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FIFA pay £45m to compensate World Cup sponsor
FIFA have agreed to pay a staggering £45million in compensation to sponsors MasterCard for misleading the credit card giant in negotiations for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
The huge settlement brings an end to legal action in the USA and Switzerland and MasterCard's rivals VISA will now be sponsors for the next two final tournaments.
A US court judge said last year that FIFA executives had 'lied repeatedly' in negotiations with MasterCard, and in response the game's world governing body sacked four officials although marketing chief Jerome Valcke has since been reinstated.
FIFA said in a statement today: 'The two parties have reached agreement resolving the contract dispute related to MasterCard's first right to acquire the sponsorship for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
'As a result of the agreement, MasterCard will discontinue its sponsorship of the 2010 & 2014 FIFA World Cups, with FIFA agreeing to compensate MasterCard for that discontinuation.
'Both parties also agreed to terminate legal proceedings in the US and Switzerland.'
MasterCard said in a statement that 87.5million US dollars (£43.75million) would be paid by FIFA in the second quarter of this year and 2.5million US dollars (£1.25million) in the third quarter.
The firm won a federal court decision against FIFA in December but an appeal court last month ordered a review of that ruling.
The December court ruling stated: 'FIFA's negotiators lied repeatedly to MasterCard, including when they assured MasterCard that...FIFA would not sign a deal for the post-2006 sponsorship rights with anyone else unless it could not reach agreement with MasterCard.'
It said that the negotiators provided VISA with blow-by-blow updates of the MasterCard negotiations.
The court heard FIFA executives were determined to give the contract to VISA rather than their current sponsor MasterCard when both were offering similar amounts of money.
There were also indications of an attempted cover-up with a 'mysterious gap' in an audio tape recording of a FIFA executive committee meeting which dealt with the sponsorship decision.
The ruling also suggested someone at FIFA changed the date on contracts given to VISA to make it look as though it had been signed several days earlier.
FIFA have agreed to pay a staggering £45million in compensation to sponsors MasterCard for misleading the credit card giant in negotiations for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
The huge settlement brings an end to legal action in the USA and Switzerland and MasterCard's rivals VISA will now be sponsors for the next two final tournaments.
A US court judge said last year that FIFA executives had 'lied repeatedly' in negotiations with MasterCard, and in response the game's world governing body sacked four officials although marketing chief Jerome Valcke has since been reinstated.
FIFA said in a statement today: 'The two parties have reached agreement resolving the contract dispute related to MasterCard's first right to acquire the sponsorship for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
'As a result of the agreement, MasterCard will discontinue its sponsorship of the 2010 & 2014 FIFA World Cups, with FIFA agreeing to compensate MasterCard for that discontinuation.
'Both parties also agreed to terminate legal proceedings in the US and Switzerland.'
MasterCard said in a statement that 87.5million US dollars (£43.75million) would be paid by FIFA in the second quarter of this year and 2.5million US dollars (£1.25million) in the third quarter.
The firm won a federal court decision against FIFA in December but an appeal court last month ordered a review of that ruling.
The December court ruling stated: 'FIFA's negotiators lied repeatedly to MasterCard, including when they assured MasterCard that...FIFA would not sign a deal for the post-2006 sponsorship rights with anyone else unless it could not reach agreement with MasterCard.'
It said that the negotiators provided VISA with blow-by-blow updates of the MasterCard negotiations.
The court heard FIFA executives were determined to give the contract to VISA rather than their current sponsor MasterCard when both were offering similar amounts of money.
There were also indications of an attempted cover-up with a 'mysterious gap' in an audio tape recording of a FIFA executive committee meeting which dealt with the sponsorship decision.
The ruling also suggested someone at FIFA changed the date on contracts given to VISA to make it look as though it had been signed several days earlier.
What an organisation!!! Aaaah bwoyyy!
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