Russia criticizes US over FIFA case
May 27, 2015, 10:24 AM | Updated: 12:57 pm
FILE - This is a Wednesday, April 29, 2015 file photo of Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko as he speaks during a press conference on World Cup 2018 issues in Moscow, Russia. Swiss federal prosecutors opened criminal proceedings related to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, throwing FIFA deeper into crisis only hours after seven soccer officials were arrested and 14 indicted Wednesday in a separate U.S. corruption probe.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russia’s foreign ministry has heavily criticized the United States over the arrest in Switzerland of officials from soccer’s ruling body FIFA.
U.S. corruption charges were unveiled Wednesday against 14 people, with seven of them being arrested Wednesday morning in Zurich ahead of a FIFA meeting.
Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings into FIFA’s awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
In a statement, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich says the arrests were “evidently another case of illegal extra-territorial implementation of American law.”
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