LONDON — The arrest of top soccer officials on Wednesday for engaging in murky back-room deals while working for the sport’s governing body may seem surprising in Switzerland, a country known for its vaunted culture of secrecy. But analysts say the long arm of American justice had already been shaking up the country.
The arrests of several officials of FIFA, soccer’s governing body, in a highly coordinated operation during which plainclothes Swiss officers raided a five-star property overlooking Lake Zurich, have a firm legal basis in both countries. American law gives the Justice Department the authority to pursue cases against foreign nationals living abroad, even if there is only the slightest link to the United States.