Chuck Blazer’s information led to charges against 14 other current or former FIFA officials, and contributed to the downfall of FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
His lawyers said in a statement: “We are truly saddened by the passing of our client and friend, Chuck Blazer.
“His misconduct, for which he accepted full responsibility, should not obscure Chuck’s positive impact on international soccer.”
Chuck Blazer served on FIFA’s executive committee from 1997 to 2013, during which time he pocketed millions to fund a globe-trotting VIP lifestyle.
A 2013 report by CONCACAF’s integrity committee said he had received more than $20.6 million in commissions, fees and rental payments from the organization between 1996 and 2011.
Chuck Blazer’s personal excesses included two apartments in New York’s Trump Tower, one of which was exclusively for his cats.
FIFA’s appeals committee has upheld all soccer-related activity bans on Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini.
However, the suspensions have been reduced from eight to six years.
Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s outgoing president, and UEFA President Michel Platini were found guilty of breaches surrounding a $2 million “disloyal payment” to Platini.
They both deny any wrongdoing and have said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sepp Blatter, 79, and Michel Platini, 60, said the payment honored a verbal or gentleman’s agreement made in 1998 for work carried out by the Frenchman when he was a technical advisor for Blatter.
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Swiss Sepp Blatter said in a statement that he was “very disappointed by the appeal committee of FIFA”.
Michel Platini said it was “insulting and shameful” and a “political decision”.
The committee said “activities and services rendered to FIFA, UEFA and football” was a mitigating factor.
FIFA’s presidential election is due to take place on February 26 to find Sepp Blatter’s replacement.
Sepp Blatter had already announced he was quitting after reports emerged he was under investigation in the United States.
Michel Platini had been tipped as a future leader of soccer’s world governing body and is a three-time European Footballer of the Year.
In a statement released after the announcement, Michel Platini said the accusations were without foundation and completely made up “beyond reality”.
He said the communication of the decision was done with “an unbearable arrogance” and that Friday’s congress would be remembered in history with the “mark of illegitimacy”.
“I am the victim of a system which has only had one goal – to stop me standing for the president of FIFA,” Michel Platini added.
The decision not to overturn the suspensions follows a 12-year ban imposed on Jerome Valcke, who was sacked as secretary general of world football’s governing body last month.
Jerome Valcke, the man responsible for running FIFA’s day-to-day administration, was found guilty of misconduct over the sale of World Cup tickets, abuse of travel expenses, attempting to sell TV rights below their market value and destruction of evidence. He also denies wrongdoing.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years from all soccer-related activities following an ethics investigation.
The FIFA and UEFA heads were found guilty of breaches surrounding a 2 million euro “disloyal payment” made to Michel Platini in 2011.
The FIFA ethics committee found Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini had demonstrated an “abusive execution” of their positions.
“I will fight for me and for FIFA,” Sepp Blatter, 79, said at a news conference.
Michel Platini said the decision was a “masquerade” intended to “dirty” his name.
Both men continue to deny wrongdoing and intend to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, 60, have also been fined $50,000 and $80,000 respectively.
Despite the ban, both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini will be allowed to attend matches – including Euro 2016 in France – if they buy tickets in a private capacity.
FIFA boss since 1998, Sepp Blatter had already announced he was quitting with a presidential election in February.
Michel Platini was tipped as a future leader of football’s world governing body and is a three-time European Footballer of the Year.
He is also a former captain of France and has been in charge of UEFA – European soccer’s governing body – since 2007.
Unshaven and sporting a plaster over his right cheek, Sepp Blatter was in defiant mood at a news conference he had called in advance of the punishments being made public.
“I will fight,” he said.
“I will fight for me and for FIFA.”
Sepp Blatter said he was “really sorry” that he is still “a punching ball” and that he has become tainted in the eyes of humanity.
He added that he thought he had convinced the FIFA ethics tribunal that the payment from FIFA to Michel Platini was legitimate.
He plans to appeal, first to FIFA, then CAS. He may also take legal action under Swiss law if needed.
“The decision is no surprise to me,” he said in a statement.
“The procedure initiated against me by FIFA’s ethics committee is a pure masquerade.
“It has been rigged to tarnish my name by bodies I know well and who for me are bereft of all credibility or legitimacy.”
