Soccer's governing body, FIFA, is facing American corruption charges after officials were taken into custody on Wednesday morning.
The world's most popular sport is reeling as top soccer officials are taken into custody on American corruption charges.
One official hid his face in shame behind a sheet.
At a news conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch detailed the blockbuster allegations.
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She said, "The 47 count indictment against these individuals includes charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies, spanning two decades."
A meeting of FIFA, the global organization that controls the World Cup and soccer’s governing body, was thrown into chaos at a five-star hotel in Switzerland as plainclothes cops went room to room searching for the suspects.
In Miami Beach, U.S. authorities raided the headquarters of a FIFA-affiliated soccer organization.
FIFA tried to put a positive spin on the arrests.
FIFA spokesperson Walter de Gregorio said at a press conference, "For FIFA this is good. This is good what happened. It confirms that we are on the right track. It hurts. It is not easy but it is the only way to go."
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The investigation reportedly is also focusing on the widely ridiculed vote to stage the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East nation of Qatar, where temperatures reach 140 degrees.
Last year, Jon Oliver joked, "The only place less appropriate to host the World Cup is the actual surface of the sun."
Lynch said at the press conference, "They were expected to uphold the rules that keeps soccer honest and to test the integrity of the game. Instead, they corrupted the business of world wide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves."
Former US Men’s National player Cobi Jones told INSIDE EDITION, “It is great that the U.S. is stepping up to actually look into the bribery charges. There are bad apples to speak and it is good that they get weeded out.”
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