By Toby Prince
FIFA has suspended its Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, indefinitely and relieved him of his duties following the release of documents alleging that he sought to profit personally from the sale of World Cup 2014 tickets he controlled.
The tickets were allegedly sold at above face value.
Valcke, the highest ranking official in FIFA after President Sepp Blatter, has denied strenuously what he calls “fabricated, outrageous” allegations.
The organization said in a statement Thursday: “FIFA today announced that its secretary general Jerome Valcke has been put on leave and released from his duties effective immediately until further notice. Further, FIFA has been made aware of a series of allegations involving the secretary general and has requested a formal investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee.”
The influential 54-year-old Frenchman has been at FIFA since 2003, but was forced out in 2006 after a US Court said he had lied while giving testimony during the sponsorship row between Visa and Mastercard.
Blatter re-hired Valcke the following year, appointing him secretary general.
Last month it was reported that Valcke was considering standing for president when Blatter stands down towards the end of the year in response to the wider corruption scandal engulfing FIFA.
On Thursday, Eugenio Figueredo, one of the seven officials arrested in May, had his extradition from Switzerland to the USA approved.
Aside from the US inquiry, a Swiss investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is underway.
