Former President of
FIFA and current honorary president before he reings lately, Joao Havelange has resigned from his position as Honorary President of
the World governing football body, after he
was named in a report to have received bribes.
Havelange and two former executives have all been
found to have accepted bribes in a 1990's corruption saga that threatened to
drag world football's governing body into crisis.
The 96 year old
Brazilian gave up the position, after the findings
of an Ethics Committee set up by FIFA ethics
court judge Joachim Eckert linked him with
issuing bribes to World Cup rights marketing
agency International Sport and Leisure.
The trio have been described as being morally and
ethically reproachable in taking kickbacks from FIFA's former marketing partner
International Sports and Leisure, which is now bankrupt, according to the BBC.
It is understood that
Havelange resigned from the position on
April 18, but it was only made public on Tuesday April 30th.
Current FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, was however
cleared of any wrongdoing in the case, which involved millions of dollars in
kickbacks given, from World Cup contracts marketed by the ISL agency which went
into bankruptcy in 2001.
Also fingered in the
report is former President of Brazil Football Association, Ricardo Teixeira,who alongside Havelange were
found guilty of ”morally and ethically reproachable conduct,” Eckert wrote in his report.
The report says: “It
is certain that not inconsiderable amounts were channelled to former FIFA
president Havelange and to his son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira as well as to Dr Nicolas
Leoz, whereby there is no indication that any form of service was given in
return by them.”
“These payments were
apparently made via front companies in order to cover up the true recipient and
are to be qualified as ‘commissions’, known today as ‘bribes’.”
“There are also no
indications whatsoever that President Blatter was responsible for a cash flow
to Havelange, Teixeira or Leoz, or that that he himself received any payments
from the ISL Group, even in the form of hidden kickback payments.”
“It must be
questioned, however, whether President Blatter knew or should have known over
the years before the bankruptcy of ISL that ISL had made payments (bribes) to
other FIFA officials,” Eckert said in his report.