One of the key figures in today's upheaval at FIFA is ex-United States soccer and FIFA executive Chuck Blazer.
The 70-year-old, who has faced his fair share of corruption and bribery allegations in his own right, turned informant for the FBI and IRS with his testimony proving key as arrests of FIFA officials were made today.
Buzzfeed investigative reporter Ken Bensinger, who recently wrote a fascinating profile of Blazer, joined us on Off The Ball tonight to discuss his role.
"Is this guy going to be a hero somehow? Is this person, who really may be one of the most corrupt American sports officials ever, going to go down as some kind of a martyr? It would be an amazing irony if that happens. I think not though. I think he's going to end up looking like the one who squealed and the one who stabbed his buddies in the back," said Bensinger, who also charted Blazer's rise within the US soccer scene within the "vacuum of power" which used to exist there and his route into power and influence at CONCACAF and FIFA.
Explaining how he ran CONCACAF (the North and Central American confederation), Bensinger described it as like the "fox guarding the hen house" amid a web of corrupt activities and luxurious living.
Yet, he did eventually turn informant and Bensinger cited a breakdown in relations with former FIFA official Jack Warner.
"First, he and Jack Warner, who were thick as thieves had to have a rupture and they did have a rupture. And the rupture was that Jack Warner got caught on tape offering brown bags full of money to heads of different Caribbean football associations and this was in 2011 and it turns out that it the video was created by someone and ended up in Blazer's hands and Blazer, of all people, turned Warner into FIFA and that led to a complete overhaul of CONCACAF and a lot of people think this was some move co-ordinated between Sepp Blatter and Blazer to oust Warner and increase the power of Blatter and by extension, Blazer."
However, Blazer's finances were then investigated and that turned up some information of interest to the FBI and they "walked up to Blazer on the street and said 'either you squeal or we're going right to jail' and he began wearing a wire for the FBI."
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