In the meantime, UEFA has issued a statement, revealing it is “extremely disappointed” with the decision.
It added: “Once again, UEFA supports Michel Platini’s right to a due process and the opportunity to clear his name.”
Two FIFA officials have been arrested in a dawn raid at the luxury Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on suspicion of accepting millions of dollars of bribes.
Police swooped on the luxury hotel, where several FIFA officials were arrested in May.
A two-day meeting of FIFA’s executive committee is taking place in Zurich, Switzerland, to vote on reforms.
“FIFA became aware of the actions taken today by the US Department of Justice,” the soccer’s world governing body said.
“FIFA will continue to co-operate fully with the US investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General.
“FIFA will have no further comment on today’s developments.”
In May, seven FIFA officials, including two vice presidents, were arrested at the same hotel at the request of a US investigation into corruption, as the organization was engulfed by claims of widespread wrongdoing.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) has said the two people arrested overnight are alleged to have taken money for selling marketing rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America, as well as World Cup qualifying matches.
“A further two FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich today,” the Swiss FoJ said on December 3.
“They are being held in custody pending their extradition [to the US]. According to the US arrest requests, they are suspected of accepting bribes of millions of dollars.”
Swiss officials said they would release the names of the two arrested people and the outcomes of the hearings later on Thursday, December 3.
A Swiss criminal investigation into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was also launched earlier this year, alongside the US inquiry.
FIFA has rejected president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini’s appeals against their 90-day suspensions.
Sepp Blatter and Michele Platini were suspended in October while the world soccer governing body’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims against them.
Sepp Blatter, 79, is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to Michel Platini.
Both deny wrongdoing and could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was also suspended in October but there was no mention of him in today’s FIFA statement.
The adjudicatory panel of FIFA’s ethics committee is due to hold hearings into the misconduct charges before Christmas.
Former France captain and current UEFA chief Michel Platini – who wants to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president – has said the 2millio euros payment was “valid compensation” from his time working under the Swiss more than nine years earlier.
They insist there was an oral agreement for the payment in 1998, although it was not made until 2011.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were suspended after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998.
The ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Michel Platini over the payment.
Michel Platini’s suspension means his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter has had to be put on hold. He is one of seven candidates for the presidential election on February 26 but no integrity check will be carried out until his case is resolved.
Sepp Blatter was discharged from hospital last week after what was described as a “small emotional breakdown”.
Earlier this year, US authorities indicted 14 FIFA officials and associates on bribery and racketeering charges. A simultaneous Swiss investigation was started into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Sepp Blatter has revealed he had a “gentleman’s agreement” with Michel Platini over the 2 million euro payment he made to the UEFA president in 2011.
The 79-year-old FIFA president faces a criminal investigation over the payment, made nine years after Michel Platini, 60, carried out consultation work for the Swiss.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini deny any wrongdoing.
“It was a contract I had with Michel Platini, a gentleman’s agreement that was followed through on,” Sepp Blatter told Swiss broadcaster RROTV.
Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has imposed a 90-day suspension on Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini while corruption claims concerning the payment are investigated.
Former France international captain and coach Michel Platini says the money was an unpaid additional salary due from the time he served as Sepp Blatter’s advisor between 1998 and 2002.
Following a UEFA meeting on October 15, the Football Association (FA) suspended its support for Michel Platini’s bid to become FIFA president “until the legal process has been concluded and the position is clear”.
UEFA issued a statement saying Micehl Platini should be given the opportunity “to clear his name” and urged the FIFA ethics committee to conclude its investigation by mid-November.
The FIFA presidential election is scheduled to take place on February 26, 2016.
Meanwhile, FIFA says it will investigate “very serious allegations” that a 6.7 million euro payment was made to it by Germany’s 2006 World Cup organizing committee.
The bid, led by former World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer, edged out favorites South Africa in the July 2000 vote to win the hosting rights for the 2006 tournament.
FIFA said the allegations would be reviewed “as part of the independent internal investigation currently being conducted by FIFA under the direction of its legal director with the assistance of outside counsel”.
Germany’s Football Association is also investigating the payment, saying it had found no indication of wrongdoing in the overall bid process but that the payment “may potentially not have been used for the intended purpose”.
