Zurich Trinidadian Jack Warner, once one of the most
powerful men in soccer, has been banned from all football-related
activities for life, the ethics committee of world governing body FIFA
said on Tuesday.
Warner, 72, was one of 14 soccer officials and
sports marketing executives who were indicted in the United States on
May 27 on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges involving
more than $US150 million in payments.
In the latest twist in the
corruption scandal, Swiss authorities said last week they were
investigating FIFA president Sepp Blatter on suspicion of criminal
mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.
The FIFA ethics committee said Warner was investigated following an
inquiry into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The
tournaments were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively in December
2010 by the FIFA executive committee, of which Warner was a member.
Warner was found to have committed "many and various acts of
misconduct continuously and repeatedly during his time as an official in
different high-ranking and influential positions at FIFA and CONCACAF,"
the committee said
Warner is the former president of CONCACAF,
the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association
Football. He is in his native Trinidad and Tobago, where he is fighting
extradition to the United States.
Warner resigned from his posts
when he was placed under investigation by the ethics committee in 2011
over a cash-for-votes scandal in the run-up to that year's FIFA
presidential election. The case was subsequently dropped by the ethics
committee as he was no longer involved in football.
Reuters
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