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| A Region’s Soccer Strongmen Are Facing a Hard Fall | |
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| RIO DE JANEIRO — After rising as a governor under Brazil’s military dictatorship, José Maria Marin became such a towering figure in the world of Brazilian sports that the headquarters of the nation’s soccer federation was recently named in his honor. | RIO DE JANEIRO — After rising as a governor under Brazil’s military dictatorship, José Maria Marin became such a towering figure in the world of Brazilian sports that the headquarters of the nation’s soccer federation was recently named in his honor. |
| Now, Mr. Marin, 83, is one of 14 senior sports officials and executives across the Americas charged by the United States Justice Department with taking part in a sweeping bribery and kickback scheme within FIFA, the governing body of global soccer. | Now, Mr. Marin, 83, is one of 14 senior sports officials and executives across the Americas charged by the United States Justice Department with taking part in a sweeping bribery and kickback scheme within FIFA, the governing body of global soccer. |
| Of the 14 men named as defendants in the indictment, all but two of them are citizens of Latin American and Caribbean nations, a reflection of the investigation’s focus on corruption in the hemisphere. | Of the 14 men named as defendants in the indictment, all but two of them are citizens of Latin American and Caribbean nations, a reflection of the investigation’s focus on corruption in the hemisphere. |
| From soccer powerhouses like Brazil and Argentina to smaller countries like Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago, the case offers a rare glimpse into the sort of arrangements and deals that have long come under withering criticism but have rarely led to criminal convictions. | From soccer powerhouses like Brazil and Argentina to smaller countries like Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago, the case offers a rare glimpse into the sort of arrangements and deals that have long come under withering criticism but have rarely led to criminal convictions. |
| Corruption scandals, lavish spending on stadiums and dubious sponsorship agreements are enduring fixtures of soccer in the Americas, but relatively few officials have been imprisoned for it, even after prosecutors have offered evidence of bribes and kickback schemes. | Corruption scandals, lavish spending on stadiums and dubious sponsorship agreements are enduring fixtures of soccer in the Americas, but relatively few officials have been imprisoned for it, even after prosecutors have offered evidence of bribes and kickback schemes. |
| “In Latin America, this scandal sheds light on a system where strongmen dominate the sport through the distribution of favors,” said Christopher Gaffney, a scholar at the University of Zurich who studies soccer and megaevents like the World Cup. | “In Latin America, this scandal sheds light on a system where strongmen dominate the sport through the distribution of favors,” said Christopher Gaffney, a scholar at the University of Zurich who studies soccer and megaevents like the World Cup. |
| To those who have for years called for the sport to be cleaned up, the arrests marked a welcome departure from the impunity of the past. Yet it was particularly irksome that they came at the hands of the United States, not Latin American governments. | To those who have for years called for the sport to be cleaned up, the arrests marked a welcome departure from the impunity of the past. Yet it was particularly irksome that they came at the hands of the United States, not Latin American governments. |
| “Unfortunately, it wasn’t our police who made the arrests,” said Romário de Souza Faria, the retired Brazilian soccer star who is now a senator, using that perch to spar with Mr. Marin and other soccer luminaries. | “Unfortunately, it wasn’t our police who made the arrests,” said Romário de Souza Faria, the retired Brazilian soccer star who is now a senator, using that perch to spar with Mr. Marin and other soccer luminaries. |
| “But crooks have to go to jail,” he added while speaking in Brasília, the capital. “I want to congratulate the F.B.I.” | “But crooks have to go to jail,” he added while speaking in Brasília, the capital. “I want to congratulate the F.B.I.” |
| Mr. Marin had long faced criticism over his prominence as a leading supporter of the military dictatorship, which held power from 1964 to 1985. He was appointed by the military rulers as governor of São Paulo in the early 1980s, and demonstrators recently gathered in front of his home to protest his role in denouncing the government’s opponents. | Mr. Marin had long faced criticism over his prominence as a leading supporter of the military dictatorship, which held power from 1964 to 1985. He was appointed by the military rulers as governor of São Paulo in the early 1980s, and demonstrators recently gathered in front of his home to protest his role in denouncing the government’s opponents. |
| Mr. Marin became the head of Brazil’s soccer federation in 2012 after its previous president, Ricardo Teixeira, resigned amid a scandal over accusations by Swiss investigators that Mr. Teixeira and his father-in-law, João Havelange, the aristocratic former president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998, had accepted millions of dollars in kickbacks. (Neither Mr. Teixeira, 67, or Mr. Havelange, 99, were named in the indictment.) | Mr. Marin became the head of Brazil’s soccer federation in 2012 after its previous president, Ricardo Teixeira, resigned amid a scandal over accusations by Swiss investigators that Mr. Teixeira and his father-in-law, João Havelange, the aristocratic former president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998, had accepted millions of dollars in kickbacks. (Neither Mr. Teixeira, 67, or Mr. Havelange, 99, were named in the indictment.) |
| Yet while Mr. Teixeira and Mr. Havelange have avoided prosecution, long-established patterns of corruption appear to have continued under Mr. Marin, who stepped down last month. | Yet while Mr. Teixeira and Mr. Havelange have avoided prosecution, long-established patterns of corruption appear to have continued under Mr. Marin, who stepped down last month. |
