(Trinidad Guardian) British journalist Andrew Jennings claimed in an article, published in the British press, yesterday that FIFA president Sepp Blatter favoured former vice president of the football body, Jack Warner, with television rights. Jennings wrote that he had obtained a handwritten letter from FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke which revealed that Blatter and Valcke secretly bypassed FIFA’s committees to give World Cup television rights to Warner, rather than sell them on the open market. The letter, Jennings said, was accompanied by the rights agreement. “Valcke wrote: ‘Here is the agreement signed by the P (President Blatter). This deal has not been through all normal boards or comm. Hence so I’m asking to make no publicity on it for the time being. Kind regards, Jerome.’”
Jennings said the letter was undated and “appears to refer to rights for 2010 and 2014 in the Caribbean region. “Warner, reportedly, resold them for around $20 million,” wrote Jennings. Jennings quoted “unofficial sources” from FIFA who claim that Warner, this country’s Works and Infrastructure Minister, was asked to pay $250,000 for the 2010 rights and $350,000 for 2014 rights but he never paid—which was well-known inside FIFA. “In an odd statement FIFA has responded that the letter ‘seems to be authentic but we cannot confirm that.’” They added that “Blatter has the right to sign contracts which can be presented to the executive committee or the relevant committee. If Jack Warner is asked not to go public with the agreement then only to inform the relevant boards first,” wrote Jennings.
Jennings pointed out Warner’s past claims that he was given favourable terms for delivering 35 regional votes which he controlled whenever Blatter stood for election as president. Further, he outlined the normal practice for sale of World Cup rights – that bids must be approved by FIFA’s TV and Marketing Committee (formerly Board) and then the Executive Committee. “From Valcke’s secret admission, it appears that neither had been allowed to approve or reject the deal with Warner,” he wrote. Warner’s World Cup TV deals were first revealed in May 2002 by then FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen in a 21-page report which attacked Blatter for running FIFA like a dictatorship.
Zen-Ruffinen’s report revealed that Warner had acquired the World Cup Rights of 1990/94/98 for the symbolic price of one dollar and that he’d received the 2002 rights “because he obviously pressured the president.” Jennings observed that Warner’s deals continued for 2006, 2010 and 2014 World cups but after his resignation in June 2010, FIFA cancelled the 2014 deal. Jennings pointed out that “this secret giving away of TV rights at potentially less than market value without, as Valcke claims, the knowledge of FIFA officials, could lay Blatter and Valcke open to allegations of defrauding FIFA.” “They could also be investigated by FIFA’s Ethics Committee for breaches of their Ethics Code for allegedly failing to ‘recognise their fiduciary duty to FIFA’ for conflicts of interest and possible bribery. Under FIFA’s rules, general secretary Valcke is the key official for deciding which allegations are referred to the committee,” concluded Jennings. Works Minister Jack Warner could not be reached yesterday for comment on Jenning’s story. The T&T Guardian was told that he was resting.