Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - FIFA officials indicted for corruption. UPD: Sepp Blatter will step down as FIFA pres

troutman · 06-03-2015, 11:33 AM

How a curmudgeonly old reporter exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...-sepp-blatter/

After all, he was the man who set the investigation in motion, with a book in 2006, “FOUL! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals,” followed by an exposé aired on the BBC’s “Panorama” program that same year, and then another book in 2014, called “Omerta: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Organised Crime Family.”

Jennings is an advocate of slow, methodical journalism. For half a century, the 71-year-old investigative reporter has been digging into complex, time-consuming stories about organized crime. In the 1980s, it was bad cops, the Thai heroin trade and the Italian mob. In the ’90s, he turned to sports, exposing corruption with the International Olympic Committee. For the past 15 years, Jennings has focused on the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), international soccer’s governing body

“I know that they are criminal scum, and I’ve known it for years,” he said. “And that is a thoughtful summation. That is not an insult. That is not throwing about wild words.”

“These scum have stolen the people’s sport. They’ve stolen it, the cynical thieving #######s,” he said. “So, yes, it’s nice to see the fear on their faces.”

He said that most sports reporters wouldn’t touch these subjects for fear of losing access to top officials and athletes, or because it simply took too much time and effort.

06-03-2015, 11:33 AM	#120
troutman Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Crowsnest Pass Exp:	How a curmudgeonly old reporter exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...-sepp-blatter/ After all, he was the man who set the investigation in motion, with a book in 2006, “FOUL! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandals,” followed by an exposé aired on the BBC’s “Panorama” program that same year, and then another book in 2014, called “Omerta: Sepp Blatter’s FIFA Organised Crime Family.” Jennings is an advocate of slow, methodical journalism. For half a century, the 71-year-old investigative reporter has been digging into complex, time-consuming stories about organized crime. In the 1980s, it was bad cops, the Thai heroin trade and the Italian mob. In the ’90s, he turned to sports, exposing corruption with the International Olympic Committee. For the past 15 years, Jennings has focused on the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), international soccer’s governing body “I know that they are criminal scum, and I’ve known it for years,” he said. “And that is a thoughtful summation. That is not an insult. That is not throwing about wild words.” “These scum have stolen the people’s sport. They’ve stolen it, the cynical thieving #######s,” he said. “So, yes, it’s nice to see the fear on their faces.” He said that most sports reporters wouldn’t touch these subjects for fear of losing access to top officials and athletes, or because it simply took too much time and effort. Last edited by troutman; 06-03-2015 at 11:51 AM.