FIFA Vice-president Michel Platini is appealing after the soccer’s world governing body banned him for 90 days while corruption claims are investigated.
Michel Platini, 60, has been suspended along with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Secretary General Jerome Valcke. They all deny wrongdoing.
The former soccer star is the French Football Association’s preference to succeed Sepp Blatter at FIFA presidency.
The French FA wants the Court of Arbitration for Sport to intervene to ensure Michel Platini can stand for election.
FIFA’s ethics committee began its investigation after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter in September.
Sepp Blatter is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to Michel Platini.
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The ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Michel Platini over the 2 million euros payment, which was made nine years after the Frenchman carried out consultation work for Sepp Blatter.
FIFA will hold an emergency meeting on October 20 in Zurich to discuss February’s presidential election, at which a successor to Sepp Blatter will be chosen.
Michel Platini, UEFA’s president since 2007, has been backed by South America’s soccer confederation (CONMEBOL) following his suspension.
CONMEBOL said Michel Platini should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
The French Football Federation (FFF) is expecting a decision from FIFA’s appeal committee within eight days.
“The FFF has adopted the principle of an appeal if the decision of the FIFA appeal committee does not go Michel Platini’s way,” said a FFF spokesman.
Swiss Sepp Blatter, 79, won a fifth consecutive presidential election in May but announced he would be stepping down just days later following the launch of two investigations into FIFA by US and Swiss authorities.
Michel Platini is one of the favorites to replace Sepp Blatter and still plans to stand. He has the full backing of UEFA, which is holding an emergency meeting next week.
FIFA’s suspended president Sepp Blatter is appealing against his 90-day ban from soccer’s world governing body.
Sepp Blatter, 79, has been suspended from all duties while FIFA’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims against its leader.
The Swiss was suspended on October 8 along with secretary general Jerome Valcke and Vice-president Michel Platini.
Michel Platini will contest the ban “in the appropriate manner at the appropriate time”. All three deny any wrongdoing.
David Gill, a FIFA vice-president and the vice-chairman of the FA, has written to Markus Kattner, FIFA’s acting secretary general, to request an emergency meeting of the governing body’s executive committee.
FIFA’s ethics committee began its investigation into Sepp Blatter after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against him in September.
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Sepp Blatter is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to Michel Platini.
The ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Michel Platini over the 2 million euros payment, which was made nine years after the 60-year-old Frenchman carried out consultation work for Sepp Blatter.
Jerome Valcke was already on gardening leave from his FIFA position following newspaper allegations last month which implicated the 55-year-old in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.
His lawyer said that his client was “confident” he will be fully cleared of the “false allegations” when “all the facts come out”.
Sepp Blatter won a fifth consecutive presidential election in May, but he announced he would be stepping down just days later following the launch of two investigations into FIFA by US and Swiss authorities.
He is due to finish his term on February 26, when a new president will be elected.
Michel Platini, who also heads European soccer body UEFA, is one of the favorites to replace Sepp Blatter and still plans to stand.
Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has decided to suspend its president Sepp Blatter, secretary general Jerome Valcke and vice-president Michel Platini for 90 days.
The sanctions were handed out by the FIFA’s ethics committee, which is investigating the three over corruption allegations.
It also banned ex-FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon for six years.
Issa Hayatou, who heads Africa’s soccer confederation (CAF), will act as FIFA president during Sepp Blatter’s ban.
Spain’s Angel Maria Villar is expected to perform the same role at UEFA – European soccer’s governing body – while Michel Platini is suspended.
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Both Chung Mong-joon and Michel Platini are hoping to replace Sepp Blatter when he steps down as president in February 2016.
“The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee,” the FIFA said in a statement.
Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Michel Platini are banned from any soccer activity in the interim. They deny any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, US authorities indicted 14 FIFA officials and associates on bribery and racketeering charges. A simultaneous Swiss investigation was started into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Michel Platini and South Korean billionaire Chung Mong-joon – who was also fined 100,000 Swiss Francs by the ethics committee – are two of the leading candidates to replace Sepp Blatter in February.
Soccer’s governing body FIFA has decided to provisionally suspend its president, Sepp Blatter, for ninety days.
Members of FIFA’s ethics committee met this week after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter, 79, in September. They have recommended a 90-day provisional suspension.
