(Jamaica Observer) Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Captain Horace Burrell, in a bid to end the sordid episode of his recent three-month FIFA suspension, yesterday reiterated that neither himself nor his administration benefited from the US$40,000 during the controversial meeting in Trinidad.
Having first shunned details of how events unfolded last May, claiming the matter had been declared closed by the world governing body FIFA, Captain Burrell gave details following a press conference at Stewart’s Auto Sales last evening.
“I did not benefit from any monetary gain from that meeting in Trinidad, neither did Bruce Gaynor (my vice-president who attended), neither did Horace Reid (general secretary), or Jamaica. So none of us benefited from any monetary gains,” he declared.
Burrell returned to the job at midnight on Saturday, January 14 after serving a three-month ban imposed by FIFA’s Ethics Committee last October for unspecified violations related to the cash-for-votes scandal that threatened to topple regional football.
Burrell, along with a number of high-ranking Caribbean Football Union (CFU) officials, received suspensions in a sweeping move by FIFA, following a meeting in Trinidad last May when FIFA presidential candidate Mohammed bin Hammam met with the CFU membership and was accused of offering US$40,000, plus other gifts, to each association to support him against the incumbent Sepp Blatter in the June elections.
Burrell still has three months suspension.
“Initially we did not fully cooperate with the investigators, because not many people wanted to cooperate. But after a while we realised that it was important to cooperate and clear the air and I have said in a release before that it was a mistake not to have cooperated with it at the very onset,” he explained.
“I want to put this to bed, none of us benefited from the U$40,000, our country never benefited and it is now time to move on and I hope you all understand that it was unfortunate that we did not fully cooperate during the initial stages of the investigation. But I don’t want to get into any further details because you have to understand that there are other matters, and some people have made appeals and so on.”
Burrell, the CFU senior vice-president and CONCACAF member, lost his place on FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee during the period of his suspension, but he has revealed that he has been reappointed to another FIFA committee, which will be made public in short order.
“I have been a member of that (FIFA disciplinary) committee for in excess of 12 years, and within a matter of days a new committee will be announced and I expect that I will be on another committee in the next 48 hours,” he said.
He explained that when the present FIFA Disciplinary Committee was being finalised he was still on suspension and was not eligible for the position.
“At the time of appointing the committees I was on the suspension list, so it would have been difficult (to get appointed) at that time.
“However, people will not stay on committees forever and I was the second most senior person on that (disciplinary) committee of 20 and people change after every two appointments and I have served in excess of three appointments with the last appointment ending in December,” he said.
