Blazer sacked from CONCACAF role

FIFA whistleblower Chuck Blazer has been sacked from his position as CONCACAF general secretary, it was announced on Tuesday.

Blazer, who is also a member of FIFA’s executive committee, stole headlines across the world on Thursday when he accused AFC President Mohammed bin Hammam and FIFA Vice President Jack Warner of corruption.

The allegations were particularly focused on bribery regarding the bidding and awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, which were given to Russia and Qatar respectively.

As a consequence, FIFA suspended the pair from any football activity, but just five days after the allegations surfaced, Blazer was removed from his post with CONCACAF, possibly due to his claims of corruption against Caribbean football federations.

Blazer was ‘terminated as general secretary of CONCACAF with immediate effect’, it said in a letter addressed to him, written by Lisle Austin who has assumed temporary duty of the CONCACAF presidency, after Warner’s suspension.

In the letter it said that Austin thought Blazer had ‘grossly insulted and defamed’ associations of Carribean football by suggesting ‘that each member association was under investigation for bribery’.

Austin also claimed that Blazer had ‘improperly appointed five non-elected members of CONCACAF to congress’, while he also said that Blazer had no authority to hire a pair of Chicago based lawyers, who made the report which resulted in the suspension of Warner.

“The above conduct is inexcusable and a gross misconduct of duty and judgment. It is apparent that you are no longer fit to act as secretary general of CONCACAF and to represent its members,” the letter also said.

The firing of Blazer could also lead to the re-instatement of bin Hammam and Warner by FIFA.