Dancing without a care in the world,
shameless Jack Warner parties the night away – hours after being freed from
prison in an ambulance suffering from apparent exhaustion.
The disgraced former FIFA vice
president claimed he was too ill to face reporters outside the jail in Trinidad
where he was being held on eight charges in the FBI corruption case.
But just hours later, he donned a
celebratory garland of flowers and whipped a partisan crowd of political allies
into a frenzy with an energetic and defiant speech professing his innocence.
'If I have been thiefing FIFA money
for 30 years, who give me the money? How come he is not charged?' the
72-year-old declared.
'Why only persons from Third World
countries have been charged?,' he added, drawing hoots and applause from
supporters in the district he represents as an opposition member of Parliament.
Pictures of the rally emerged as
FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, suggested the £100m corruption scandal was a
Western conspiracy because the U.S. and England were not awarded the next two
World Cups.
Shameless: Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner (second right) dances with supporters at a political rally organised by his Independent Liberal Party in Chaguanas, in Trinidad and Tobago, hours after leaving prison in an ambulance complaining of exhaustion while facing eight charges in the U.S. corruption case
Energised: Warner gestures while surrounded by supporters during the political rally organised by his Independent Liberal Party. He donned a cap and a garland of flowers during the festivities
Upbeat: Warner gestures next to Rekha Ramjit, chairwoman of his Independent Liberal Party during the rally
An ambulance carrying Warner leaves the state prison in Port-of-Spain on Thursday after he complained of exhaustion. He faces eight counts in the U.S., including conspiracy to defraud and to engage in racketeering
Warner
later insisted that if he has been accused by U.S. prosecutors, then Blatter
must also face charges.
He told the BBC World
Service: 'If I am supposed to be this corrupt person... he was my president for
24 years.
'I didn't push my hand
in the till of FIFA. I'm not a FIFA treasurer. I didn't write cheques for FIFA.
If I am corrupt, it must be someone else who had given me the money.
'If I am this corrupt
person, he (Blatter) shouldn't be allowed to go free.'
In a rambling speech in Zurich, Blatter today claimed FIFA would not be at the
centre of the FBI investigation if two other countries had been chosen for the
next two World Cups.
He meant England for
2018 and USA for 2022 – a dig at the British media who have led the
anti-Blatter agenda and the FBI, whose investigations led to seven arrests and
14 officials indicted on bribery and kick-back charges by the US Attorney.
Blatter said: 'They call
into question the world Cups of 2018 and 2022. In December 2010, here in
Zurich, when we decided on the two World Cups in one session.
'If two other countries
had emerged from the envelopes, we would not have these problems today.
'But we can't go back in
time, we are not prophets. We can't say what would have happened.'
Remarkably relaxed: FIFA President Sepp Blatter smiles while giving a speech at the FIFA Congress in Zurich, Switzerland, where he suggested the FBI corruption probe was a conspiracy by the U.S. and England
The FIFA president, who has held office since 1998, is hoping to win a fifth term in Friday's election
'Western conspiracy': Blatter claimed things would be different if two other countries - hinting at the U.S. and England - had been given the 2018 and 2022 World Cups instead of Russia and Qatar
Blatter
also made another plea for team unity adding: 'Given the special circumstances
and the storm that followed and the major discussions that came with them. My
president's address will be different.
'I will address what has happened and look how we can go forward.
We are going through troubled times.
'The events have thrown a shadow over FIFA but let us try to lift
our spirits. We can't accept FIFA being dragged through the mud. But those
found guilty are individuals not the organisation.
If I am supposed to be this corrupt person... he (Blatter) shouldn't be allowed to go free
Jack Warner
'These
individuals have lost sight that this is a team sport which everybody must aim
at the same goal.
'I am willing to accept FIFA is responsible but share the
responsibility with the Exco committee which is our government.
'We are at a turning point. We need to pull together and move
forward. We cannot constantly supervise everybody.
'We have more than 300million active participants and we have 1.6
billion people touched by our game.'
Blatter, who goes up against Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein in today's
presidential election added: 'It is not good that all this emerged two
days before the Congress.
'I'm not going to say coincidence but I do have a small question
mark”. 'There is no sporting event that has more fame than the World Cup especially
with TV where billions watch. So let us be careful. The idea of us being a
simple game. This is not a monster”.
'Football
and FIFA have become very important. And you the national associations are the
shareholders and owners of this. But, for this to work there needs to be
discipline.
'It's a matter of trust. Let us repair what has blown down. Let
the boat go placidly into port'.
Frosty: UEFA President Michel Platini (centre) speaks with Sepp Blatter (left) at the 65th FIFA Congress in Zurich a day after he called on the FIFA president to stand down amid the corruption scandal
Defiant: Blatter is facing calls to resign, but he insists he is the man to clean up the sport's governing body
Pro-Palestinian
protesters briefly interrupted Blatter's speech, with world football's
governing body set to vote later on whether to expel Israel from the
organisation.
The two
female protesters stormed the opening address, waving red cards at FIFA
representatives and chanting 'Israel out!' before being escorted out of the
hall by security guards.
A group
of around 150 pro-Palestinian protesters had gathered to chant outside Zurich's
Hallenstadion before the congress started. A bomb scare during lunch only
added to the drama, forcing the evacuation of the congress meeting.
Zurich
city police spokesman Peter Sahli says a police operation is ongoing but
declined to provide further details.
Reporters
at the scene said the Hallenstadion's concert hall auditorium was cleared but
the building itself was not evacuated.
FIFA
secretary-general Jerome Valcke said 'an anonymous threat against the FIFA
congress was received.' The meeting then resumed after lunch.
It came
as the head of Brazil's football federation fled Switzerland on the eve of the
vote.
