By Andrew Warshaw
September 13 – Former FIFA vice President Jack Warner has accused football’s world governing body of “devastating” the lives of many officials and “destroying friendships” in their relentless effort to clean up the game.
The controversial Warner resigned after 28 years as a key FIFA powerbroker after being charged for his role in the recent bribery scandal, the worst in the organisation’s history.
Former Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam, accused with Warner of being responsible for the infamous cash-for-votes debacle, chose not to follow suit and was instead banned for life – pending this week’s appeal – while in recent weeks, FIFA has also charged 16 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials over their involvement.
No date has yet been set for that hearing.
Warner, who has managed to cling on to his political career in Trinidad despite reports that he was demoted in June, says FIFA has reneged on a deal not to further tarnish his name further once he gave up all his positions within the organisation.
“When I resigned from the FIFA of my own volition, it was because I was prepared to pay the ultimate price, and become the sacrificial lamb for alleged wrongdoings prior to the FIFA elections,” he told the Trinidad Guardian.
“I was led to believe that that would have been the end of the matter as far as I was concerned.”
FIFA have also terminated a 2014 World Cup TV deal with the CFU after discovering the rights had been sub-licensed to a company owned by Warner.
The CFU were told in a letter from FIFA they had not approved the sub-licensing deal with Warner’s company, JD International.
“Never did I believe that the FIFA would have engaged in such an acrimonious battle with the CFU, an organisation, which for 33 years has served FIFA well, and had demonstrated its loyalty not only to FIFA, but its President [Sepp Blatter],” charged Warner in response.
“Such ignoble pursuit has nothing to do with the cleansing of corruption within FIFA, but rather to offer the perception of an aura of cleansing within FIFA.
“In their pursuit, they have devastated the lives of many persons, destroyed many golden friendships which were forged over the years, and sadly affected generations of footballers to come within the region of the Caribbean.
“All this has been perpetuated by the men of FIFA’s gentry who were once viewed as friends of the CFU.
“This is done in the name of seeking to cleanse FIFA of all corruption.”
Warner, former president of Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), insists FIFA should also be investigating his one-time colleague Chuck Blazer (pictured with Bin Hammam), CONCACAF’s general secretary, who blew the whistle on him and Bin Hammam over the cash payments that allegedly took place at a meeting in Trinidad in May.
Warner said Blazer, whose financial records are allegedly being investigated by the FBI but who denies any impropriety, was being unfairly protected by FIFA.
“To maintain their whiteness, their whistleblower must never be tainted, and so their bias, their prejudice and their partiality continue unabated favouring a certain kind of people and damning another,” said Warner.
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