April 10 – Russian World Cup chief and deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko, barred from being a member of FIFA’s ruling Council because of a conflict of his sporting and political interest, has accused the world governing body of overcharging his country for TV rights for next year’s finals.
Mutko, who no longer commands a powerful voice within FIFA’s inner circle, says FIFA has asked for $120 million from Russian TV channels, up from $32 million paid by Russia for broadcasting the 2014 tournament.
“Russia is under special conditions because when the rights for (the 2014 World Cup in) Brazil were being sold, the dollar was worth about 30 rubles and now it’s just under 60,” Mutko said. “You buy the rights in foreign currency, but you sell advertisements for rubles, so television is supposed to make a loss?”
FIFA lost $369 million in 2016 as corruption investigations increased legal costs and put off sponsors. Mutko said FIFA is squeezing Russia because “if you look at their finances, you’ll see that after the scandals, there are problems.”
Mutko, who is also president of the Russian Football Union, had sat on FIFA’s top table since 2009 until he was barred from seeking re-election. He says FIFA’s view is that the government should provide financial assistance to the Russian TV channels but that this “is not quite right.”
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