This article examines the social forces underlying FIFAgate. Why do corrupt
practices, which are often highly consolidated or even institutionalized, suddenly
become scandalous? What is a scandal? Why did FIFA fall into crisis in 2015
and not before? To answer these questions, it is necessary to look at the sequence
of thrusts and parries between all the parties involved. Our analysis embraces the
notion that social processes are based on relationships in order to provide insights
into why and how denunciations can lead to long-tolerated corrupt practices suddenly
becoming compromising enough to force an organization’s leaders to
implement measures that would have previously been unimaginable. We use multiple
sources to examine the emergence of FIFAgate and the way FIFA overcame
previous critical situations, describing how FIFA neutralized earlier allegations
and developed a remarkable ‘resilience’ to scandal. Finally, we analyse the successive
mobilizations whose domino effect led to the emergence of FIFAgate and
the measures FIFA took to contain the scandal. Our research enabled us to draw
up a new theoretical model for analysing corruption scandals.