No FIFA officials quizzed over World Cup ticket scandal

Sport360 staff 21:30 05/07/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Ticket scandal: Police haven't spoken to any FIFA official yet.

    Brazilian police have not yet spoken to any FIFA official suspected of involvement in an illegal ticket-scalping ring, football's governing body have confirmed.

    FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil told a press conference he was not aware of any official being interviewed by police investigating the allegations.

    "Nobody from FIFA has been contacted by police in regard to these allegations," Weil said.

    Brazilian police commissioner Fabio Barucke on Thursday said investigators believed "someone from FIFA" staying at an official hotel in Rio was suspected of involvement in the scandal.

    The unnamed official was suspected of providing thousands of World Cup tickets which were sold illegally at matches dating back to 2002.

    Weil said he had spoken to Brazilian investigators on Friday in an effort to pinpoint the origin of tickets seized during the raid, which saw 11 people arrested.

    He said 141 tickets were scanned, including 131 from the 2014 World Cup, six dating from the 2010 tournament and four tickets from last year's Confederations Cup.

    Police initially said they suspected a Franco-Algerian, identified as Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, was the central figure in the investigation.

    However they later said they believed a FIFA official was "the last link in the chain" who were they seeking to identify.

    Investigators said they believed the ring sold at least 1,000 tickets per game with a basic price of 1,000 euros ($1,365).

    Recommended