By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
June 16 – FIFA vice-president Jack Warner (pictured) has returned from the World Cup in South Africa to Trinidad and Tobago and insisted that he has done nothing wrong despite attacks from Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.
Warner must face an Integrity Commission over allegations that his new role as the country’s Minister of Works and Transport in the coalition Government conflicts with his positions in world football, which also involves being the President of CONCACAF.
Warner was met upon his return to Port-of-Spain by supporters who chanted his name and placed a garland round his neck.
Rowley has claimed that Warner must choose between his roles and the Trinidad and Tobago Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has referred the matter to a group of prominent legal experts, including Britain’s Michael Beloff QC, for guidance.
But Warner was in a defiant mood as he addressed his supporters.
He said: ”What have I done to offend Rowley so much?
“I have asked the Ministry of Works and Transport for no favours except to serve you.
“No favours except to fix the roads, the bridges and the drains, to solve the traffic jam problems, to sit with my colleagues in the Cabinet to help improve your lives.”
Warner has claimed he will be away for a maximum of 16 days each year on FIFA business, reiterating that he does not receive a salary from the international football body.
Warner, who last week announced that he would take only $1 (£0.68) of his annual $38,000 (£26,000) Ministerial salary and donate the rest of the charity, insisted that his roles within FIFA helped Trinidad and Tobago.
He said: ”I have been in FIFA for 28 consecutive years, the same FIFA that brought [Nelson] Mandela to this country, that saw the Soca Warriors qualifying [for the 2006 World Cup] in Germany, that helped me meet leaders of the world.
“By being in FIFA, what law did I break?
“By being in the Ministry of Works and Transport, what law did I break?
“What code of ethics did I transgress?”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1732682106labto1732682106ofdlr1732682106owedi1732682106sni@y1732682106akcam1732682106.nacn1732682106ud1732682106
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