the very top.

As autumn turned to winter, Fifa began to take stock.

They started to think they could put the year behind them and maybe

before and restore some reputation.

Then the toxic past caught up with them once more.

The US promised it would strike again.

They were true to their word.

Just as in May, Swiss law enforcement teams working

with the FBI swooped on a hotel and arrested yet more senior

officials in dawn raids.

This time, it was two men at the top of the Berlin North,

Central and South America.

Those Fifa officials who remained made

their way up the hill to Fifa headquarters to try to continue

their executive committee meeting as normal.

As the world's media again descended on the Zurich,

Fifa's hopes of presenting an organisation

reformed by itself, had been affected by the morning's dramatic

events.

You all know that Fifa is going through a major crisis.

As we also all know, the crisis is a unique opportunity

for a change, for renewal, and for commencing a new

period of its very rich history.

Over in Washington, DC, US authorities confirmed they

business and more pain would follow.

Let me say, the betrayal of trust that has set forth

here is truly outrageous.

The scale of corruption alleged here in is

unconscionable.

The message fromthis announcement should be clear,

to every culpable individual who remained in the shadows,

hoping to evade this ongoing investigation,

you will not wait us out and you will not escape our focus.

Fifa's direction of travel right now is something of a mystery.

A new leader will be elected in February and attention is focused

on Bahrain, where one candidate has refuted

allegations concerning alleged human rights abuses to emerge as the front

runner.

To bring trust is back to football and to Fifa,

it is about taking the right decisions.

If you bring the right people, you will

make the right decisions.

This has been the most tumultuous period in Fifa's 111 year history.

Their difficulties, however, are far from

over.

What happens next will help to determine the future

of world football for many years to come.

I think this will prove that Fifa cannot do whatever it likes.

The fear for me is, somehow, over time,

it will regenerate and we will end up back in ten, 20 years.

That is the reason you do need kind of a firm,

outside intervention to make sure this is not a break point andthings

do not carry on as they have previously.

What is clear is that the people at the top are not mired

with the history of the past.

Perception is as important as reality.

In a few years' time, if it starts to work,

I will be the first one to applaud.

I think it is a crying shame.

When I say the fur is an irrelevance to the pool, what I really mean

by that is football is doing quite well irrespective of Fifa.