THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

To most people the organization is known as FIFA, the French abbreviation for the International Federation of Association Football, but as most soccer/football fans also know, it has for years been a monumental criminal enterprise run by Sepp Blatter and enriching its made members hugely. The DoJ in cooperation with Swiss and other European authorities has filed 14 indictments against FIFA officials and at least two associated companies.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch accused soccer’s world governing body Wednesday of deep-rooted corruption that allowed members and related firms to enrich themselves through bribery and kickbacks “year after year, tournament after tournament.”

Lynch outlined U.S. complaints against the sport’s powerful overseers, known as FIFA, hours after a stunning series of indictments and arrests, including a roundup in which Swiss authorities led top FIFA officials from a luxury hotel in Zurich.

At least one suspect was shielded from journalists by a white sheet as he boarded a waiting car.

Moments earlier in New York, the Justice Department had unsealed a 47-count indictment charging 14 world soccer figures, including officials of FIFA, with racketeering, bribery, money laundering and fraud totaling more than $150 million. FIFA is the French abbreviation for the International Federation of Association Football, the global governing body of soccer.

Four of those accused, including two sports marketing companies, have already pleaded guilty and are likely to be cooperating...

Attorney General Loretta Lynch accused soccer’s world governing body Wednesday of deep-rooted corruption that allowed members and related firms to enrich themselves through bribery and kickbacks “year after year, tournament after tournament.”

Lynch outlined U.S. complaints against the sport’s powerful overseers, known as FIFA, hours after a stunning series of indictments and arrests, including a roundup in which Swiss authorities led top FIFA officials from a luxury hotel in Zurich.

At least one suspect was shielded from journalists by a white sheet as he boarded a waiting car.

Moments earlier in New York, the Justice Department had unsealed a 47-count indictment charging 14 world soccer figures, including officials of FIFA, with racketeering, bribery, money laundering and fraud totaling more than $150 million. FIFA is the French abbreviation for the International Federation of Association Football, the global governing body of soccer.

Four of those accused, including two sports marketing companies, have already pleaded guilty and are likely to be cooperating...

Lynch and other U.S. officials, including FBI director James B. Comey, also suggested the indictment may not end the investigations into FIFA corruption – long rumored around the world, but rarely pursued by authorities on a major scale until now.

That keeps open speculation of probes reaching higher and wider into the organization, whose 79-year-old president, Swiss-born Sepp Blatter, wields influence on par with a head of state or top diplomat in some parts of the world.

Blatter, who is not implicated in the indictments, faces re-election Friday and is expected to win handily over a lone opponent despite the fallout from the charges.

That Blatter is expected to win re-election is an indication of how well he has spread the wealth. The hints at future investigations are a welcome sign to fans who want a clean sport.