Blatter honours muderer Taylor

Blatter grasps a blood-stained hand

Photo: Andrew Jennings

Edwin Snowe, Seoul, 2002

The things they say...

‘Neither FIFA nor its President have anything to hide, nor do they wish to.’

Blatter press release, 28 January, 2003

BBC Panorama Reporter Andy Davies:

‘A one million franc bribe … is it not correct that Mr Blatter asked that it be moved to the FIFA official who was named on the payment slip?’

FIFA Director of Communications Markus Siegler:

‘If you do not stop now, then we call the security and we put you out.’

FIFA Press conference, Zurich, Tuesday, 11 April 2006

‘I am deputy chairman of the finance committee of FIFA. I oversee a budget of US$2 billion and I have never seen one iota of corruption.’

Jack Warner, Trinidad Express 12 December 2004

‘Lying and deception and bad faith are standard operating procedure at FIFA.’

Adam C. Silverstein, a lawyer for MasterCard in their successful action against FIFA, New York, December 1, 2006

‘I do not believe a Jew can ever be a referee at that level (Argentine Premier League) because it’s hard work and, you know, Jews don’t like hard work.’

FIFA senior vice-president and chair of Finance Committee, Julio Grondona, 5 July 2003. Buenos Aires

‘FIFA is a healthy, clean and transparent organisation with nothing to hide. There is huge public interest in FIFA, therefore we have to be as transparent as possible. We will try to communicate in a more open way so the world can believe us and be proud of their federation.’

FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, January 2003, on fifa.com

Blatter & the Serial Murderer

Monrovia, 23 November, 1999. FIFA President Sepp Blatter pays respect to Liberian President Charles Taylor – currently on trial at The Hague for human rights abuses.

Taylor is accused of murder, mutilation, torture, human sacrifice, cannibalism, using women and girls as sex slaves, abducting adults and children, forcing them to perform forced labour and fighters . . . and burying a pregnant woman alive in sand.

Taylor was so grateful to be honoured by anybody that he immediately awarded Liberia’s highest honour, The Humane Order of African Redemption to Blatter – who omits this from his ridiculous list of honours.

At the time of President Blatter’s trip to Liberia, President Taylor’s horrific record was well-known. That didn’t worry Blatter; he will take votes from anybody, anywhere.

He visited Monrovia to thank Taylor for his support in FIFA’s elections the previous year – and to beg for Liberia’s vote again at the next election.

Blatter helped soften Taylor’s vile image. The favour was returned when Taylor’ son-in-law Edwin Snowe, boss of Liberian football, campaigned for Blatter to be re-elected in 2002 (see chapter 22 of Foul!)

When Taylor was forced from power Edwin Snowe needed to get out of Liberia in a hurry. Who would pay? FIFA paid. Poverty stricken Liberia had an annual grant from FIFA of $250,000. Edwin was allowed to pocket it, flee to America and pretend to enrol in a Denver college to study Sports Management and Entertainment Events.

Asked how this rip-off of poor people could be justified, Blatter mouthpiece Andreas Herren announced smugly that FIFA was happy to pay for Edwin ‘to further his education.’

(There is justice - sometimes; after a lifetime of lying for Blatter, Herren felt he was entitled to the top job when inept media boss Markus Siegler was shown the door. Herren was outraged when he didn’t get the job; and speechless when he found it had gone to another nonentity, Hans Klaus.)

When Edwin came back to Liberia he turned his back on sport and his expensive new education, becoming boss of Liberia’s Petroleum Refining Company. He’s since been indicted for looting it. The United Nations have placed a travel ban on Snowe, alleging that he funded the exiled Charles Taylor.

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