Swiss Sepp Blatter is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to soccer’s governing body and making a “disloyal payment” to UEFA president Michel Platini, 60.
Sepp Blatter, who has run FIFA since 1998, and Michel Platini, who wants to succeed him, deny any wrongdoing.
A final decision will be made on October 9 by Hans Joachim Eckhert, the head of FIFA’s ethics adjudicatory chamber, according to a close friend of Sepp Blatter.
No decision has been made on whether to suspend Michel Platini.
On October 7, Sepp Blatter told a German magazine that he was being “condemned without there being any evidence for wrongdoing”.
The ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber had been meeting in Zurich since October 5.
The investigation is centered on allegations believed to be around a 2005 TV rights deal between FIFA and Jack Warner, the former president of CONCACAF, the governing body of football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
It is also examining a payment of 2 million Swiss francs that Michel Platini received in 2011 for working for Sepp Blatter. He claims it was “valid compensation” for work carried out more than nine years previously.
Michel Platini has provided information to the criminal investigation but said he has done so as a witness.
Swiss prosecutors said Michel Platini is being treated as “in between a witness and an accused person” as they investigate corruption at FIFA.
Soccer’s governing body chief Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini are facing an investigation by FIFA’s ethics committee.
The move comes after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against 79-yar-old Sepp Blatter.
Sepp Blatter is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to UEFA President Michel Platini, 60.
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The FIFA president denies wrongdoing and his lawyer says he is co-operating fully.
The ethics committee is looking into the circumstances of a payment of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million) that Michel Platini received in 2011 for work said to have been carried out more than nine years previously, reported the Press Association.
Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Sepp Blatter on September 25.
Michel Platini – who worked as Sepp Blatter’s technical advisor between 1999 and 2002 – was interviewed as a witness by officers from the attorney general’s office.
Michel Platini is yet to explain the nine-year delay in payment but he too denies any wrongdoing.
Switzerland has opened a criminal proceedings against FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
The Swiss attorney general’s office said Sepp Blatter was suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal and of a “disloyal payment” to European soccer chief Michel Platini.
Sepp Blatter, 79, was being questioned, and his office was searched, it added.
The world’s governing body said it was co-operating with the investigation.
Sepp Blatter has run FIFA since 1998 and has always denied any wrongdoing.
The attorney general’s office said the investigation surrounds a TV rights deal Sepp Blatter signed with former Caribbean soccer chief Jack Warner in 2005.
“Swiss criminal proceedings against the president of FIFA, Mr. Joseph Blatter, have been opened… on suspicion of criminal mismanagement… and – alternatively – misappropriation,” it said.
Sepp Blatter is also suspected of making a “disloyal payment” of two million Swiss francs ($2 million) in 2011 to Michel Platini, the head of the European soccer body UEFA, the statement said.
It said the payment was “at the expense of FIFA, which was allegedly made for work performed between January 1999 and June 2002”.
Sepp Blatter is due to step down in February and Michel Platini is widely expected to replace him.
In May, Swiss authorities arrested seven FIFA officials in Zurich at the request of the US. They face extradition.
The US then unveiled indictments against seven other people in their corruption case, nine of whom are high-ranking officials.
Among them was Jack Warner, president of the Caribbean football association CONCACAF and one of the most powerful men in world football. He is currently in Trinidad awaiting extradition to the US on charges of corruption.
The Swiss opened their own investigation into FIFA hours after the initial arrests.
FIFA owns the TV rights to the World Cup and sells them to regional federations which then sell them on to broadcasters.
Sepp Blatter’s lawyer, Richard Cullen, said he was confident the inquiry would clear Blatter of any wrongdoing regarding the contract with Jack Warner.
“We are confident that when the Swiss authorities have a chance to review the documents and the evidence, they will see that the contract was properly prepared and negotiated by the appropriate staff members of FIFA who were routinely responsible for such contracts, and certainly no mismanagement occurred,” he said.
Sepp Blatter won a fifth consecutive FIFA presidential election on May 29 but, following claims of corruption, announced his decision to step down on June 2. He is due to finish his term at a FIFA extraordinary congress on February 26.
FIFA canceled its news conference on September 25 only minutes before it was due to start.
