FIFA recently ask the Justice Department for a share of the monies it obtains through forfeiture and penalties from individuals it has prosecuted around the FIFA corruption scandal. As reported by the New York Times (NTY) however, the organization is really seeking to change the perception of it from a corrupt enterprise to the victim. It is certainly unusual for a victim to seek some type of reimbursement so early in criminal proceedings, especially with no persons sentenced as yet.
Yet FIFA is seeking to cement its “place as a victim in the eyes of both prosecutors and the public and to telegraph the organization’s distance from generations of disgraced leaders.” But FIFA must do more than simply claim such victim status. It must work to clean up its own house as well if it is to have any chance of receiving monies back. While the entity finally did elect a successor to FIFA President Sepp Blatter last month, it has yet to conclude and report on its internal investigation into the allegations of corruption. Indeed the NYT even indicated that U.S. authorities have suggested the FIFA investigation might end with no one being terminated from the organization.
