Soccer Governing Group Sues South Bay Travel Provider

A governing body for professional soccer is suing a Manhattan Beach travel provider for allegedly paying kickbacks to former executives in exchange for winning high-paying contracts for its events, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.

The complaint filed by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football in Los Angeles federal court alleges that Cartan Tours Inc. entered into “outrageously lucrative” deals with the soccer organization’s former president, Jeffrey Webb, among others.

Cartan Tours called the Concacaf suit filed Monday “baseless” and said in a statement that it “grossly distorts the parties’ business relationship in an effort to weave a tale that has no basis in fact.”

As pro soccer’s administrative body for the region, Concacaf manages competitions, offers technical and administrative training courses, and promotes the sport, according to its website.

The organization alleges that the cost of the Gold Cup, its primary tournament for national soccer teams, doubled from 2011 to 2013 because of inflated billing by Cartan.

The travel provider countered in the statement that “the responsible thing to do would have been to ask Cartan to provide information to disprove these claims, which it most certainly would have done.”

Instead, the travel company said, Concacaf “chose to air these irresponsible and unfounded allegations in a public forum.”

The company said it planned to bring a claim for damages in response to the lawsuit.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock