MIAMI – Barred CONCACAF president Jack Warner was accused of breaching his suspension yesterday after reminding Caribbean Football Union members they should vote for incumbent Sepp Blatter in FIFA’s presidential election.
Warner, who was provisionally suspended on Sunday pending an ethics committee investigation into allegations of bribery, asked the members not to protest against his suspension during today’s FIFA congress in Zurich.
“At our last meeting we agreed as a union to support the incumbent Joseph Sepp Blatter in his quest to regain the presidency,” Warner wrote in a letter.
“I wish to assure you nothing has changed – our mandate was set then and despite it all we must fulfil it.”
Blatter is standing unopposed in the election after Mohamed bin Hammam dropped out of the race, and was later suspended by FIFA along with Warner.
Warner’s position is a surprising one given that he had called for FIFA members to “stop Blatter” as recently as Sunday.
It also raised questions about whether, in writing the letter and giving advice to members, the Trinidadian has breached the suspension which bars him from “football activities” at FIFA, international and national level.
Chuck Blazer, the CONCACAF general secretary, told Reuters he had already reported Warner for other, unspecified, breaches.
“That’s a violation of his suspension from all football activities,” Blazer said of the letter.
He later told reporters in Zurich that “we have clear evidence of a violation of his suspension and we have reported that to the FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke”. (Reuters)
