FIFA officials arrested

Several top FIFA officials have been arrested in Switzerland on corruption charges, according to the New York Times.

Authorities in Zurich launched an operation to arrest several high-ranking officials on corruption charges and extradite them to the United States.

The arrests are understood to have taken place after more than a dozen plain-clothed Swiss police officers arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel.

The Times, citing anonymous law enforcement officials, said the U.S. federal charges include racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud and span two decades of misconduct in football's world governing body. 

Sky Sports News HQ reporter Bryan Swanson said: "Six football officials have been arrested in connection with an on-going corruption investigation by the US authorities. There were dramatic developments outside the hotel overlooking Lake Zurich. We filmed what appeared to be one senior executive being bundled out of the hotel into a waiting car and driven off.

"FIFA have yet to confirm which officials have been questioned by police. Someone inside the hotel has reported seeing a woman crying inside, the implication being that that woman was associated to one of the officials who has been arrested."

Officials from 209-member nations are gathering in Zurich for the FIFA Congress where  incumbent Sepp Blatter faces a challenge from Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein in a presidential election on Friday. 

The reports offer a fresh blow to the credibility of FIFA, which has endured repeated accusations of wrong-doing over the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Qatar and Russia respectively.

FIFA appointed an independent investigator to look into the allegations and though a summary of his report found some wrong-doing on the part of the Qatari and Russian bid committees, FIFA's ethics judge concluded it was not enough to question the entire process.

The investigator, former attorney Michael Garcia, subsequently resigned from his role after criticising the handling of his report.

(Sky Sports)