President Vladimir Putin was formerly a KGB officer, worked in East Germany, then for a short time was head of the FSB (successor to KGB), and then went into politics. He is from St. Petersburg, began his political career with an international adviser to the mayor Anatoly Sobchak.
The KGB, the FSB and the St. Petersburg — these components of the network of Putin controlling the current football. Here you can read about how it all happened.
Decade of Russian influence
Decades the Russian government and Russian intelligence (KGB and later the FSB) had great power in FIFA and UEFA, through their Executive Committee member Viacheslav Koloskov and Vitaly Mutko.
Spikelets at the time was a KGB agent, and Mutko several years was a Minister in the Russian government. Both held Central positions in FIFA and a lot of time is involved in making decisions about what country was to be carried out of the world Cup.
New Board member
This year the Deputy Prime Minister, Vitaly Mutko has split up from his seat in the Council of FIFA, the organization’s Board. But Russia will soon have a new representative on the Board of FIFA.
We can immediately begin to get used to the name Alexei Sorokin. He’s 45 years old, he is from Moscow and at an extraordinary UEFA Congress on 20 September, in Geneva, will probably be elected to the Board of FIFA (former Executive Committee). He is the only candidate. Vitaly Mutko met in Council in 2010 and voted for that Russia won the right to host the world Cup in 2018.
Sorokin is currently the Executive Director of the organizing Committee of the world Cup in Russia, which will hold the world Cup next year. If elected, the Board of the IFA will once again be Russian, probably associated with the secret services.
Two journalists, who has long studied the Russian secret service but do not wish to disclose their names as also working with a similar and unpublished topics, told Nettavisen and Ekstra Bladet that Sorokin, in consideration of his professional career, can not have close ties with Russian secret services. Sorokin, in particular, has previously worked in the Russian foreign Ministry and as Director of the Russian Committee for the world Cup it is accountable to its President Vitaly Mutko. So is the relationship with the Kremlin.
Communication with Russian secret services in FIFA is rooted in the days of the Soviet Union when the KGB agent Vyacheslav Koloskov was elected a member of the FIFA Executive Committee. In the book “the KGB plays chess”, written by the famous historian Yuri Felshtinsky and former KGB officer says that Koloskov was recruited by an agent in 1978. While spikes was President of the Football Union of the USSR.
Nettavisen and Ekstra Bladet asked Koloskov to comment on the allegations, but their request remained unanswered.
Spikelets was Vice-President of FIFA for 16 years until 2009, when this post it was replaced by Vitaly Mutko.
Violation of the ethical rules of FIFA
Vitaly Mutko, who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, participated in the adoption of ethical rules FIFA in 2012. In article 14 of this rulebook States that members of the Executive Committee and other units should be politically neutral.
However, the Minister Mutko retained his position on the Executive Committee. Despite allegations that he may be involved in systematic doping by Russian athletes during the Olympic games in Sochi in 2014, and that he had given the order to hide positive test results for doping the Russian players, he remains untouchable in FIFA.
The investigation of the FIFA President
The President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino (Gianni Infantino) several times visited Russia of Vladimir Putin. These visits led to the fact that the Committee on the ethics of FIFA began to investigate his activities, because in Russia, he flew on a private jet, the Russian oligarchs, who were members of the Russian Committee of the world Cup, representing the bid to host the world Cup.
The FIFA President, according to article 14 of the rulebook, is not entitled to travel at the expense of others during official travel FIFA. Since Infantino used the private planes of other persons, when he, in particular, visited the Pope and Vladimir Putin in 2016, the FIFA Committee for ethics conducted a brief investigation. And cleared him of these charges.
A member of one of the chambers of the ethics Committee of FIFA gave Nettavisen and Ekstra Bladet information on what Gianni Infantino was not punished for violation of the ethical rules of FIFA, because FIFA President didn’t order these planes, it was made by the administration of FIFA. FIFA ethics rules do not apply to its administration and elected representatives.
Annoying the guardians of ethical standards
When Gianni Infantino in 2016, was elected FIFA President, he promised to carry out major reforms in FIFA. Infantino has appointed the Portuguese Miguel Maduro (Miguel Maduro), Chairman of the FIFA Committee for management, to test candidates ‘ suitability to work in committees and the Board of FIFA.
The decision on what Vitaly Mutko is not suitable for work on the Board of FIFA, was taken by Miguel Maduro. He justified his decision by the fact that the sports Minister as the Deputy Prime Minister, was politically neutral, which is a violation of 14 articles of the code of ethics of FIFA.
Mutko spoke very diplomatically, after he withdrew from the leadership of FIFA: “I wanted to be re-elected but FIFA presently changed the criteria and introduced the criterion of political neutrality. It is her right. The Committee’s decision is irrelevant to prepare for the world Cup”.
The removal of FIFA executives
During the FIFA Congress in Bahrain in may this year, the FIFA President was fired Miguel Madura, who has worked in this position for only eight months. At the same time Infantino got rid of two heads of committees of the FIFA ethics — Kornel Borbely (Cornel Borbely) and Hans-iojima Eckert (Hans-Joachim Eckert).
On materials of Reuters, Borbely and Eckert after his dismissal stated that he was going to investigate hundreds of cases to FIFA. According to football magazine Josimar, they were engaged in the investigation of Gianni Infantino on the subject of the interference in the presidential election of the African football Confederation in 2017.
Infantino explained the replacement of heads of committees on ethics of FIFA, in particular, the desire to have these posts more geographical distribution and distance themselves from the reign of Blatter.
Now Alexei Sorokin is the only candidate of UEFA, who in September will run for a seat on the Board of this International Association football.
FIFA and gangstar
A former KGB agent and former Vice-President FIFA Vyacheslav Koloskov working today in the Russian Committee for the world Cup. He played a Central role in determining the country for the football world Cup in 2018.
Member of the Belgian Executive Committee Michel D Hooghe (Michel D Hooghe) acknowledged that after the vote he received from a Russian picture. According to a parliamentary report, the picture could be gifted to the same person who gave Picasso Michel Platini (Michel Platini). The 2014 report was written by Sunday Times journalists, Heidi Blake (Heidi Blake) and Jonathan Calvert (Jonathan Calvert).
D hooge confirmed that he had received a picture from Vyacheslav Koloskova, but said that he knew that the painting has no practical value.
The FIFA Committee for ethics came to the same conclusion when investigating D hooge. In conclusion, the Committee confirmed that the painting has no commercial value, that it was just a friendly gesture. Therefore, all charges against D hooge were removed.
D hooge categorically denied that he voted for Russia, said in an interview with the London Evening Standard that in both rounds of voting, he voted for Belgium/Netherlands. Michel Platini has denied receiving a Picasso painting, but he confirmed that he voted for Russia and Qatar.
In the case of Platini, according to a parliamentary report Calvert and Blake, this gift had to be made Koloskovy. Ears of corn, which is considered to be a former KGB agent and now is an honorary member of FIFA, still working on organizing the world Cup in Russia in 2018.
Nettavisen and Ekstra Bladet through the Department of communications of the Russian organizing Committee of the world Cup sent Koloskov question about which paintings he gave to the members of FIFA’s Executive Committee.
We also sent e-mails to Koloskova and Sorokin, in which we asked them about their links with the KGB/FSB and future jobs Sorokin of the Council of FIFA. None of them answered these questions.
