Hospitality chief arrested over VIP ticket scalping
Director at Fifa partner company detained at Rio's luxurious beachfront Copacabana Palace Hotel
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Brazilian police arrested a director from the Fifa partner company handling World Cup ticket packages, accusing him of leading a network that illegally sold game passes.
Ray Whelan, a director at Match Hospitality, was detained at Rio de Janeiro’s luxurious beachfront Copacabana Palace Hotel, days after 11 people were rounded up in a raid to dismantle the network.
Fabio Barucke, the case’s lead investigator, said Whelan faced charges of facilitating the distribution of tickets for their illegal sale and criminal conspiracy. If found guilty, he could face four years in prison.
Local media said Whelan is a 64-year-old British citizen. Some 100 tickets were found in his hotel room.
The arrest was made on the eve of the tournament’s first semi-final game between Brazil and Germany in Belo Horizonte. Argentina and the Netherlands will face off for the final’s last spot on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.
Police say the international scalping syndicate sold thousands of tickets worth millions of dollars, going back to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
The scandal is the latest to hit Fifa, which is already battling allegations that members accepted bribes from a Qatari football official to secure support for the emirate’s campaign to get the 2022 World Cup finals.
A French-Algerian suspect, Mohamadou Lamine Fofana, was initially thought to be responsible for the ticket scheme after he was among 11 people arrested last week in Rio and Sao Paulo.
But suspicions moved toward an individual at Match Hospitality, the official World Cup ticket agency, which sells deluxe packages that include private suites at stadiums and gourmet catering.
“Whelan denied negotiating tickets with the Franco-Algerian Mohamadou Lamine Fofana during the World Cup, but we have proof. We have 900 (intercepted) calls between the two during the tournament,” Barucke said.
The investigation is looking into seven more suspects, but Barucke did not give more details.
Police say Whelan gave VIP tickets to Fofana that were originally for sponsors, non-governmental organisations and relatives of players. Fofana then sold them illegally with the help of travel agencies and football contacts.
Authorities said last week a Fifa official appeared to have been involved in the scheme and that the Brazilian, Spanish and Argentine football federations are under investigation.
Fifa spokeswoman Delia Fischer said the organisation “takes note” of Whelan’s arrest and that it continues to cooperate with the investigation.
