FIFA bans Valcke
February 12, 2016Former FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has been handed a 12-year suspension by the ethics committee of world football's governing body.
The 55-year-old has been banned for misconduct ranging from selling World Cup tickets with the intent of making a profit and abusing FIFA's travel expense system to destroying evidence.
The investigation into Valcke was opened last month with Dr. Cornel Borbely acting as the chairman of the investigatory chamber of the ethics committee. A nine-year ban was recommended, and Valcke was fined 100,000 CHF (99,000 euros) for the broad range of violations.
The Frenchman was suspended and removed from duties in September and fired from his post in January. Valcke denied allegations of profiting from the sale of tickets for the 2014 World Cup in South Africa, describing them as "fabricated and outrageous."
rd/jh (AP, AFP)