Sepp Blatter rallies Fifa staff at Zurich headquarters after cutting ties with suspended deputy Jerome Valcke
President of soccer’s world governing body sent an email message to 400 workers assuring them of the organisation’s ability to weather the latest scandal
Sepp Blatter tried to rally the troops at Fifa headquarters after the suspension of his top deputy, insisting soccer’s embattled world governing body would withstand the latest wave of corruption allegations.
Blatter sent an email message to more than 400 employees following Thursday night’s suspension of Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke over accusations involving black market World Cup tickets.
“Please be assured that Fifa remains confident of its ability to recover from the present difficult situation and to restore its reputation for the good of game,” Blatter wrote in the email.
“I urge you all to continue your hard work to develop, promote and celebrate the game we love,” said Blatter, who is due to step down as Fifa president on February 26 after 18 years in the job.
Valcke, a 54-year-old Frenchman, was in talks to settle his multimillion-dollar Fifa contract even before he was suspended, according to an official familiar with the situation.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to publicly discuss confidential details. The official said Valcke had been in “intense negotiations” about an early exit deal, before being linked to a proposed agreement to sell prime last year World Cup match tickets on the black market.
I urge you all to continue your hard work to develop, promote and celebrate the game we love
The official said Valcke had been expected to leave Fifa in any case.
Valcke could expect to earn several million Swiss francs over the next four years in salary and performance bonuses, paid according to Fifa’s results for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The tournament is expected to earn US$6 billion in broadcasting, sponsorship, hospitality and marketing contracts.
Last week, Valcke said in Geneva that he was disillusioned with working at Fifa headquarters, amid turmoil and uncertainty since American and Swiss investigations into corruption were revealed on May 27.
Valcke has a contract until the end of 2019, tied by usual Fifa protocol to the four-year presidential mandate, which Blatter won two days after Fifa headquarters were raided and seven officials arrested at a luxury downtown Zurich hotel.
With Blatter leaving office in five months, under pressure from the investigations of bribery and money laundering, Valcke was due to follow the president out the door.
Instead, Blatter moved to get him out. He acted within days of US Attorney General Loretta Lynch visiting Zurich for a meeting unrelated to the Fifa bribery investigation case she oversees.
Lynch warned she expected more indictments and arrests. So far, 14 men have been charged and four made guilty pleas in a wide-ranging case that links Fifa to a racketeering conspiracy.
Valcke has been identified in a US$10 million World Cup bidding bribery plot alleged in Lynch’s case.
He signed off payments from Fifa accounts, which were requested by South African officials from their 2010 World Cup budget. Valcke denies wrongdoing and Fifa has blamed then-finance committee chairman Julio Grondona, who died last year.
Fifa has asked its ethics committee to investigate the latest allegations made against Valcke by ticket agent Benny Alon.
The Israeli-American published a contract with Fifa, to receive 8,750 tickets in the best seats for each World Cup from 2010 to 2018, and copies of emails which suggested Valcke tried to ensure better supply for high-profile matches in Brazil last year.
Email exchanges appeared to confirm Valcke knew Alon was offering tickets at several times face value. Alon also made an unproven allegation that Valcke was prepared to profit personally from the deal.
Valcke’s lawyer in New York said in a statement late Thursday that his client “unequivocally denies the fabricated and outrageous accusations”.
“Mr Valcke never received or agreed to accept any money or anything else of value from Mr Alon,” wrote Barry Berke of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel.
