Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet has published pictures taken from two videos, captured on hidden camera by a well-known Norwegian ticket tout. The pictures show meetings between the notorious ticket tout and FIFA executive committee members Ricardo Teixeira and Nicolas Leoz in South Africa late 2009.
The ticket tout works for Euroteam, a company based in Norway. “Euroteam is one of the largest company in Europe in the field of re-sale tickets to the most popular and sold-out arrangements in Europe and other locations worldwide,” according to their own website.
It was revealed last year by Dagbladet that Euroteam had done business with then FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
Leoz and Teixeira met the Euroteam ticket tout in South Africa at official FIFA meeting related to the 2010 World Cup.
Two other Euroteam employees were arrested in a FIFA led police intervention, for sale of black market tickets, just six months later, according to Dagbladet.
The video of the meeting between Leoz and the Euroteam employee seem to be on friendly terms, according to the Norwegian newspaper.
Dagbladet reports that the following dialogue can be heard in the video:
Euroteam: Mr. President!
Leoz: How are you?
ET: Very well, very well. How are you, what do you think about the groups?
Leoz: Ha? Yes, Im happy with everything.
ET: Listen, I would like to know something and…would it suit you to meet over breakfast or lunch tomorrow?
Leoz: «Bilhetes?» (means both tickets/money)
Leoz: Tomorrow morning is full of meetings between …..
Leoz then turned to his assistant and a meeting for four o’clock the following day was set up. Dagbladet admits they do not know if Euroteam has bought tickets from Leoz.
The Euroteam employee met with Teixeira a month earlier. Both Teixeira and Leoz wore official FIFA accreditation during the meetings with the ticket tout.
Teixeira, Leoz, their spokespersons and FIFA have all refused to comment on what happened at the meetings that took place, according to Dagbladet.
This story shows that FIFA reforms are urgently needed.
Argentina legend Diego Maradona launched an attack on FIFA earlier this weekend. Maradona claimed on Saturday that corruption and match-fixing scandals will continue as long as FIFA is run by ‘dinosaurs’.
“When you have so much power, you can do so many stupid things as is happening in FIFA,” Maradona said. “Every day, there is corruption, match fixing scandals. This is not football. We are not talking about football here. This is not something that people who watch football deserve.”
FIFA president Sepp Blatter was recently re-elected to a fourth four-year term and Maradona expects the 75-year-old to remain in office for as long as he can.
“Unfortunately in FIFA, we have a museum, a big museum,” he said.
“They are dinosaurs who don’t want to give up power,” Maradona said. “This (Sepp) Blatter being re-elected, that is not something unique. People like us know what is going on.”
Maradona has called for Blatter and other FIFA executives, like president of the Argentine Football Association, Julio Grandona, to resign. These are wise words from a football legend.
FIFA should take corruption and match-fixing allegations seriously and not like Mr. Blatter did at a recent press conference in Zurich: “What is a crisis? Football is not in a crisis. When you see the final of the Champions League then you must applaud. So we are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties.”
FIFA needs reforms and Blatter must understand that he can not try to restore the organisation’s credibility by announcing that Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has been invited to join a ‘council of wisdom’.
“Things are going to get worse before they get better”
