國際足聯(lián)，你怎么了

Soccer isn’t exactly a popular sport in the US. But the US Justice Department recently made a dramatic move that has been applauded by fans of the sport worldwide.

足球在美國并不算流行。但是美國司法部最近的一項驚人舉動卻得到了全世界球迷的拍手稱贊。

US Justice Department officials and prosecutors announced on May 27 a sweeping indictment against 14 soccer officials from world soccer governing body FIFA and marketing executives, wrote The New York Times. These people have been accused of corrupting the sport through two decades of shadowy dealing and $150 million (930 million yuan) in bribes.

據《紐約時報》報道，5月27日，美國司法部官員及檢察官對國際足聯(lián)14名足球官員與市場營銷主管提起了訴訟。這些人被控足球腐敗，他們20年來一直在進行灰色交易，收受賄賂總計1億5千萬美元(9億3千萬人民幣)。

Prior to the announcement, in the early morning of May 27, Swiss police came unannounced to a luxury hotel in Zurich and arrested seven FIFA officials. The men found themselves under arrest on federal charges that have usually been brought against mafia families or drug cartels, including racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering, and bribery.

起訴公布之前的5月27日清晨，瑞士警方悄悄潛入蘇黎世一家豪華酒店，逮捕了7名國際足聯(lián)高官。他們將面臨美國聯(lián)邦(法院)包括敲詐、電信詐騙、洗錢和賄賂等以往常用于黑手黨或販毒集團罪名的指控。。

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch was quoted by The New York Times as saying that the current charges are “only the beginning”, and are part of much broader global efforts to combat FIFA’s corruption. Switzerland on the same day also announced a parallel investigation that will focus on the bidding process for the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar World Cup Finals. It has long been rumored both countries won bidding to host the tournaments through bribery.

《紐約時報》引用美國司法部長洛麗塔•林奇的表述稱，現(xiàn)在的指控“只是剛剛開始”，只是全球范圍內反擊國際足聯(lián)腐敗行動的一部分。瑞士當天也宣布要對2018年俄羅斯、2022年卡塔爾申辦世界杯決賽的過程進行調查。早有傳言稱這兩個國家是通過賄賂獲得了舉辦比賽的資格。

Tumbling down

摔跟頭

These developments could actually bring down the powerful FIFA. The organization was founded in 1904, when eight European nations agreed to cooperate in organizing international matches. In the past 40 years, says Slate’s Stefan Fatsis, FIFA has survived a string of scandals and corrupt officials. “Its offices have been raided; its business partners have stood trial; and its members have been purged for bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks, vote-buying, and other wrong-doings.”

這一系列的事件讓強大的國際足聯(lián)岌岌可危。國際足聯(lián)創(chuàng)建于1904年，為了8個歐洲國家為組織國際足球賽事合作而生。。但是，過去40年中，國際足聯(lián)丑聞頻出，腐敗官員層出不窮，正如美國《Slate》雜志的斯特凡•費特希斯所言，;他還表示 “其辦公室一度被抄查;商業(yè)伙伴曾出庭受過審;其員工也因受賄、挪用公款、吃回扣、賄選及其它不端行為受到過整肅。”

Political ripples

政治波瀾起

There are political implications involving the US, UK and Russia stemming from the corruption probe into the soccer organization.

針對國際足聯(lián)的腐敗調查還在美國、英國和俄羅斯等國家引起了政治波瀾。

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of meddling in FIFA’s affairs and hinted the charges are part of an attempt to take the 2018 World Cup away from his country.

俄羅斯總統(tǒng)弗拉基米爾•普京譴責美國對國際足聯(lián)事務的干涉，并暗示這些指控是為了剝奪俄羅斯2018年世界杯的舉辦權。

Putin said in televised comments that he found it “odd” that a probe was launched at the request of US officials for alleged crimes that did not happen in the US, reported US-based CBS News.

據美國哥倫比亞廣播新聞報道，普京在電視上發(fā)表評論稱，他感到很“奇怪”，一項根本沒有發(fā)生在美國的涉嫌犯罪，竟然因為美國官員的要求而調查開來。

Ever since the scandalous arrest of the FIFA executives last week, association president Sepp Blatter has been under unprecedented pressure from top soccer executives and European politicians, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who are demanding he give up without a struggle and step down from his post.

自從上周國際足聯(lián)高官被逮捕的丑聞發(fā)生，國際足聯(lián)主席賽普•布拉特就承受了來自足球高官及歐洲政要方面的巨大壓力，其中就包括英國首相大衛(wèi)•卡梅倫，他要求布拉特放棄掙扎，主動辭職。

What’s next?

下一步會是什么?

After winning his fifth term at the helm of FIFA, Sepp Blatter set a defiant tone in his first press conference, blasting the US corruption probe and suggesting there was a US-backed campaign to oust him.

在第五次勝利連任國際足聯(lián)主席之后的首次新聞發(fā)布會上，賽普•布拉特不甘示弱，痛擊美國的腐敗調查，并聲稱這是美國支持下的倒布運動。

According to an article on explanatory journalism website vox.com, the charges aren’t an inclusive summary of all the wrongdoings that may or may not be happening within FIFA. Rather, they’re tightly focused on just one aspect of alleged corrupt activity – in this case, the distribution of broadcast rights for soccer games.

據解釋性新聞網站vox.com上一篇報道稱，這些指控并不是對國際足聯(lián)不端行為的全部總結。相反，它們只是僅僅盯住了其中一項涉嫌腐敗的行徑——也就是對賽事廣播權的分配。

The website thus concluded that Sepp Blatter, who was not charged last Wednesday, may not be off the hook.

因此該網站斷言，賽普•布拉特盡管沒有在上周三遭到指控，但不會成為漏網之魚。