| "FIFA's Dirty Secrets" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Panorama episode | |||
| Original air date | 29 November 2010 (2010-11-29) | ||
| Running time | 30 mins | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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"FIFA's Dirty Secrets" is an episode of theBBC documentary seriesPanorama which was broadcast on 29 November 2010.
The half-hour programme saw investigative journalistAndrew Jennings look into allegations of corruption withFIFA, the world's governing body ofassociation football. Within the programme, Jennings alleged that three members of FIFA's executive committee had received bribes byInternational Sports and Leisure, a marketing partner of FIFA. The three men – Nicolas Leoz,Issa Hayatou, andRicardo Teixeira – were reportedly involved with asports marketing firm responsible for broadcasting rights, from which they were alleged to have received payments.[1][2] Jennings further alleged that a fourth official was involved in ticket reselling (ticket touting). Jennings claimed that both matters had not been adequately investigated bySepp Blatter, the President of FIFA. It also made a series of claims about the bidding process for hosting theFIFA World Cup.
Hayatou, who is the vice-president of FIFA, denied all accusations of involvement in the scheme and claimed money was in fact paid to theConfederation of African Football (CAF). He threatened tosue the BBC for the making of the documentary.[3]
The documentary was broadcast only three days before the result of thebidding process for the2018 and2022 FIFA World Cups were announced. Some commentators expressed concern that the timing of the broadcast might negatively impactEngland's chances of hosting the former tournament, with certain media figures and politicians accusing theBBC of being unpatriotic; however, the BBC defended these claims.[1]Russia ultimately won the right to host theFIFA World Cup in 2018, withQatar emerging victorious for the2022 tournament.[4] The question of whether the documentary was a crucial factor in England losing the contest was brought up after the result was announced.[5]
The programme received 51 complaints from viewers.[6]
