藤兒點評：
問：Do you know what FIFA stand for（你知道FIFA代表什麼 嗎）?
答：F--- I, F--- America（意譯為：同歸於盡）。
問：Why can America do it（為什麼由美國來查）?
答： The US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't（美國司法部表示如果其他人不站出來調查腐敗，就由他們來做)。
......
諸君見諒，以上只是為了給足球迷們消消氣罷了。其實美國也不想查，查下去還會查出美國的高官貪腐呀！一切都會適可而止！
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來源：BBC 2015-05-28
FIFA醜聞：為什麼由美國來查？
美國人不喜歡足球，或者至少很多人都這麼認為，但為什麼如今國際足聯（FIFA）腐敗案的調查又是由美國來引領？
昨日凌晨，瑞士警方在美國當局的緊急授意下一網撈起了七名國際足聯官員，而美國已經對世界足球管理機構的腐敗問題展開了大規模的調查。
這個足球更多是非主流運動的國家，怎麼變成了這個被英國人稱為“美麗遊戲”（beautiful game）的運動的監督者？
“有太多的國家都被FIFA唬住了，”國際足球的前任反賄賂顧問亞歷桑德拉·瑞吉（Alexandra Wrage）說。她後來以辭職來抗議這個組織的腐敗。
她說：“隨着國際性的賄賂變得越來越普遍，美國司法部表示如果其他人不站出來調查腐敗，就由他們來做。”
美國如何監督一項全球運動？
在瑞士的拘捕行動發生之後十幾個小時，聯邦調查局（FBI）局長詹姆斯·科米（James Comey）就在記者會上解釋了美國為什麼能夠採取行動。
他說：“你的腐敗行為一旦觸及我們的國土，不管你是在這裡開會還是在這裡利用我們世界一流的金融系統，你都要為腐敗行為負責。”
而人們發現很多足聯官員是這兩件事情都做過，至少根據有關方面的指控看來是如此。
美國當局只需要證明案件與美國有很輕微的聯繫，就能對他國公民作出檢控。
但是在周三（5月27日）所公開的這些指控，在美國發生的腐敗行為是直指這項運動的要害。
國際足聯及其下屬機構通過出賣世界盃和它們組織的其他賽事當中的市場營銷和媒體傳播權利來換取金錢。
有關的指控大部分與“系統性的賄賂和佣金”在關，市場營銷人員支付這些賄款，以增加他們的企業贏取賽事營銷和媒體傳播合同的機會。
這些賄賂行為有時候是在美國進行的會議中組織的，有些錢也是通過美國的銀行戶口轉賬的。
是什麼令美國開始展開調查？
在周三的記者會上，紐約東區的檢察官凱利·庫里（Kelly Currie）介紹了有關指控的涉及範圍及規模。
“這一類賄賂和腐敗在國際足壇已經持續了20年，”他說，“我們的調查……本身也花了好幾年的時間。”
是什麼具體事件——如果有的話——使美國決心展開調查，目前並不清楚。一些人指出，導火索是2010年末美國申辦2022年世界盃失敗，懷疑是有人通過賄賂鼓勵有關人員將票投給卡塔爾。
《馬克西姆斯大賽場：承辦奧運會和世界盃背後的經濟賭博》（Circus Maximus：The Economic gamble behind hosting the Olympics and the World Cup）一書的作者安德魯·津巴利斯特（Andrew Zimbalist）說：“我認識美國申辦委員會當中的一些人……他們全都嚴重懷疑有人被收買。”
他告訴BBC說，他懷疑司法部很可能是在申辦失敗之後介入的。
選擇卡塔爾成為主辦國引起質疑，一方面是因為那裡的夏天極高的氣溫——這還使得FIFA的專責工作組建議世界盃比賽改在11月和12月進行，而不是常規時間表中的6月和7月。
在清晨作出逮捕之後的幾個小時當中，瑞士當局表示，他們正在就2018年和2022年世界盃主辦國競選過程展開另一項獨立調查。
美國與這宗案件關係有多大？
中北美及加勒比地區足協（CONCACAF）在邁阿密的辦公室，周三早晨也被聯邦調查局探員突擊檢查。
被美國起訴的官員當中有兩人——傑弗吉·韋伯（Jeffrey Webb）和傑克·沃爾納（Jack Warner）——分別是CONCACAF的現任和前任主席。
當局在這些突襲當中要搜查的是什麼，目前並不清楚，但在這一天公開的指控當中有很多都與賄賂和佣金有關。 這些賄賂行為與該地區的世界盃預選賽、中北美及加勒比海金杯賽、中北美及加勒比地區冠軍聯賽以及其他幾項賽事的媒體傳播和市場推廣權有關。
2016年美洲杯將在美國舉行，這是該項賽事首次在南美洲以外的國家舉辦，它可能涉及的腐敗醜聞成為了外界焦點。
美國司法部長洛麗塔·林奇（Loretta E. Lynch）說：“我們調查發現，本該是展現國際體育精神的賽事被當成了一個工具，在更廣大的陰謀中將總數高達1.1億美元（約合7100萬英鎊）的賄款塞進這些官員的口袋，這涉及了賽事相關專營權合法成本當中的將近三分之一。”
中北美及加勒比地區足協在過去也曾遇到過麻煩。
2012年，該足協曾向美國稅務部門自首，承認有幾年沒有納稅。
該組織的高層之一是秘書長查克·布拉澤（Chuck Blazer），他還是國際足聯執行委員會成員。
周三的消息透露，他在2013年已經就與腐敗有關的幾項指控認罪。
就在幾個月前，《紐約每日新聞》（New York Daily News）曾報道稱，布拉澤一直在給美國當局做線人。
該報指，他在2012年倫敦奧運會期間曾與一些足壇官員會面，用藏在鑰匙扣中的麥克風收集情報。
該報道沒有經過獨立確認，而官員則說，腐敗調查仍在進行中。
“沒有人能夠凌駕於法律之上，”FBI局長科米說，“我們不會停歇，直到我們傳達出信息，表明事情不應該這樣，他們必須要改變為止。”
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來源：BBC 2015-05-28
Fifa in crisis
America does not even like football, or so many people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa corruption?
At dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?
"Too many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organisation.
"As with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't," she said.
How can the US police a global game?
The suspects were shielded from journalists by a white sheet
Speaking to reporters just hours after the arrests in Switzerland, FBI Director James Comey set out why the US was able to act.
"If you touch our shores with your corrupt enterprise, whether that is through meetings or through using our world class financial system, you will be held accountable for that corruption," he said.
As it turns out, the US charges accuse many of those football officials of doing both.
To prosecute cases that involve foreign nationals, US authorities need only prove a minor connection to the United States.
But in the case of the charges made public on Wednesday, the alleged corruption hit right at the heart of the game in the US.
FBI Director James Comey
Fifa and the confederations under it make money by selling the marketing and media rights to the World Cup and other tournaments that they organise.
The charges largely relate to "the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks" that were paid by marketing executives who wanted to increase their chances at winning contracts for the rights to market and sell media access to tournaments.
These bribes were at times organised during meetings in the US, and some of the money was transferred through US bank accounts.
What sparked the US investigation?
At a news conference on Wednesday, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kelly Currie, noted the scale of the allegations.
"This sort of bribery and corruption in international soccer has been going on for two decades. Our investigation...that itself took years," he said.
 Fifa President Sepp Blatter (r) with Mohammed bin Hammam in Qatar in 2010
It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.
"I know some people who were in the US bidding committee... They all had really strong suspicions that somebody was getting bought off," said Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup. He told the BBC that he suspected the justice department probably got involved following the failed bid.
The choice of Qatar raised suspicions in part because of the extremely high temperatures it experiences during the summer months - a fact that prompted a Fifa taskforce to recommend the games be played in November and December rather than the usual June-July timeframe.
In the hours after the dawn arrests, Swiss authorities said they were opening a separate investigation relating to the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
How deep are the US ties to the case?
The Miami offices of Concacaf, the football federation under Fifa that governs the game in North and Central America and the Caribbean, were raided by FBI agents early on Wednesday.
Two of the people who have been charged - Jeffrey Webb and Jack Warner - are the current and past heads of Concacaf, respectively.
 Authorities raided Concacaf headquarters in Miami early on Wednesday
It is not clear what specifically the authorities are looking for in these raids, but many of the charges that were revealed today involve bribery and kickback schemes.
These schemes are related to the media and marketing rights for World Cup qualifying games in the Concacaf region, as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup, the Concacaf Champions League, and several others.
At the centre of some of these schemes was Traffic Sports USA, a sports marketing firm with ties to Brazil, and its owner Aaron Davidson. In another part of Miami, the FBI on Wednesday picked up Aaron Davidson , the president of Traffic Sports USA, who the Justice Department implicated in some of the bribery scandals.
The Copa America, which is set to be held for the first time outside of South America in 2016 when it will be played in the US, was highlighted for the corruption that surrounds it.
"Our investigation revealed that what should have been an expression of international sportsmanship was used as a vehicle in this broader scheme to line executives' pockets with bribes totalling $110 million [£71m], nearly a third of the legitimate cost of the rights to the tournaments involved," US Attorney General Lynch said during a news conference detailing the charges.
Concacaf has been in trouble in the past.
In 2012 Concacaf turned itself in to US tax authorities and admitted to not paying taxes for several years.
Chuck Blazer's plea was unsealed on Wednesday
Among those at the helm of the organisation was secretary general Chuck Blazer, who also served as a Fifa executive committee member.
It was also revealed on Wednesday that in 2013 he pleaded guilty to several charges related to corruption.
Just months ago, the New York Daily News reported that Mr Blazer has been working as an informant for US authorities.
The newspaper said that he met with football officials on the sidelines of the 2012 Olympics in London, and used a hidden microphone on a keychain to gather intelligence.
This report has not been independently confirmed. Officials say the corruption investigation is on-going.
"Nobody is above or beyond the law," FBI Director Comey said. "We will not stop until we send messages that this is not the way things should be and that they must be different".
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