Adidas ‘would have problem’ with FIFA if it has broken law

Adidas, a long-standing sponsor of FIFA, “would have a problem” with the global soccer body if it was found to have broken the law by a US investigation into bribery, the company’s chief executive told a German paper.

“We expect from our partners that they abide by the laws. If a partner is convicted we have a problem with that. We then have to solve that,” Kasper Rorsted told Bild am Sonntag, without elaborating.

Along with companies including Coca-Cola, Gazprom and Visa, Adidas is one of FIFA’s top partners that contribute every four years to support the World Cup. Adidas’s current contract with FIFA runs until 2030.

Zurich-based FIFA has been trying to overhaul its operations in the wake of the worst crisis in its history, sparked in 2015 by the indictment in the United States of several dozen soccer officials on corruption-related charges.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino was elected in February 2016 to rebuild FIFA after it became embroiled in the scandal.

A prosecution witness last week testified that Mexico’s Grupo Televisa and Brazil’s Globo took part in a $15 million bribe to a FIFA executive to secure media rights to the 2026 and 2030 World Cup tournaments.