Sepp Blatter would have been speaking in public for the first time since general secretary Jerome Valcke was suspended last week amid allegations regarding ticket sales at the 2014 World Cup.
Newspaper reports implicated Jerome Valcke, 54, in a scheme to sell tickets for above face value.
Jerome Valcke, who describes the allegations as “fabricated”, has been released from his duties pending an investigation.
FIFA also announced earlier that it had moved its next executive committee meeting from Tokyo to Zurich.
Correspondents say that, although Sepp Blatter has not been indicted, he might be more vulnerable to an extradition request outside of Switzerland.
The US has asked Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials arrested on corruption charges in May, the Swiss authorities say.
Formal extradition requests were submitted on July 1, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said.
The seven top executives arrested in Zurich are among 14 FIFA officials indicted on charges of “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted” corruption.
The charges follow a major inquiry by the FBI.
The FOJ said Zurich police, acting on its behalf, would give the seven officials a hearing over the extradition requests.
The officials and their lawyers would have 14 days to respond to the request, which could be extended, the FOJ statement said.
After that, the FOJ would give its decision “within a few weeks”, but warned that any ruling could be challenged in both the federal criminal court and the federal supreme court.
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Jeffrey Webb, FIFA vice-president in charge of North and Central America, was among those arrested by Swiss police in a raid on a luxury hotel in the early hours of May 27.
The seven are among 14 defendants the US has charged with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies.
In a 47-count indictment unveiled in a New York federal court, they were accused of taking part “in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer”.
The indictment alleges that US and South American sports marketing executives paid and agreed to pay “well over $150 million” in bribes and other illegal payments to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to football tournaments.
The corruption was planned in the US, the indictment said. The use of US banks to transfer money appears to have been key to the investigation.
The charges follow a three-year FBI investigation. It was initially sparked by the bidding process for the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups, but was then widened to look back at FIFA’s dealings over two decades.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has not been indicted, although both the US and Swiss authorities have said they may interview him as part of their investigations.
Former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF President Jack Warner has said that he will reveal all he knows about corruption at the world soccer body.
In an address on Trinidadian TV on June 3, Jack Warner, who said he feared for his life, also said he could link FIFA officials to general elections in his native Trinidad and Tobago in 2010.
The 72-year-old is one of the 14 people charged by the US over alleged corruption at FIFA.
Another top FIFA official and key witness, American Chuck Blazer, has admitted accepting bribes.
The admissions came in a newly released transcript of Chuck Blazer’s guilty plea from 2013, as part of a wide-ranging US criminal case that has engulfed FIFA and led President Sepp Blatter to resign.
The DoJ alleges the 14 people charged worldwide accepted bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150 million over a 24-year period. Four others have already been charged, including Chuck Blazer.
Jack Warner resigned from all soccer activity in 2011 amid bribery allegations and later stepped down as Trinidad and Tobago’s security minister amid a fraud inquiry.
A key figure in the deepening scandal, Jack Warner said he had given lawyers documents outlining the links between FIFA, its funding, himself and the 2010 election in Trinidad and Tobago. He said the transactions also included Sepp Blatter.
In the TV address entitled The Gloves Are Off, Jack Warner said: “I will no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country.”
He promised an “avalanche” of revelations to come, speaking to his supporters at a rally later the same day.
Jack Warner, who denies the charges against him and faces extradition to the US, was released on bail after handing himself in to police in the Trinidad and Tobago capital of Port of Spain last week.
He resigned from FIFA’s executive committee in 2011 amid allegations he had bribed his Caribbean associates.
Jack Warner’s address came hours after the details of Chuck Blazer’s 2013 plea bargain came to light, including the admission that he and other officials had accepted bribes in connection with the 2010 World Cup bid, which saw the tournament awarded to South Africa.
On June 4, South African police said they had opened a preliminary investigation into allegations its national soccer association paid a $10 million bribe to host the tournament – a claim the authorities deny.
Chuck Blazer, the most senior American official at FIFA, has admitted that he and others on the executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the choice of South Africa as 2010 World Cup host.
Chuck Blazer said he also helped to arrange bribes over the 1998 event.
The admissions come in a newly released transcript from a 2013 US hearing in which he pleads guilty to 10 charges.
The US has launched a wide-ranging criminal case that engulfed FIFA and led President Sepp Blatter to resign.
