World Cup sponsors demonstrated various levels of caution in their responses this week to the United States Justice Department’s indictment of nine FIFA officials on corruption charges.
The sponsors did not threaten to drop their deals, but Visa, the most indignant, said that it would “reassess our sponsorship” if FIFA did not change its ways.
The sponsors did not criticize any of the individuals indicted. They did not mention Sepp Blatter, the powerful president of FIFA, who was not charged. Instead, they focused largely on broad, nonspecific concerns about ethics and the allegations, with little elaboration.