FIFA President Sepp Blatter (Photo: FIFA)
A report by FIFA’s ethics committee found that evidence existed to support allegations that Caribbean soccer officials received $40,000 in gifts. The initial allegations saw the suspension, and later resignation, of FIFA vice president and Trinidad Works Minister Jack Warner. He had been with FIFA for 30 years. The controversy surrounds a meeting on May 10-11, 2011 in Trinidad.
“At this stage the FIFA Ethics Committee considers that it appears that on the occasion of the CFU meeting, $40,000 in cash were offered to each of CFU [Caribbean Football Union]’s member associations,” the report said.
On Warner, whom the report called “the accused,” the report said that it was “simply inconceivable that [Warner] would not have known anything about the money offered to the attendees of the meeting concerned.”
According to the report, there was objective evidence in both photographs and transcripts of cellphone text messages. His resignation meant that he was deemed “presumed innocent” by FIFA. [Bloomberg]