Beleaguered Teixeira to appeal against release of ISL documents

By Andrew Warshaw

January 17 – Brazil’s under fire FIFA administrator Ricardo Teixeira (pictured) reportedly plans to lodge an appeal in the Swiss federal court this week to try to prevent the now-infamous ISL file being published.

Late last year FIFA was ordered by a Swiss court to release documents that could pave the way to finally naming high-ranking officials who allegedly took millions of dollars in kickbacks from World Cup broadcast deals.

Football’s world governing body had previously said that it had been forced to delay publication of the eagerly awaited documentation relating to the collapse of its former marketing partner in 2001, with debts of $300 million (£188 million/€216 million), because of legal objections.

Those named in an ISL payments list are alleged to include Teixeira, President of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) and controversial head of the 2014 World Cup Organising Committee; former FIFA President João Havelange; Nicolás Leoz, boss of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL); and Confederation of African Football (CAF) chief Issa Hayatou.

Teixeira and Hayatou (pictured left) are senior members of FIFA’s Executive Committee but it now appears publication could again be delayed since any court action by Teixeira would scupper FIFA’s plans to publish the file for up to six months.

Dealing with the ISL case has become a major part of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s (pictured right) promised two-year road map to reform in his final four-year term of office following a spate of bribery and corruption scandals over the past 12 months.

Teixeira’s prospective court action, reported by the Press Association, would go some way to explaining why he appears to be increasingly marginalised, not least during the current visit to Brazil by FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke who, remarkably, is not even scheduled to meet Teixeira.

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