A former senior FIFA official, Chuck Blazer, claimed he and others took bribes in exchange for supporting World Cup candidate countries in 1998 and 2010, an unsealed paper says. South Africa has denied paying any bribes. French reaction is pending. The 40-page transcript of a secret court session was published online on Wednesday, revealing more details surrounding Blazer’s 2013 guilty plea to charges... 

The FIFA-linked arrests on the eve of the re-election of the organization’s chief are an obvious attempt to thwart Sepp Blatter’s re-appointment, Vladimir Putin said, answering journalists’ questions. He added it’s another example of US meddling abroad. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the US could be selfishly motivated for its own gain, as was the case with Edward Snowden and Julian... 

Sounding supportive of an international probe into FIFA corruption, Russia accuses the US of applying its laws “beyond its borders.” Moscow reacted to the detention of a number of FIFA officials over corruption after its reports swept the media earlier on Wednesday. Alexander Lukashevich, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote a commentary on the official website in which... 

Journalists from Germany’s biggest television networks were reportedly detained, questioned and not allowed to leave Qatar for days while working on a story about FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Doha’s vexed nomination for the 2022 football World Cup. Reporter from ARD German TV Florian Bauer tweeted that all of his, as well as colleagues’, materials for ARD and WDR networks have been erased... 

A top FIFA official says the 2022 World Cup won’t be held in Qatar because of dangers faced by players and fans in scorching temperatures. The Gulf State, which has faced repeated allegations of corruption, says they want to move the event to winter. The claims were made by Theo Zwanziger, who is a FIFA Executive Committee member. He is adamant that the present plan to stage world football’s biggest... 

The Luzhniki stadium in Moscow FIFA President Sepp Blatter appeared on Russian national television to name the eleven cities where the 2018 World Cup will be played. ­There were 13 venues in the running, which were all visited by the FIFA inspectors during the two years after Russia won the World Cup bid. Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said earlier that the positions of Moscow, Saint...