Marco
Polo Del Nero left Zurich on Thursday night along with members of his personal
delegation amid rumours he was spooked by the arrest of his predecessor Jose
Maria Marin the day before.
Marin,
who was in charge of the Brazilian FA between 2012 and 2015, was one of the 14
men indicted in the United States-led investigation into £100m of FIFA
corruption.
A FIFA
spokesman confirmed Del Nero had checked out of the five-star Baur au Lac hotel,
where the dawn raids took place on Wednesday, and left the country - though he
did not state why.
Del Nero,
74, was not one of those indicted by the United States. He is a member of
FIFA's 24-member executive committee.
In Friday
afternoon's FIFA presidency vote, incumbent Blatter will try to win a fifth
term against Prince Ali. The result is expected at around 5pm UK time.
Blatter looks out over the hall during the Congress, which will decide his fate as FIFA President
Blatter with his girlfriend Linda Barras during the opening ceremony of the FIFA Congress on Thursday
Brazil,
who hosted last year's World Cup, is expected to support Blatter and its vote
may pass to another member of their delegation.
Blatter,
79, faces the biggest threat yet to his 17-year tenure as the most powerful man
in world football.
Prince
Ali, who has the backing of UEFA president Michel Platini, is confident of
pulling off a shock victory but the feeling in Zurich is that Blatter will
cling on to power.
But he
will not speak to the media after the vote as the customary press conference
has been put back to Saturday.
The vote
comes at the end of a week in which Blatter has been severely discredited by
the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA.
Even if
he is re-elected, the Swiss could face a UEFA revolution that could see the
European nations secede from the world governing body, withdrawing from events
such as the World Cup.
Speaking
in Berlin alongside the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, David Cameron said
Blatter needed to quit.
He said:
'In my view he should go. You cannot have accusations of corruption at
this level and on this scale in this organisation and pretend that the person
currently leading it is the right person to take it forward that cannot be the
case.
'Frankly,
what we've seen is the ugly side of the beautiful game and he should go.'
The
British Serious Fraud Office also said it is actively assessing 'material in
its possession' relating to FIFA corruption allegations, adding that it 'has
made plain that it stands ready to assist ongoing international criminal
investigations'.
A pro-Palestinian protester gained access to the conference hall at the end of Blatter's speech on Friday
Marco Polo Del Nero, head of the Brazilian football federation, has fled Switzerland on the eve of the vote
English FA chairman Greg Dyke also supported Platini's proposed boycott of the
World Cup. He told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: 'There is no point
in one or two countries saying 'we're not going to take part' because they will
carry on with the tournament without them and that is pretty unfair on the
fans.
'But if
UEFA as a group said 'look, unless you get this sorted we are not going to be
in the World Cup' then I think that we would join them.'
Platini, UEFA's
president, said on Thursday that 'enough is enough' and revealed that he had
asked his friend Blatter to quit in a face-to-face showdown.
The
Frenchman said: 'If I cannot tell him it is time to stop then who can?'
Warner,
who was among the 14 officials charged by the U.S., had surrendered to
authorities Wednesday and was granted a $395,000 (£257,000) bond but spent the
night in jail.
He faces
eight counts in the U.S., including conspiracy to defraud and to engage in
racketeering.
He has
not entered a plea and is expected to appear in court in July.
A judge
ordered Warner to surrender his passport and report to police twice a week.
Warner
was forced out of FIFA in 2011 over a bribery scandal but has denied any wrongdoing.
Trinidad's
attorney general, Garvin Nicholas, said the U.S. has two months to issue a
formal extradition request. He said his office has been working with the U.S.
Justice Department for about two years on the investigation of Warner.
U.S.
justice officials allege, among other things, that Warner received three
payments totaling $10 million in 2008 from an unidentified, high-ranking FIFA
official.
They said
the money was deposited in a U.S. account controlled by Warner.
Authorities
say the money was allegedly offered to secure Warner's vote and help give South
Africa the right to host the 2010 World Cup over Morocco. South Africa's
sports minister on Thursday denied any wrongdoing by his country's government.
Warner
also faced scrutiny from FIFA over a sports complex he built in Trinidad more
than a decade ago with financial help from the organisation and whose ownership
has been disputed.
The
Centre of Excellence features a soccer field, a pool and several meeting halls,
including ones named after FIFA President Sepp Blatter and former South Africa
President Nelson Mandela.
Messages
left with the center's officials were not returned. The centre regularly hosts
conferences, weddings, soccer matches and other events.
ITALIAN NEWSPAPER CLAIMS FIFA WERE INVOLVED WITH MATCH-FIXING AT 2002 WORLD CUP
Friday's edition of Corriere dello Sport
Italian
newspaper Corriere dello Sport claim the latest FIFA scandal confirms their
long-held suspicions about Italy's match against South Korea at the 2002 World
Cup.
This match and the Spain vs South Korea quarter-final were marred
by some dubious refereeing decisions, which saw hosts Korea upset the odds and
triumph.
These latest Corriere reports, however, don't feature any new
information and merely serve to remind their readers of the injustice suffered
by Italy 13 years ago.
The Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno, who sent off Italy's
Francesco Totti in a much-scrutinised decision, is currently serving a prison
sentence for drug trafficking.
'They rigged the World Cups!' runs the front page headline of
Friday's edition, adding 'Remember the referee Moreno? Suspicions confirmed on
the favours to Korea in 2002.'
Korea beat Italy 2-1 thanks to a golden goal in extra time from
Ahn Jung-hwan. Roma striker Totti was sent off by Moreno after 104 minutes
after receiving a second yellow for diving.
Blatter said at the time: 'Italy's elimination is not only down to
referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors ... Italy made
mistakes both in defence and in attack.'
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