FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner resigns after bribery scandal

[News_Editor]

FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner resigns after bribery scandal

2011-06-21 05:10:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Jack Warner, Vice-President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), resigned on Monday from his position in the international body after being involved in the organization's bribery scandal.

The resignation was accepted by FIFA's governing body which said it regrets the turn of events that led to Warner's decision. The former FIFA Vice-President was accused of being involved in a bribery scandal.

Warner was provisionally suspended by the FIFA Ethics Committee along with three other Executive Committee Members for alleged violations of the organization's Code of Ethics. He was under investigation over the issue.

However, as a consequence of Warner's self-determined resignation, FIFA closed all Ethics Committee procedures against him and the presumption of innocence was maintained.

Many football associations demanded a thorough probe by FIFA on the scandal but Monday's actions may leave the issue unresolved. Warner was accused of giving away bribes in relation to the past presidential election in which Joseph Blatter, who was also investigated over the scandal, was re-elected for a fourth term.

The former FIFA Vice-President and Mohamed Bin Hammam, an Executive Committee Member, were accused of paying bribes of 680,000 Euros (around $970,000) to Caribbean associations in order to secure their votes.

After his suspension, Warner published an e-mail in which FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke suggested that Bin Hammam bought the 2022 World Cup for the benefit of Qatar. He also threatened to reveal more 'dark' secrets from FIFA's governing body.

Warner was a member of FIFA for nearly 30 years. He officially said that he step down from his position to focus on his important work on behalf of the people and government of his native Trinidad and Tobago.

The ex-FIFA Vice-President will serve as Cabinet Minister and as the Chairman of the United National Congress, the major party in Trinidad and Tobago's coalition government.

"The FIFA Executive Committee, the FIFA President and the FIFA management thank Warner for his services to Caribbean, CONCACAF and international football over his many years devoted to football at both regional and international level, and wish him well for the future," said the football organization in a statement.

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