FIFA's lawyers say former president Sepp Blatter and two other officials gave themselves pay hikes and bonuses totalling more than $110 million in their last five years in office, and they may have also broken Swiss law.
FIFA's motto is "for the game, for the world", but after these latest revelations, it might as well be "for the money".
Blatter has long been accused of profiteering from football, allegations he's always denied. But he's going to have a hard job explaining these latest ones.
The law firm hired by FIFA to investigate Blatter's regime today went public and pointed the finger at three men -- Blatter himself, FIFA's president for 17 years, Jerome Valke, the former Secretary General who was sacked in January, and Marcus Kattner, a former finance director, sacked just last month.
The three former FIFA officials received payments totalling $110 million over the past five years, which included huge bonuses.
Blatter's lawyers say he's innocent, but even his former allies have now given up on him. The investigators say Valke and the others also tried to enrich themselves with backdated salary increases, and even giant payments for losing their jobs. In Kattner's office, they allegedly found hand-written contracts stored in a safe.
But some question whether this is the work of just three men.
The accused may argue they made FIFA money, so they're worth the payments, but there's also a suggestion some of the contracts may have broken Swiss law, and that could be the crucial factor in this latest scandal.
ITV News
