
However, things got more interesting when Garcia was named to Russia’s list of 18 Americans banned from entering Russia, due to the Magnitsky List, which caused a big stir. (The Russian government also banned Americans from adopting Russian children.) Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer that had investigated the fraudulent activities of Russian tax officials. In 2009, Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison and it was suspected by the Obama Administration that revenge was a motive. In defiance to his death the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs handed over to the House of Representatives the bill known as “The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.” This was a direct move by the US government to make a firm stand against the corrupt handling of Magnitsky, who in fact, ironically, was investigating a corruption scheme that led to his death. As a result, the US government made a list of 18 Russians thought to be associated with Magnitsky’s death, physically prohibiting them access to the United States and their American banking accounts. So why would Garcia be added to Russia’s list of Americans not welcome inside Russia? Clearly, his disapproval of the controversial 2018 World Cup bid was not appreciated by Putin and his colleagues. Putin is very supportive of Sepp Blatter, FIFA and all too thrilled to have out bid England for the honor of hosting the World Cup.