The news that FIFA has been caught up in a huge investigation involving the FBI and the Swiss police yesterday has brought renewed attention and criticism for world football's governing body, but this is not the first time that they have made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Over the years, some of those who were named in the FBI operation yesterday, have previously hit the headlines for reasons that raised eyebrows. Here are some of the most memorable ones.
Jose Maria Marin
The president of the CBF, Marin found himself in hot water back in 2012 when he appeared to pocket a medal during the presentation of the Sao Paulo Juniors Cup to that year's winners, Corinthians. Marin denies stealing it, but apparently they were one medal short and the goalkeeper went home without one.
After his arrest yesterday, the CBF have decided to take his name down off the facade of their headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
Nicolas Léoz
Another one of those picked up yesterday, a report by James Dingemans QC into England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup made a few strange claims about the former President of CONMEBOL. Ex-FA chairman and the head of the bid Lord Triesman gave evidence, recorded in emails between the bid team and representatives in South America, that he was looking for something more than a trip to the FA Cup final if he was going to consider backing their bid: "Dr Léoz is an old man and to go to London just to meet the Prince and go to the FA Cup final is not reason enough. If this is combined, say, with the naming of the CUP [sic] after Dr Léoz then that could be reason enough". Another representative contacted them to add that "confidentially I know that he would love to have a decoration from the British Crown or government", which was never given to him, it would seem.
Chuck Blazer
As one of the informants in this case, Blazer has been crucial to the operation, and has been working with them since 2013 when he plead guilty to charges of corruption. A report in The New York Daily News stated that Blazer had two apartments in the luxury surrounds of Trump Towers, where he spend "$18,000-per-month [on] digs for himself and an adjoining $6,000 retreat largely for his unruly cats".
No one would want to share a flat with an unruly cat, to be fair.
Jack Warner
Yesterday's indictment also had some details on the former FIFA vice-president that make for interesting reading. The New York Times do a good job of breaking down the charges against all the candidates, and Warner's name pops up in a story where he sent someone to literally get a briefcase full of money for him: "When FIFA was considering which country would host the 2006 World Cup, Mr. Warner sent a relative to a Paris hotel room to collect a briefcase filled with cash in $10,000 stacks from a South African bid-committee official, according to the indictment". He also didn't take kindly to the BBC trying to get an interview out of him for their Panorama show on corruption and scandals within FIFA a few years back.
Sepp Blatter
Although he was not arrested yesterday and has been clear that the investigation has nothing to do with him, Blatter often makes his way into the papers for his ill-judged comments on a number of topics. Here in Ireland, we remember him for poking fun at us when we complained about the whole Thierry Henry hand ball thing, but he's managed to offend loads of people before that. For instance, he's had some interesting theories on how to make the women's game more popular, like this one:
"Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?"
He also shipped plenty of criticism when asked what gay fans of football should do if they wanted to go to the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
"I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities."
Not the best with the aul advice is Sepp, it seems.