The US prosecutors last week indicted 14 people on charges of bribery, racketeering and money laundering. Four others had already been charged, including Chuck Blazer.
The DoJ alleges they accepted bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150 million over a 24-year period.
Seven of the 14 were top FIFA officials who were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, as they awaited the FIFA congress. Two were vice-presidents.
The details of Chuck Blazer’s guilty pleas came as prosecutors unsealed the transcript of the 2013 hearing in the Eastern New York District Court. The admissions are part of a sentencing deal with prosecutors.
Chuck Blazer, 70, was the second highest official in FIFA’s North and Central American and Caribbean region (CONCACAF) from 1990 to 2011 and also served on FIFA’s executive committee between 1997 and 2013.
In the transcript, prosecutors refer to FIFA “and its membership or constituent organization” as a RICO enterprise – a Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization.
Chuck Blazer says: “Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.”
On June 3, South Africa denied paying a $10 million bribe to secure the hosting of the 2010 event.
Chuck Blazer also says: “I and others agreed to accept bribes and kickbacks in conjunction with the broadcast and other rights to the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 Gold Cups (the regional championship for national teams).”
Other admissions among the 10 charges in the 40-page dossier include US tax evasion.
Federal agents investigating the tax evasion had detained Chuck Blazer and he agreed to co-operate in the US investigations.
He is said to have agreed to record his colleagues using a microphone hidden in a keychain.
Chuck Blazer is said to be seriously ill, suffering from colon cancer.
In addition to the US case, Swiss authorities have launched a criminal investigation into how the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were allocated.
Qatar has said there is no way it will be stripped of the right to host the 2022 World Cup despite the corruption probe.
Foreign minister Khaled al Attiyah dismissed what he called “a bashing campaign” as anti-Arab prejudice and said Qatar was confident it could prove there had been no wrongdoing in its selection.
In another development, former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner made a televised address in Trinidad on June 3 in which he said he could link FIFA officials to the 2010 election in Trinidad and Tobago.
Jack Warner has been indicted by the US with corruption, a charge he strongly denies.
On June 3, FIFA President Sepp Blatter was given a 10-minute standing ovation by some 400 staff as he returned to FIFA’s Zurich headquarters a day after announcing he was to step down.
Reportedly close to tears, Sepp Blatter urged his “fantastic team” to “stay strong”.
Members of soccer governing body FIFA are set to vote for their new president at their congress in Zurich, amid a huge corruption scandal.
Incumbent President Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term. His only challenger is Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.
The vote of FIFA’s 209 members comes two days after seven top officials were held in Zurich in a US fraud inquiry that indicted 14 people.
Sepp Blatter, 79, has faced calls to quit but says he is not responsible for the scandal and is favorite to win.
Both Sepp Blatter and Prince Ali bin- al-Hussein, 39, will have 15 minutes to address the delegates.
Each of the 209 member associations can then vote.
In the first round, a candidate must get two-thirds of the votes to win outright, or 140 votes.
If that is not achieved there will be a second round requiring a simple majority, even though there are only two candidates.
Sepp Blatter, who is in office for 17 years, remains the favorite, with strong support in Asia, the Americas and Africa.
At the congress opening on May 28, Sepp Blatter addressed the issue of corruption, insisting it fell to him to “fix things”.
He said: “We cannot allow the reputation of football and FIFA to be dragged through the mud and it has to stop here and now.”
However, Sepp Blatter distanced himself from the scandal, saying: “Many people hold me ultimately responsible for the… global football community… I cannot monitor everyone all of the time. If people want to do wrong they will also try to hide it.”
He said the “actions of individuals” had brought “shame and humiliation on football”.
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has the support of most of Europe.
Responding to the scandal, Prince Ali said that FIFA needed leadership that “accepts responsibility for its actions and does not pass blame… and restores confidence in the hundreds of millions of football fans around the world”.
He said: “I am a straightforward person with straightforward ideas and ethics – a person who loves our sport.”
The head of European football’s governing body, UEFA, Michel Platini, was one of those calling for Sepp Blatter to quit.
At an emergency meeting with other FIFA confederation heads and Sepp Blatter on May 28, Michel Platini said he had asked the president “as a friend” to resign, saying: “I have had enough – enough is enough, too much is too much.”
