Jack Warner quits FIFA, ethics case dropped

21.JUN.11

Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has resigned, the world football’s governing body has confirmed.{{more}}

“As a consequence of Mr .Warner’s resignation, all ethics committee procedures against him have been closed and the presumption of innocence is maintained,” said a Fifa statement.

Warner was suspended pending an investigation into bribery allegations.

He and fellow Fifa member Mohamed Bin Hammam are alleged to have paid bribes of £600,000 to Caribbean associations.

Chuck Blazer, general secretary of the Concacaf federation Warner had been president of, alleged that violations of Fifa’s code of ethics occurred during a meeting organised by Bin Hammam and Warner in May.

In a statement, Warner said: “I am convinced, and I am advised by counsel, that since my actions did not extend beyond facilitating the meeting that gave Mr Bin Hammam an opportunity to pursue his aborted bid for the Fifa presidency, I would be fully exonerated by any objective arbiter.

“I have, nonetheless, arrived at the decision to withdraw from Fifa affairs in order to spare Fifa, Concacaf and, in particular, CFU and its membership, from further acrimony and divisiveness arising from this and related issues.”

Warner also told Bloomberg press agency he felt he had been “hung out to dry” and insisted the giving of gifts has been part of Fifa culture during his 30 years in the organisation.

“It’s not unusual for such things to happen and gifts have been around throughout the history of Fifa,” he said. “What’s happening now for me is hypocrisy.”

He added: “I have lost my enthusiasm to continue. The general secretary that I had employed, who worked with me for 21 years, with the assistance of elements of Fifa has sought to undermine me in ways that are unimaginable.

“This is giving the impression that Fifa is sanitising itself. I’ve been hung out to dry continually and I’m not prepared to take that.”

Blazer’s allegations were preceded by claims made in parliament by Lord Triesman, the former head of England’s failed 2018 World Cup bid, about irregularities in the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup.

Triesman, who was also former chairman of the Football Association, accused Warner and three other Fifa Executive Committee members of improper conduct during England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

According to Triesman, in exchange for voting for England to host the World Cup, Warner had asked for cash to build an education centre in Trinidad and to buy World Cup television rights for Haiti.

The 68-year-old had been the longest-serving member of Fifa’s executive committee, and a FIFA statement continued: “Fifa regrets the turn of events that have led to Mr Warner’s decision.”