Israelis were expecting some big news to come out of the annual FIFA (logo pictured) Congress this week. But they probably weren’t expecting this: in a bombshell operation, a Swiss law enforcement team showed up at the Zurich hotel hosting the annual gathering of the international soccer organization — and arrested nine senior officials. The arrests come after decades of corruption allegations aimed at FIFA. The arrested officials face charges of taking money in exchange for World Cup hosting bids, as well as taking bribes in exchange for media and marketing rights for major international tournaments. The allegations are damning, but frankly, they couldn’t have come at a better time for Israel. Until yesterday, much of the coverage of the FIFA Congress surrounded whether delegates would vote to red card Israel from world soccer. The Palestinian Football Association is introducing the motion to suspend Israel, accusing it of unjustly restricting Palestinian soccer players’ freedom of movement and claiming that Israel’s West Bank settlement teams violate FIFA rules. Israeli officials have called the effort blatantly political and said that the Palestinians’ complaints all concern Israel’s security forces — not Israel’s soccer teams. For Israel to be suspended, three quarters of delegates would need to approve the motion. If that were a long shot before, it’s even more unlikely now. Suspending the Jewish state from international play would have rocked world soccer’s boat, inviting allegations of anti-Semitism and double standards. Israel, to say the least, likely would not have gone quietly into the night. Besides, there is already something anti-Semitic about world soccer right now: the FIFA U-20 tournament logo for the upcoming edition in New Zealand has what appears to be a swastika pattern in the bottom. Check it out for yourself:
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