FIFA was plunged into crisis on Wednesday after Swiss authorities arrested seven football officials in a dawn raid at a luxury Zurich hotel and two separate corruption investigations were launched.

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice have opened criminal proceedings in connection with the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on allegations of 'criminal mismanagement and money laundering.'

In a separate probe, the FBI will question those involved in bribes 'totalling more than $150m (£97.4m)' linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s for football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.

One of the seven FIFA officials arrested walks from the Baur du Lac hotel following a dawn police raid

FIFA officials were escorted out behind sheets at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich http://t.co/LCuxIyugth pic.twitter.com/1M8SuQMSUu — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 27, 2015

The United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the 'indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic and deep-rooted both abroad and in the US.'

FBI director James B. Comey said that 'undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA.'

He added in a press conference in New York on Wednesday afternoon: 'If you touch our shores with your corruption, you will be held accountable. No one is beyond the law, we will not stop. This may be the way things are, but this is not the way things have to be.'

IRS chief of criminal investigation Richard Weber added: 'This is the World Cup of fraud. And we are issuing FIFA a red card. Today is a good day for soccer fans and a great day for the global fight against corruption.'

Fourteen people have been charged by the United States Department of Justice, including nine FIFA officials, as questioning by Swiss authorities began immediately.

Mobile phone footage shows one of the FIFA members being led out of the Baur au Lac hotel in the dawn raid

Police officers used white sheets to protect the identities of the arrested FIFA members

Electronic data was seized in a raid on FIFA's headquarters and bank documents have also been obtained from financial institutions and some accounts frozen as part of the inquiry.

FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio said this week's congress and Friday's presidential election will continue as planned. President Sepp Blatter is expected to win a fifth term in office.

De Gregorio said Blatter, who was not detained, is 'relaxed' about the situation and claimed this was a 'good day' for world football's governing body.

Two separate proceedings are now underway, plunging FIFA into chaos.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAS) is conducting the probe regarding the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The second criminal investigation is being led by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York concerning the allocation of media, marketing and sponsoring rights for football tournaments staged in North and Latin America dating back to the 1990s.

The seven arrested in the dawn raid at the five-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich at the request of the US were:

Jeffrey Webb - the FIFA vice president and executive committee member from the Cayman Islands

Eugenio Figueredo - FIFA vice president and executive committee member from Uruguay

Eduardo Li - current FIFA executive committee member-elect and Costa Rica Football Association president

Julio Rocha - FIFA development officer and president of the Nicaragua FA

Costas Takkas - attache to the CONCACAF president

Rafael Esquivel - CONMEBOL executive committee member and Venezuela FA president

Jose Maria Marin - former president of the Brazilian FA

FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb is among six officials known to be arrested in a dawn raid in Zurich

Webb shakes hands with FIFA President Sepp Blatter at the CONCACAF confederation meeting

Former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer has already pleaded guilty to corruption charges

The two indicted defendants who were not among the seven arrested in Zurich this morning are former FIFA vice president and executive committee member and CONCACAF president Jack Warner and former FIFA executive committee member and CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz.

Remarkably, FIFA have not yet said any of these figures will be suspended.

The convicted defendants are Chuck Blazer, former member of the FIFA executive committee, Jose Hawilla (owner and founder of Brazilian sports marketing conglomerate the Traffic Group) and Jack Warner's sons Daryll Warner and Daryan Warner. The convicted corporations are Traffic Sports International Inc and Traffic Sports USA Inc.

FBI director Comey said: 'As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world.

'Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA.

'When leaders in an organisation resort to cheating the very members that they were supposed to represent, they must be held accountable.

'Whether you call it soccer or football, the fans, players and sponsors around the world who love this game should not have to worry about officials corrupting their sport.

'This case isn't about soccer, it is about fairness and following the law.'

