WINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS AWARD FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE 'Best Sports Book of the 21st Century' SPORTS BOOK AWARD 'Spellbinding. A gripping account of how the beautiful game got grotesquely ugly. Highly recommended.' Gary Lineker 'Gripping...Bensinger's impeccably sourced account serves as a sharp reminder of the gargantuan levels of largesse and excess during Fifa's bad, bad days - as well as a warning that not enough has been done to prevent them returning.' Sean Ingle, Guardian 'Bensinger deftly deploys novelistic devices to turn it into a real-life detective thriller...[it] resembles John Grisham' Private Eye The story of FIFA's fall from grace has it all: power, betrayal, revenge, sports stars, hustlers, corruption, sex and phenomenal quantities of money, all set against exotic locales stretching from Caribbean beaches to the formal staterooms of the Kremlin and the sun-blasted streets of Doha, Qatar. In Red Card, investigative journalist Ken Bensinger takes a journey to FIFA's dark heart. He introduces the flamboyant villains of the piece - the FIFA kingpins who flaunted their wealth in private jets and New York's grandest skyscrapers - and the dogged team of American FBI and IRS agents, headed by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who finally brought them to book. Providing fresh insights on a scandal which has gripped the world, he shows how greed and arrogance brought down the most powerful institution in sporting history. A wild, gritty, gripping, and at times blackly comic story, Red Card combines world-class journalism with the pace of a thriller.

The full story behind the FIFA's headline-grabbing corruption scandal

About the Author
Ken Bensinger is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and an award-winning investigative reporter for Buzzfeed News. He is based in Los Angeles. Find him on Twitter @kenbensinger

Reviews
Spellbinding. A gripping account of how the beautiful game got grotesquely ugly. Highly recommended * Gary Lineker *
A forensic dissection of the Fifa corruption scandal that fizzes with the ferocious energy of a superior thriller, with every chapter ending on a cliffhanger * Mail on Sunday Books of the Year *
A gripping white-collar crime thriller that, in its scope and human drama, ranks with some of the best investigative business books of the past 30 years. * Wall Street Journal *
Red Card is the meeting of American investigative reporting and real-life cop show. -- Simon Kuper * FT *
Gripping...Bensinger's impeccably sourced account serves as a sharp reminder of the gargantuan levels of largesse and excess during Fifa's bad, bad days - as well as a warning that not enough has been done to prevent them returning. -- Sean Ingle * Guardian *
Bensinger deftly deploys novelistic devices to turn it into a real-life detective thriller...[it] resembles John Grisham * Private Eye *
Bensinger's tale fizzes with the ferocious energy of the thriller writer, with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger. -- Jim White * Mail on Sunday *
A powerful piece of reportage...a brutal indictment of the way global football was run * Herald *
An engrossing and jaw-dropping tale of international intrigue...riveting * New York Times *
A genuine page-turner * When Saturday Comes *



Book Information
ISBN 9781781256718
Author Ken Bensinger
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint Profile Books Ltd
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 644g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 162mm * 34mm