PBS高端访谈:布拉特的辞职是否意味着足球运动新时代的开始?

 JUDY WOODRUFF: Just four days after he won reelection to a fifth term as the head of soccer's international governing body, Sepp Blatter stunned¹ nearly everyone today when he announced he would resign as president of FIFA. Top FIFA officials were arrested last week.

The Department of Justice uncorked a 47-count indictment² alleging³ bribery⁴ and widespread corruption⁶. And, yesterday, published reports said Blatter's top deputy had been linked to wire transfers involving bank payments believed to be bribes⁷ related to World Cup bids.

At a hastily called news conference today, Blatter didn't address the specifics, but acknowledged the mounting scandal undercut the votes and the mandate⁸ he said he received last week.

JOSEPH "SEPP" BLATTER, President, FIFA (through interpreter): This mandate doesn't seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football, supporters, clubs, players, those who inspire life in football, as much as we do at FIFA. That's why I will call an extraordinary congress and put at disposal my function. It is going to be held as soon as possible and a new president will be elected to follow me.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Let's look at the sudden resignation and the circumstances around it.

Declan Hill is an investigative journalist and the author of a book about FIFA's problems with corruption. It's called "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime." I spoke⁹ with him a short time ago from Ottawa.

Declan Hill, welcome.

So, why the sudden reversal? Sepp Blatter said just on Friday that he was glad to be reelected and this was going to be a new era for FIFA.

DECLAN HILL, Author, "The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime": It really is extraordinary.

I mean, today's events starting early Zurich time dawn all the way to right now is an epic¹⁰, shaking time in international sports. It reminds me a little bit of "Game of Thrones," the Lannisters are meeting at King's Landing.

And what is really going on is a bunch of kingmakers, people behind the throne, people that we don't see in public, either as the journalists or as sports fans, I think phoned up Sepp Blatter this morning and said enough is enough.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, what precipitated¹¹ that? As you and I are speaking, as we tape this interview, ABC News is reporting that the FBI, U.S. prosecutors¹² are now investigating Blatter himself.

DECLAN HILL: Yes, and you have an extraordinary scenario¹³ here.

As you can see, I'm speaking to you from Ottawa, Canada, where the women's World Cup will be in a few days. The second in command today earlier today in Zurich suddenly discovered that he had crucial business that meant he couldn't fly to Canada. Really, what may be going on, and a lot of people are talking about this, is that he's afraid of landing in Canada.

Canadian extradition¹⁴ laws with the United States are excellent, and if you guys want people arrested, our police services generally arrest them and extradite them right way, unlike Switzerland or Trinidad and Tobago.

So, there was a fear that the top executives couldn't even attend the women's World Cup without fear of being arrested. This is really extraordinary.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Is there a sense, Declan Hill, of who else may be implicated¹⁵ before this is over?

DECLAN HILL: Yes, I looked at the FBI indictment that came out, as you know, under Loretta Lynch, the attorney general, last week, and it's an extraordinary picture.

What they really paint is a deliberate, clear, informal organized crime syndicate operating inside international sports. So you have the public face of how to market these TV, all these ticketing things, and then you have these really meticulous¹⁶, well-planned scams that are going on inside that organization. So, really, if you're getting the second in command who is afraid of getting on a plane to fly to Canada, it really could be anyone.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, for Blatter to step down and be replaced by someone else, how much of a change is that in and of itself?

DECLAN HILL: I think it's really an era-making change.

There's a whole bunch of national sports federations¹⁷ around the world or soccer federations that are going to be deeply, deeply worried. Look, FIFA has a track record of, when national governments, be they Iran, be they Greece, be they Kenya, be they Nigeria, look at their soccer and say, hang on, if this is too corrupt⁵, we're going to clean it up.

FIFA will go in and stop those government investigations¹⁸. They will stop those police investigations and they will say, hey, you know, you can't investigate our people, because that's politics interfering¹⁹ with sport.

So you have sports, soccer federations around the world that have been essentially²⁰ protected by Blatter and the people in Zurich. That day seems to be over now, and that's going to shake the soccer world in a tremendous way.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Declan Hill, we thank you very much for talking with us.

DECLAN HILL: Thanks for having me on, Judy. Very much appreciate it.

1 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

2 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

3 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

4 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

11 precipitated   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
• He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

14 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

15 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

17 federations   

n.联邦( federation的名词复数 )；同盟；联盟；联合会

参考例句：

• These problems are women's special problems and special work of women's federations. 这样的问题，就是妇女的特殊问题，就是妇联的特殊工作。 来自互联网
• The Bridge Federate is a feasible solution to achieve multi-federations interconnection. 基于桥接成员实现多联邦互连是目前较为通用和可行的方法。 来自互联网

18 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

19 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

20 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。