FBI director James B. Comey said 'illegal payments, kickbacks and bribes' became part of business at FIFA

The Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich where a number of FIFA officials were arrested on Wednesday

The scene inside the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on Wednesday morning following the 6am police raids

Hotel staff trying to use sheets to hide officials as they exit. pic.twitter.com/o0VFKuFnQi — Sam Borden (@SamBorden) May 27, 2015

PROFILES OF THE FIFA OFFICIALS INDICTED Jeffrey Webb - FIFA vice president and president of CONCACAF. The 50-year-old was born and lives in the Cayman Islands and is the Cayman Islands Football Association president. Eugenio Figueredo - Former footballer and now Uruguayan FA executive. A former president of CONMEBOL, the South American football federation. Jack Warner - Former FIFA vice president and president of CONCACAF from Trinidad and Tobago until he resigned from all his positions in international football in 2011. Eduardo Li - president of the Costa Rican Football Association. Julio Rocha - president of the Nicaraguan Football Federation. Costas Takkas - a former general secretary of the Cayman Islands Football Association. Rafael Esquivel - president of the Venezuelan Football Federation since 1988. Jose Maria Marin - vice president of the Brazil Football Federation and its former president. The CBF were the football organisation who handed out controversial £16,000 Parmigiani watches at their congress in Sao Paulo a year ago, when Marin was the overlord of the association. Nicolas Leoz - Former CONMEBOL president between 1986 and 2013. He allegedly wanted the FA Cup named after him in exchange for a vote for England in their attempts to host the 2018 World Cup. Advertisement

Much of the evidence has come from Blazer, a former member of the FIFA executive committee who turned 'supergrass' for the FBI and has repaid $1m.

US Attorney General Lynch added that the corruption 'spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks'.

A simplified procedure will apply for those who agree to be immediately extradited and this will be approved by US authorities straight away.

If one of those arrested opposes their extradition, the US will submit a formal request for their extradition.

Warner was the first to protest his innoncence despite his two sons already pleading guilty to the charges.

He said in a statement: 'I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter. I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges. I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.

'The actions of FIFA no longer concern me. I cannot help but note, however, that these cross-border coordinated actions come at a time when FIFA is assembled for elections to select a president who is universally disliked by the international community.

'At times such as this it is my experience that the large world powers typically take actions to affect world football. World football is an enormous international business.

'That is no longer my concern. My sole focus at this stage of my life is on the people of Trinidad and Tobago.'

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner is one of nine football officials indicted over corruption allegations

The Swiss Attorney General would like to question the FIFA executive committee members from 2010 still in place.

They are Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), Angel Maria Villar Llona (Spain), Michael D'Hooghe (Belgium), Senes Erzik (Turkey), Worawi Makudi (Thailand), Rafael Salguero (Guatamala), Marios Lefkaritis (Cyprus), Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast), Harry Abo Rida (Egypt) and Vitaly Mutko (Russia).

Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini, also on the committee at the time, will not be questioned yet.

Insiders say FIFA president Sepp Blatter actively lobbying for a postponement of Friday's election — charlie sale (@charliesale) May 27, 2015

UEFA president Michel Platini said his governing body would meet to discuss the developments

Camera crews gathered outside the five-star Baur au Lac hotel following the raids on Wednesday morning

The detained FIFA officials were led away from the luxury hotel in Zurich just after dawn

The FBI raiding party arrived at the hotel at 6am and the last arrest was of Li, who was led from the building with a sheet over his head at 6.45am.

FIFA president Blatter was scheduled to make an appearance at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) congress at 10.30am on Wednesday morning but did not show up.

His next scheduled appearance is at a FIFA medical conference at 9.15am on Thursday.

In a hastily convened press conference at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, spokesman De Gregorio said: 'FIFA initiated this process. The timing may not be the best but FIFA welcomes this process and co-operates fully with the authorities.

'There are two separate investigations. It was a question of co-ordination. They had to co-ordinate and be as efficient as possible. The fact it happened two days before the congress, everyone is here and we have good international coverage.'

FIFA president Sepp Blatter faces a presidential challenge from Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein

PROFILES OF THE OTHER FIGURES ARRESTED Alejandro Burzaco - chief executive of an Argentine sports communications firm 'Torneos y Competencias'. TyC purchased the broadcasting rights for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Aaron Davidson - chief executive of the North American Soccer League, a professional league in the US and Canada. Hugo Jinkis - President of Full Play Group, a sports marketing company in Argentina formed in 1998. Mariano Jinkis - Vice president of Full Play Group, a sports marketing company in Argentina formed in 1998. Jose Margulies - charged as an intermediary who facilitated illegal payments. Advertisement

De Gregorio then claimed that FIFA is the 'damaged party' in this process. He said: 'This for FIFA is good. It's not good in terms of image or reputation., but in terms of cleaning up.

