FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke "requested a pay-off from the organisation worth millions of pounds before he was suspended on Thursday in the wake of yet more corruption allegations at football’s world governing body," according to Tom Peck of the London INDEPENDENT. The Frenchman announced in July that he would leave FIFA at the emergency congress next February, when President Sepp Blatter "will also stand down." Valcke’s contract "has three years to run and he had been negotiating a pay-off to leave the organisation, but had not been successful." Valcke’s predecessor, Urs Linsi, "was given a pay-off" worth £3.6M. Allegations made by ticketing agent Benny Alon -- that he had made an agreement with Valcke to sell Brazil 2014 World Cup tickets for prices way over their listed value, and that Valcke would receive a cut of the profits -- "have caused Valcke to be suspended" by FIFA pending an investigation by its ethics committee. Valcke, for his part, has denied the "outrageous and fabricated" allegations. FIFA also cancelled the contract in '13, "ostensibly when it became clear that the tickets would be sold at several times their face value, and the deal never took place" (INDEPENDENT, 9/18). REUTERS' Richard Conway wrote it is understood Valcke, who has held the position since '07, "wanted to be paid out in full for the remainder of his deal." A senior FIFA official described Valcke's demands as "ludicrous." Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who is standing in next February's FIFA presidential election, said in a statement, "The reputational damage to Fifa continues. Surely it is time for a new generation with new ideas to take over." Blatter, who announced that he would stand down just days after winning re-election in June, has emailed FIFA staff saying the organization can recover from this "difficult situation" and "restore its reputation for the good of the game." FIFA sources said that "he has been advised" by his U.S. lawyers to stay in Switzerland. Blatter is due to hold a meeting of FIFA's exec committee in Japan at the end of the year "but there are now questions over whether that will proceed as scheduled" (BBC, 9/18). REUTERS' Simon Evans wrote the Frenchman "has not been formally dismissed but is now "being investigated by FIFA's ethics committee." The allegations "are the latest against Valcke as the organization, and his own behaviour, came under scrutiny in recent years." Valcke, a former TV exec with French TV company Canal Plus, became FIFA's marketing director in '03 "but was fired three years later after a mishandled negotiation to switch a sponsorship deal from Mastercard to Visa" (REUTERS, 9/17).
COME TOGETHER: In a separate article, Evans wrote Blatter told the organization's members that they will "come through this difficult situation together." Blatter: "I remain confident that we will also be able to come through this difficult situation together, and thank you for your trust." Blatter said that FIFA Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner would take over "operational matters" for now (REUTERS, 9/18).
MORAL MIRE: As FIFA "was dragged further into the moral mire," UEFA President Michel Platini maintained months of silence on the tumult as UEFA's week-long gathering in Malta drew to a close on Friday. His "renowned Gallic shrug met most questions about football politics when he emerged from the closed-doors meetings." General Secretary Gianni Infantino "was left -- once again -- to be peppered with questions about beleaguered FIFA." Infantino said, ''We feel of course all very sad about the news coming on, almost on a daily basis (from FIFA). ... But on the other side I think there is a process now which has started of course which will lead to elections of a new FIFA president" (AP, 9/18).
MIGRANT CRISIS: The AP reported UEFA is donating €2M ($2.3M) "to help children affected by the migrant crisis." UEFA agreed "to give the cash to its Foundation for Children, which was established in March." European teams have already agreed to give €1 ($1.1) "for every ticket sold in this month's Champions League and Europa League matches" (AP, 9/18).
