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5 investigated in FIFA WCup bid corruption probe

A photo of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub, is seen at the FPA headquarters, at the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. An alleged search of the Palestinian Football Association headquarters in the West Bank by the Israeli military was denounced Tuesday by the head of Asia's soccer federation. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) A photo of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub, is seen at the FPA headquarters, at the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. An alleged search of the Palestinian Football Association headquarters in the West Bank by the Israeli military was denounced Tuesday by the head of Asia's soccer federation. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

By Associated Press November 27, 2014 1 min read

GENEVA (AP) – Five officials, including three long-serving FIFA executive committee members, are being investigated in the corruption probe into the bidding contests for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

A person familiar with the cases confirmed the names Thursday to The Associated Press after the five were identified in European media reports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the FIFA probe is confidential.

The current FIFA board members under investigation are FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar of Spain, Michel D’Hooghe of Belgium and Worawi Makudi of Thailand.

The others are German great Franz Beckenbauer and Harold Mayne-Nicholls. Beckenbauer was a FIFA voter when Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar secured the 2022 tournament. Mayne-Nicholls inspected the bids for FIFA.

Last week, FIFA ethics committee chairmen Michael Garcia and Joachim Eckert said “a number of formal cases” had been opened against unidentified individuals.

FIFA also referred Garcia’s investigation report to Swiss federal prosecutors.