This is a good time to watch John Oliver's 2014 rant on FIFA corruption
Want to better understand why several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested in Zurich on Wednesday? Watch John Oliver give his views on FIFA and the 2014 World Cup.
Like many people, John Oliver likes soccer -- or football, as most of the world calls it -- but he hates FIFA, the organization that basically governs the sport around the world. In light of Wednesday's indictment of several high-ranking FIFA officials by the US Department of Justice on corruption charges, Oliver's 2014 video exposé of FIFA on "Last Week Tonight" is well worth another watch for those looking to make sense of it all.
For those who aren't up to speed on today's events, the DOJ brought charges of money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud against 14 people, including nine current and former FIFA officials.
Swiss police arrested seven of these people on Wednesday, and also collected "electronic data and documents" from FIFA's headquarters.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter issued a statement on Wednesday applauding the investigation and promising to "work vigorously within FIFA in order to root out any misconduct."
FIFA has been frequently accused of wrongdoing in the past. In the clip, Oliver compares telling someone about the inner workings of FIFA for the first time to showing them that horribly gross "Two Girls, One Cup" video: "You do it mainly so you can watch the horrified expression on people's faces."
Oliver talks about all kinds of issues he has with FIFA, saying it forced Brazil to drop the country's ban on alcohol sales in soccer stadiums, and saying FIFA tends to make money on the World Cup, thanks in no small part to tax exemptions -- which Brazil estimated at around $250 million (about £163 million, AU$324 million) in 2014 -- while the host countries tend to lose money on the event.
Those are just some of Oliver's views on FIFA, and you should definitely check out the video at the top of this post for more.