Former ESPN executive explains how he lost the World Cup

NEW YORK (AP) — A former ESPN executive has highlighted how the money would have corrupted football, testifying in federal district court on Tuesday that his company’s attempt to broadcast the World Cup could have been sabotaged by two former Fox executives, accused of bribing officials to undermine competing deals.

Former ESPN chairman John Skipper told a federal court in New York that his company and Univision jointly offered $900 million, split equally between the two companies, for the rights to broadcast the latter two World Cups, including the one that just ended in Qatar.

Despite ESPN’s big bid for the rights to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, FIFA awarded them to Fox, who put a lesser amount on the table.

Government lawyers say millions of dollars in bribes fueled a system of clandestine, no-auction contracts that allowed corrupt football officials to profit from various schemes and ultimately led to Fox broadcasting the games .

Prosecutors allege the payments enabled two former Fox executives – Hernán López of Argentina and Carlos Martínez of Mexico – to obtain confidential information from senior football officials, including some at FIFA. The information helped Fox win the rights to the English shows in the United States, with a bid of $425 million.

Telemundo, a division of Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, secured the Spanish-language rights for about $600 million.

“I was disappointed,” Skipper said. “Actually, I was upset.”

Skipper said he assumed the highest bidder would win. However, the process became increasingly complicated after ESPN’s offer was rejected and football officials opened a second round of offers.

When questioned by a defense attorney, Skipper admitted he didn’t know if there was any illegal backstage in the case.

New York-based Fox Corp. was spun off from an international chain subsidiary during a 2019 restructuring. It has denied involvement in the bribery scandal and is not listed as a defendant in the case .

In a statement, the company said it had fully cooperated with authorities.

The trial is the latest installment in a tangled corruption scandal dating back more than a decade that has implicated nearly 40 football and media executives and their associates.