Play the Game invites FIFA to set the record straight

In newspaper articles, FIFA has complained that its answers have been misrepresented by investigative reporter Andrew Jennings. Therefore Play the Game now gives FIFA president Sepp Blatter the opportunity to answer seven key questions raised by the book and to have the answers published unedited on Play the Game’s website.

In the letter, Play the Game’s director, Jens Sejer Andersen, states that it is important for Play the Game to ensure that criticism about important sports political matters can be raised publicly and that both parties are heard on an equal and fair basis.

“We are not surprised that FIFA has rejected most of the allegations put forward by Andrew Jennings over the past years but it is a surprise and a matter of great concern that FIFA feels that its viewpoints have been omitted or distorted by Jennings,” Andersen writes.

The first four questions raised by Play the Game relate to the allegations of bribery against FIFA.

Play the Game asks

• What FIFA has done to identify and sanction the corrupt leaders that took bribes from sports marketing company ISL?
• Which FIFA official was the recipient of bribe of one million Swiss franc from ISL in the winter of 1998?
• How much money FIFA lost in the bankruptcy of ISL?
• How much the FIFA president is paid in total for his services to FIFA?

The final three questions relate specifically to Andrew Jennings and his recently published book “Foul!”

Play the Game asks

• If FIFA will provide a list of examples whereAndrew Jennings has omitted or distorted relevant information about FIFA?
• If FIFA will present a list of the “inaccurate statements and aspersions,” it claims to have found in Jennings’ book?
• On what objective criteria has Andrew Jennings been excluded from FIFA press conferences and what will it take for him to be allowed back? In what situations can other journalists expect the same treatment from FIFA? 

Read the full text of the letter which was sent to FIFA on 1 June 2006.  

The reply from FIFA will be published in full as soon as it is received by Play the Game.