Valcke: ´Bought´ email genuine

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has confirmed an email sent by him suggesting the Qatar World Cup was ‘bought’ is genuine.

Suspended FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner brandished the email to media at a press conference on Monday, part of his promised ‘football tsunami’ aimed at President Sepp Blatter.

Blatter is set to run unopposed for re-election on Wednesday after his only challenger, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief Mohamed Bin Hammam, was suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee pending corruption allegations.

Bin Hammam and Warner are accused of lavishing Caribbean Football Union officials with cash and gifts in return for their votes in the June 1 presidential election.

In the exchange, Valcke said he expects Bin Hammam to withdraw from the vote once he realises he cannot ‘buy’ the election in the same way he did Qatar’s successful 2022 bid.

Valcke has confirmed the email is genuine but said Warner had excised selected parts of the document.

“It was a private e-mail and we will discuss it,” Valcke told reporters in Zurich on Monday.

“He sent me an e-mail asking if I want that (Bin Hammam to run), he said that I should ask Bin Hammam to pull out.”

Warner also accused Valcke of influencing the ‘kangaroo court’ which suspended him and Bin Hammam on Sunday, a charge which Valcke denies.

“The first time I met the chairman of the ethics committee was yesterday at five o’clock before we went to the press conference. I had no contact at all with anyone,” he said.

Meanwhile, UEFA President Michel Platini has denied another of Warner’s claims, that he was ‘annoyed’ after Blatter made an unauthorised US$1 million payment to CONCACAF at a meeting earlier this month.

Platini confirmed he approached Blatter about the matter but insisted it was a joke.

“It’s not like that, it was a joke with me and Mr Blatter,” Platini said.

“He can give the projects that he wants to give. I joke, I said, ‘but Sepp this was not accepted by the committee’ – but he can give many projects to many national associations.”

“In many Congresses for many, many years the president can give one or two projects to national associations – he has his own budget and he can give to one confederation and then it has to be approved by the executive committee next time.”

Finally, unconfirmed reports are circulating that China’s Zhang Jilong will temporarily take charge of the AFC in Bin Hammam’s absence.

Zhang failed to secure a place on FIFA’s executive committee at a vote in Doha earlier this year.