BREAKING NEWS: FIFA begins proceedings against Valcke

The adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee has opened formal proceedings against general secretary Jerome Valcke over allegations of corruption.

Valcke is alleged to have been linked to a scheme that intended to sell tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil at above their face value prior to the contract being cancelled before any were sold.

The 55-year-old – the former right-hand man to suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter – denies the allegations but saw his ban from all football-related activities extended by 45 days on Wednesday.

Valcke’s initial 90-day ban ended on Tuesday, but investigatory chamber chairman Cornel Borbely called on that suspension to be extended while also recommending a nine-year ban and a fine in his investigatory report.

A FIFA statement released on Thursday read: “The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Mr Hans-Joachim Eckert has opened formal adjudicatory proceedings against Mr Jerome Valcke based on the final report submitted by the investigatory chamber.

“The adjudicatory chamber has studied the report carefully and decided to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings against Mr Valcke. For reasons linked to privacy rights and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the adjudicatory chamber will not publish further details at the present time.

“In the course of the proceedings, the party will be invited to submit his position including any evidence with regard to the final report of the investigatory chamber (art. 70 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics) and may request a hearing (art. 74 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics).”