World Cup tickets official Ray Whelan arrested

Brazilian police have arrested the chief executive of a FIFA partner company as part of investigations into the illegal sale of World Cup tickets. Ray Whelan from Match Hospitality was held at Rio de Janeiro’s hotel, where officials from the world’s football governing body were also staying.

Last week, police held 11 people and broke up an international gang. They are accused of illegally reselling tickets, including some originally allocated to players. Police say the gang earned as much as $900,000 (£520,000) per tournament and could have operated at four World Cups. The authorities believe some of the tickets were sold to foreign tourists.

Mr. Whelan was arrested at the luxurious Copacabana Palace Hotel on Monday. He was taken for questioning as part of the ongoing police investigation Operation Jules Rimet. The Switzerland-based Match Hospitality has so far made no public comment on the issue. 

As part of the inquiry, police said last week they had identified the first name of the alleged FIFA official from telephone calls. 

Fabio Barucke, the investigator in charge of the case, said the official was free to go enter FIFA offices, stadiums and other administrative areas where he would have access to match tickets.

The official, Mr Barucke said at the time, was not Brazilian and was in the country only because of the current tournament.

In a statement, FIFA said it “continues to fully cooperate with the local authorities and will provide any details requested to assist with this ongoing investigation. FIFA wants to stress as mentioned at various occasions its firm stance against any form of violation of the criminal law and the ticketing regulations, and is fully supporting the security authorities in our joint efforts to crack down on any unauthorized ticket sales.”

Among items seized during the arrests last week were 100 tickets, computers, US dollars, mobile phones and documents. Those arrested could face charges of money laundering, criminal association and illegally selling tickets.

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1.Why was Ray Whelan arrested?

A He resold tickets that should be given to players.

B He sold World Cup tickets to foreign tourists.

C He was the chief executive of a FIFA partner company.

D He was involved in illegal sale of World Cup tickets.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据文章第一段…as part of investigations into the illegal sale of World Cup tickets可知，这位高官被捕的原因是他涉嫌倒卖世界杯门票。

2.What can we know from the passage?

A This international gang consisted of 11 members.

B It was not the first year for the gang to resell tickets illegally.

C They have cheated millions of fans around the world.

D Mr Whelan has some connection with the Switss team.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据文章第二段…and could have operated at four World Cups可以判断，这个国际倒票团伙已经不是第一年非法倒卖门票了。

3.Where did Mr Whelan get the match tickets?

A He got the match tickets in FIFA offices.

B He obtained the tickets from telephone calls.

C He got the tickets from some players.

D He bought the tickets from other FIFA officials.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据文章第五段…the official was free to go enter FIFA offices, stadiums and other administrative areas where he would have access to match tickets可知，由于世界杯的官员们可以随意出入世界杯的办公室、体育馆及其他管理地点，因此Ray Whelan有机会弄到门票。

4.What was the attitude of the world’s football governing body?

A It will fully cooperate with the local officials to do its work well.

B It will provide much details requested to help the ongoing investigation.

C It is against anyone breaking the criminal law and ticketing regulations.

D It is determined to fight against the international gang reselling tickets.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第七段…its firm stance against any form of violation of the criminal law and the ticketing regulations可知，世界杯官方的立场是，坚决反对任何形式的刑事犯罪及违反售票规定的行为。

5.What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph Seven?

A Position.

B Understanding.

C Decision.

D Policy.

解析：选A。猜测词义题。根据stress，firm及against any form of violation….判断，stance在本文中的含义为“立场，姿态”。