FIFA and alleged corruption: what’s a sponsor to do?

It’s been a crazy week in the world of FIFA. In the space of a week, soccer’s international governing body has been rocked by the arrest of senior executives over the alleged use of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights for FIFA games, with the fallout leading to the announcement by long-term (and newly re-elected) president Sepp Blatter that he will step aside within the next year. It’s also left FIFA sponsors in a difficult spot in terms of reputation management.