Arrested FIFA executives unrelated to 2018 World Cup bidding campaign – Russian sports minister

14:48, 27.05.2015 1 min read

The executives of FIFA, the international governing body of association football, arrested on corruption charges were not related to the 2018 World Cup bidding campaign, says Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

"If you take these people, many of them had no relation to the 2018 World Cup bidding campaign. They were not Executive Committee members and didn't take part [in the bidding campaign]," Mutko told Interfax on Wednesday.

Mutko is currently a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.

It was reported on Wednesday morning that several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich where they had arrived for an annual meeting. Western media reported that charges had been brought against Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, Jose Maria Marin and Nicolas Leoz.