| For instance, according to the indictment, Mr. Marin solicited bribes totaling nearly $1 million a year, and at one point even asked another Brazilian named in the scheme, José Hawilla, the owner of one of Brazil’s largest sports marketing companies, why Mr. Hawilla should continue paying bribes to Mr. Marin’s predecessor, Mr. Teixeira. | For instance, according to the indictment, Mr. Marin solicited bribes totaling nearly $1 million a year, and at one point even asked another Brazilian named in the scheme, José Hawilla, the owner of one of Brazil’s largest sports marketing companies, why Mr. Hawilla should continue paying bribes to Mr. Marin’s predecessor, Mr. Teixeira. |
| Last December, Mr. Hawilla pleaded guilty to charges, including money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and agreed to forfeit $151 million as part of the plea deal, according to the indictment released Wednesday. | Last December, Mr. Hawilla pleaded guilty to charges, including money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and agreed to forfeit $151 million as part of the plea deal, according to the indictment released Wednesday. |
| While the revelations shook the sports establishments in Brazil and other countries in the region, some analysts expressed caution about emphasizing the prominence of Latin American soccer authorities in the scandal, pointing to the role of Chuck Blazer, the former head of the federation that oversees soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. | While the revelations shook the sports establishments in Brazil and other countries in the region, some analysts expressed caution about emphasizing the prominence of Latin American soccer authorities in the scandal, pointing to the role of Chuck Blazer, the former head of the federation that oversees soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. |
| Mr. Blazer, 70, an American who once ranked among the most influential figures in global soccer, struck a plea deal and agreed to help investigators by secretly recording conversations with other FIFA officials. | Mr. Blazer, 70, an American who once ranked among the most influential figures in global soccer, struck a plea deal and agreed to help investigators by secretly recording conversations with other FIFA officials. |
| “There’s an assumption that soccer is dirty in the rest of the world and cleaner in the U.S.,” said Joshua Nadel, a historian of soccer in Latin America at North Carolina Central University, cautioning against a “convenient erasing” of Mr. Blazer’s role. | “There’s an assumption that soccer is dirty in the rest of the world and cleaner in the U.S.,” said Joshua Nadel, a historian of soccer in Latin America at North Carolina Central University, cautioning against a “convenient erasing” of Mr. Blazer’s role. |
| Either way, the investigation also showed how soccer interests in Latin America and the United States are increasingly intertwined. | Either way, the investigation also showed how soccer interests in Latin America and the United States are increasingly intertwined. |
| Traffic, the sports marketing company controlled by Mr. Hawilla, the Brazilian businessman, owns through its American subsidiary the Carolina RailHawks, a professional soccer team in North Carolina, and recently sold controlling stakes in two other teams, the Atlanta Silverbacks and Fort Lauderdale Strikers. | Traffic, the sports marketing company controlled by Mr. Hawilla, the Brazilian businessman, owns through its American subsidiary the Carolina RailHawks, a professional soccer team in North Carolina, and recently sold controlling stakes in two other teams, the Atlanta Silverbacks and Fort Lauderdale Strikers. |
| In neighboring Argentina, commentators pondered the potential scope of the scandal. “FIFA has no problem in taking money off the people,” Diego Maradona, another former superstar, told a local radio station. “FIFA hates football and transparency.” | In neighboring Argentina, commentators pondered the potential scope of the scandal. “FIFA has no problem in taking money off the people,” Diego Maradona, another former superstar, told a local radio station. “FIFA hates football and transparency.” |
| In Venezuela, El Chigüire Bipolar, a satirical website, tried to inject humor into the scandal, proclaiming that the indictment of Rafael Esquivel, the president of Venezuela’s soccer federation, had managed to classify Venezuela in a “World Cup of Corruption.” | In Venezuela, El Chigüire Bipolar, a satirical website, tried to inject humor into the scandal, proclaiming that the indictment of Rafael Esquivel, the president of Venezuela’s soccer federation, had managed to classify Venezuela in a “World Cup of Corruption.” |
| “Venezuela,” El Chigüire Bipolar said, “awoke in festive mood.” | “Venezuela,” El Chigüire Bipolar said, “awoke in festive mood.” |
| Eying the role of the American legal system, some in Brazil contended that the F.B.I.’s investigation of FIFA was politically motivated, reflecting ambitions by the United States to influence the working of soccer’s global governing body. | Eying the role of the American legal system, some in Brazil contended that the F.B.I.’s investigation of FIFA was politically motivated, reflecting ambitions by the United States to influence the working of soccer’s global governing body. |
| Yet for others, the arrests and indictments reflected the potential for justice for sports authorities from a country where it still remains rare for powerful figures involved in scandals to find themselves in jail. | Yet for others, the arrests and indictments reflected the potential for justice for sports authorities from a country where it still remains rare for powerful figures involved in scandals to find themselves in jail. |
| “It would be impossible to arrest José Marin here in Brazil,” said Tainá Silva, 20, a student in Rio de Janeiro. “When something like this happens, people think, ‘Oh, that’s just another terrible thing that’s happening.’ ” | “It would be impossible to arrest José Marin here in Brazil,” said Tainá Silva, 20, a student in Rio de Janeiro. “When something like this happens, people think, ‘Oh, that’s just another terrible thing that’s happening.’ ” |