'For us once again, it is not a nice day and we have other things to do as well but in other words it is also a good day. The process goes on and we are looking forward to have the results.'

A FIFA statement released on Wednesday afternoon added: 'FIFA welcomes actions that can help contribute to rooting out any wrongdoing in football.

'We are pleased to see that the investigation is being energetically pursued for the good of football and believe that it will help to reinforce measures that FIFA has already taken.'

FIFA spokesman Walter de Gregorio, speaking today, said the governing body welcomed the investigations

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, reacting to the news, said: 'Today is a sad day for football. Clearly this is a developing story, the details of which are still emerging. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.'

In a statement, Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said: 'We should stress this morning's developments are very serious for FIFA and its current leadership.

'As one of the associations who nominated Prince Ali it will not surprise you to learn that if the election for president goes ahead the FA will be voting for him. However, there must be a question mark over whether the election should take place in these circumstances.

'Clearly things are changing very quickly and our delegation to the FIFA congress in Zurich, which I am leading, will discuss the position and what we should do about it with our colleagues in UEFA when we meet tomorrow morning.'

It is believed UEFA's executive committee will hold an informal meeting to discuss the developments ahead of Wednesday evening's Europa League final in Warsaw.

Jim Boyce, Britain's outgoing FIFA vice president, said: 'This is another sad day for FIFA. I hope the investigations that FIFA have themselves initiated will lead to those individuals - if found guilty of dishonesty and corruption - dealt with in the strongest possible manner by the law authorities.'

Russia's sports minister Vitaly Mutko claimed the arrests were not linked to his country's successful bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

Damian Collins, the British MP who founded the reform group New FIFA Now, said the news was hugely significant for FIFA and could have a massive impact on the governing body.

'The chickens are finally coming home to roost and this sounds like a hugely significant development for FIFA,' he told Reuters.

'It proves that Sepp Blatter's promises over the last few years to look into corruption at FIFA have not materialised and because he has totally failed to do this, it has been left to an outside law enforcement agency to do the job and take action.'

Uruguayan Eugenio Figueredo was led from the Zurich hotel in the dawn raid

Costa Rica Football Association president Eduardo Li has also been arrested

LUXURY AND LOBBYING The five-star Baur au Lac hotel, which has been a landmark of Zurich for 170 years, is a popular place for FIFA officials to stay. Set in its own park, the luxury hotel boasts view over the Zurichsee and the Alps. It is a few minutes' walk from the city centre and shopping areas. It was the stage for intense lobbying for votes ahead of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting decisions in December 2010. Advertisement

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said in a statement that US authorities suspect the six officials of having received or paid bribes totalling millions and that the crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US, and payments carried out via American banks.

The FOJ said the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating the individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kickbacks between the early 1990s and now.

'The US authorities suspect them of having received bribes totalling in the USD millions,' said the statement.

'The arrest warrants were issued further to a request by the US authorities. The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is investigating these individuals on suspicion of the acceptance of bribes and kick-backs between the early 1990s and the present day.

'The bribery suspects - representatives of sports media and sports promotion firms - are alleged to have been involved in schemes to make payments to the soccer officials - delegates of FIFA and other functionaries of FIFA sub-organizations - totalling more than $100million.

'In return, it is believed that they received media, marketing, and sponsorship rights in connection with soccer tournaments in Latin America.

'According to the US request, these crimes were agreed and prepared in the US, and payments were carried out via US banks.

The statement said the detainees would be questioned by Zurich police regarding the US request.

'A simplified procedure will apply for wanted persons who agree to their immediate extradition. The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) can immediately approve their extradition to the US and order its execution.

'However, if a wanted person opposes their extradition, the FOJ will invite the US to submit a formal extradition request within the deadline of 40 days specified in the bilateral extradition treaty.'