Former FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke became the "latest high-profile football official to be kicked out of the sport" when he was banned for 12 years on Friday after causing "considerable financial damage" to its scandal-plagued governing body, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Valcke was found guilty by FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert of "misconduct over the sale of World Cup tickets, abuse of travel expenses, attempting to sell TV rights below their market value and destruction of evidence." FIFA's ethics committee, in a statement, said, "Valcke acted against FIFA’s best interests and caused considerable financial damage to FIFA, while his private and personal interests detracted him from his ability to properly perform his duties as the Secretary General of FIFA." The Frenchman "had been right-hand man to now banned President Sepp Blatter for nearly eight years." The ethics committee has already banned Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini "for eight years apiece." More than a dozen other officials have been "suspended over the last four years." Valcke's U.S. lawyer Barry Berke said in a statement that the ethics committee "is not a credible, independent or objective decision-making body." He described its Friday decision as "unsupported, unjust and politically motivated" and said that Valcke's "evidence had been ignored." The investigation also found that Valcke attempted to grant the 2018 and 2022 World Cup TV and marketing rights for the Caribbean region to a third party for a fee which was "far below their actual market value" (REUTERS, 2/13).
PLATINI APPEAL: The PA's Jamie Gardner reported Platini's appeal against his eight-year ban from all football-related activity "will be heard on Monday." Platini was banned in December over a "disloyal payment" of £1.3M made to him in '11 which had been signed off by Blatter. Blatter is also appealing against his own eight-year ban, "with his case to be heard on Tuesday." If Platini fails to have the sanction overturned by FIFA's appeals committee, it is "likely he would take his fight" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport with Blatter "poised to do the same." The ethics committee's investigatory chamber has also confirmed that it is appealing against the sanctions imposed on Platini and Blatter "on the grounds that they are too lenient" (PA, 2/14).
