FC’s Gab Marcotti weighs in on Federation Internationale de Football Association relieving Jerome Valcke of his duties.
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FIFA’s ethics court on Thursday opened formal proceedings against the world body’s suspended secretary general Jerome Valcke who has been accused of involvement in the profiting from World Cup tickets.
The announcement came after an ethics investigation into the case recommended a nine-year ban for Valcke, former right-hand man to Federation Internationale de Football Association president Sepp Blatter who himself has been banned for eight years.
The ethics committee – which is headed by Mr. Hans-Joachim Eckert – put out a statement saying they had agreed to place the Valcke suspension extension by 45 days due to the request by the investigatory chamber, and the extension will start immediately as of Tuesday.
The judges gave no details of the case, citing Valcke’s “privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty”.
The judges acted one day after extending Valcke’s 90-day interim ban by 45 days.
FIFA’s own ethics committee has banned numerous officials including Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini and is still investigating the conduct of others.
The emails and documents show Valcke signed off contracts with Swiss firm JB Sports Marketing AG for category one tickets for a number of matches.
Valcke was initially suspended in September over the accusations, but has maintained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
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Valcke is alleged to have been involved in a plan to sell World Cup tickets on the black market.
