… or face sanctions
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Regional football bosses have been given 48 hours to comply with FIFA enquiries into the controversial Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Trinidad and Tobago two months ago, or face sanctions from the powerful world governing body for the sport.
FIFA yesterday followed through on its promise to further investigate the meeting where CFU member countries were apparently offered US$40 000 bribes by former CFU head Jack Warner and ex-presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam, in return for their votes at the June 1 FIFA presidential elections.
After slapping Bin Hammam with a life ban on Saturday, FIFA stated its intention to probe “the conduct of others who attended the meeting” and said yesterday that CFU members would now have to “provide and report all relevant information in their possession”.
“Following this 48-hour period, the ethics committee will be asked to open the necessary ethics proceedings,” FIFA said.
“Truthful and complete reporting will be considered in mitigation by the ethics committee when deciding on potential sanctions.
“Any person who has relevant information but does not come forward during this 48-hour period will be subject to the full range of sanctions.”
Following the bribery allegations, both Bin Hammam and Warner were suspended pending an investigation but Warner tendered a shock resignation from FIFA last month and as a result, had all charges against him dropped and investigations discontinued.
Bin Hammam, who headed the Asian confederation, contested the charges but was found guilty on Saturday following a two-day hearing in Zurich.
FIFA’s ethics committee also slapped one-year bans on CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester for their role in the scandal.
During the investigation headed by former FBI chief Louis Freeh into the corruption allegations, several CFU members refused to cooperate and claimed they had not been offered any monies. CFU, the governing body for Caribbean football, comprises 30 members.