Yahoo – AFP,
Claire De Oliveira Neto, 8 July 2014
The CEO of
Match Hospitality Raymond Whelan sits at a police station in
Rio de Janeiro
after being arrested on July 7, 2014 (AFP Photo/Tasso Marcelo)
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Rio de
Janeiro (AFP) - Brazilian police have arrested a director from the FIFA partner
company handling World Cup ticket packages, accusing him of leading a network
that illegally sold game passes.
Ray Whelan,
a director at Match Hospitality, was detained Monday at Rio de Janeiro's
luxurious beachfront Copacabana Palace Hotel, a police spokesman told AFP, days
after 11 people were rounded up in a raid to dismantle the network.
Local media
said Whelan is a 64-year-old British citizen, but police were not immediately
able to confirm that.
The arrest
was made on the eve of the tournament's first semi-final game between Brazil
and Germany in Belo Horizonte. Argentina and the Netherlands will face off for
the final's last spot on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.
Police say
the international scalping syndicate sold thousands of tickets worth millions
of dollars, going back to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
The scandal
is the latest to hit FIFA, which is already battling allegations that members
accepted bribes from a Qatari football official to secure support for the
emirate's campaign to get the 2022 World Cup finals.
One of
Match Hospitality's shareholders is Swiss-based Infront Sports and Media,
headed by Philippe Blatter, the nephew of FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
A
French-Algerian suspect, Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, was initially thought to be
responsible for the ticket scheme after he was among 11 people arrested last
week in Rio and Sao Paulo.
But
suspicions moved toward an individual at Match Hospitality, the official World
Cup ticket agency, which sells deluxe packages that include private suites at
stadiums and gourmet catering.
Authorities
intercepted phone calls between Fofana and Whelan, according to the newspaper O
Estado de Sao Paulo.
Tickets
canceled
Match
Hospitality said earlier that it had canceled the tickets bought by Fofana's
company, Atlanta Sportif, for the semi-finals and the final.
The
hospitality firm warned that it would cancel the remaining tickets of three
other companies whose names appeared in tickets seized by police unless they
cooperate with the probe.
Match
identified the companies as Reliance Industries Limited, Jet Set Sports and
Pamodzi Sports, but did not give details about the companies' ownership.
Reliance
Industries bought 304 packages for 19 matches worth $1.2 million, including
access to a private suite for all games in Rio, Sao Paolo and Belo Horizonte.
Match Hospitality said 59 tickets seized last week had the company's name on
them.
One ticket
was imprinted with the name Jet Set Sports, which purchased 40 packages for two
games worth $108,250. The package had been allocated to an individual who
resides in Australia, Match Hospitality said, without naming the person.
Another
ticket had the name Pamodzi, which secured 350 packages for 18 games --
including private suites and business seats - worth more than $1.2 million.
Byrom plc,
a Manchester, England, company, has a 75 percent stake in Match Hospitality. It
also owns Match Services. Both Match firms are based in Zurich and provide
World Cup ticketing and hospitality services.
Ray Whelan
was first arrested on Monday and released
after questioning
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