Fifa gives fraud ‘an open door’ with betting, says Council of Europe chief

Fifa deal with prediction market company under fire Balogun reprieve showed ‘rules bend under pressure’ Fifa has been accused of providing an “open door to fraud” and allowing political influence to cast doubt on the integrity of the World Cup in a stinging rebuke by the Council of Europe’s secretary general. In an open letter published to coincide with Sunday’s final, Alain Berset also called for a new integrity framework to be built before the 2030 tournament, which is mainly being staged in Europe, and warned that Fifa was embroiled in a crisis involving money and power. Continue reading...