Sepp Blatter refused, and the other confederations agreed with him that Friday’s vote should go ahead.
Two criminal investigations were announced on May 27.
The US investigation accuses those indicted of bribery, racketeering and money-laundering involving tens of millions of dollars over 24 years since 1991.
It includes allegations of bribes to influence the outcome of bids to stage football tournaments such as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2016 Copa America in the US.
Two FIFA vice presidents were among those arrested in Zurich.
One of them, Jeffrey Webb, was on May 28 “provisionally dismissed” as head of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Swiss prosecutors have launched a separate investigation into the bidding process for the World Cup tournaments in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
Meanwhile, many of FIFA’s major sponsors have expressed concern over the investigations.
Coca-Cola, Visa, Adidas, McDonald’s, Hyundai Motor and Budweiser are pressing FIFA to take immediate action to restore its reputation.
FIFA will open its annual congress despite warnings from sponsors that they may review ties over the arrest of seven top officials on corruption charges.
FIFA’s key sponsors have issued statements putting increasing pressure on the soccer governing body over the mounting corruption allegations.
Visa warned that it will reassess its sponsorship unless FIFA makes changes.
Coca-Cola said: “The lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup.”
Adidas, McDonald’s and Hyundai Motor also expressed concern and said they were monitoring the situation closely.
The European football body UEFA will decide whether to boycott May 29 vote for the next FIFA president.
Incumbent President Sepp Blatter has yet to appear in public since the arrests.
Sepp Blatter, who is hoping to secure a fifth term at FIFA’s congress in Zurich, was not named in the corruption investigations.
FIFA provisionally banned from football-related activity 11 of the 14 people charged by the US authorities on Wednesday.
They are accused of racketeering, fraud and money laundering, including charges of receiving bribes to influence the outcome of bids to stage football tournaments, such as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2016 Copa America in the US. South African’s main football body has denied the claim.
Sepp Blatter said on May 27: “Such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game.”
Swiss prosecutors plan to interview ten FIFA executive committee members as part of a separate investigation into the bidding process for the World Cup tournaments in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
UEFA reacted to the latest events by saying they were “a disaster for FIFA and tarnish the image of football as a whole”.
The European body said Friday’s congress risked becoming a “farce” and that the vote should be postponed.
Those indicted in the US case are accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150 million over a 24-year period beginning in 1991.
Spelling out details of the US case, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said some FIFA executives had “used their positions to solicit bribes. They did this over and over, year after year, tournament after tournament”.
The seven arrested in Zurich were vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb and Eugenio Figueredo; Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel and Jose Maria Marin. They face extradition requests from the US.
Six FIFA officials have been arrested in Zurich over corruption charges at the soccer governing body and face extradition to the US, Swiss authorities say.
Separately, Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup bids.
The suspects, who include a FIFA vice-president, allegedly accepted bribes worth $150 million over 20 years.
FIFA members are due to vote on May 29 in a presidential election when incumbent Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
However, Sepp Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested.
Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan – Sepp Blatter’s rival for the FIFA presidency – described the development as “a sad day for football”, but withheld from commenting further.
FIFA’s Zurich headquarters has also been raided, with documents seized, Swiss prosecutors say.
Among those arrested in Zurich are: Jeffrey Webb – head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, CONCACAF; Jack Warner, former FIFA vice-president; Costa Rica’s national football chief Eduardo Li, who was due to join FIFA’s executive committee on May 29; Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo, president of South American football governing body CONMEBOL; Brazil’s Jose Maria Marin, a member of FIFA’s club committee.
Police were seen carrying Jose Maria Marin’s suitcase and some of his possessions in plastic bags.
Several officials have already pleaded guilty, the US Department of Justice says. These include Charles Blazer, the former head of CONCACAF, who was previously on the FIFA executive committee.
A FIFA spokesman said the governing body was seeking to clarify the situation.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said in a statement on May 27 that US authorities suspected the officials of receiving $150 million worth of bribes since the early 1990s for football tournaments in Latin America.
The crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US via US bank accounts, the statement adds.
Swiss authorities can immediately approve the extradition, it continues.
In a separate move, prosecutors opened criminal proceedings “against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups,” said a statement from the Swiss attorney-general.
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