Fifa chief Valcke suspended over corruption claim

Jerome Valcke is one of the most influential men at the world game's governing body Fifa. But the secretary general is under investigation over his part in an alleged ticketing scam. The Frenchman denies that he has done anything wrong.

Jerome Valcke was relieved of his duties on Thursday night Reuters/Sergio Moraes

Fresh controversy hovered over Fifa on Friday after Valcke was suspended over allegations of fraud.

The right-hand man of outgoing president Sepp Blatter was relieved of his duties and placed under investigation.

A Fifa statement said that 54-year-old Valcke had been put on leave and released from his duties.

"Fifa has been made aware of a series of allegations involving the secretary general and has requested a formal investigation by the Fifa ethics committee," the statement added.

Earlier this year Valcke denied involvement in a 10-million-dollar (8.7-million-euro) payment to South Africa in the wake of corruption allegations that forced Blatter's resignation in June.

The latest claims against Valcke relate to accusations of involvement in a scam to sell World Cup tickets at vastly inflated prices and take a slice of the profits.

The claims were made by Benny Alon, an American-Israeli consultant at a company which had a deal with Fifa to sell tickets at the 2014 World Cup. The contract was subsequently cancelled.

A statement issued by Valcke's US-based lawyer said the allegations were false.

"Jerome Valcke unequivocally denies the fabricated and outrageous accusations by Benny Alon of alleged wrongdoing in connection with the sale of World Cup tickets," the statement from New York attorney Barry Berke said.

It added that Valcke never received or agreed to accept any money or anything else of value from Alon.

All dealings between Valcke and Alon's company had been cleared by Fifa's legal department, the statement added.

On Thursday, Swiss authorities ruled that Eugenio Figueredo, a former vice-president of the South American football confederation CONMEBOL, should be extradited to the US in a corruption inquiry.

The 83-year-old Uruguayan has been charged by the US justice department with using his influence to solicit millions of euros in bribes from sports marketing firms. He was among the seven Fifa officials arrested in May in Zurich.

One of those arrested, Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, agreed to extradition and was sent to the US in July, but the remaining six had challenged a transfer to American courts.

They are among 14 people charged by US authorities over more than 150 million dollars in bribes given for television and marketing deals.

Despite the arrests, the election of a new Fifa president went ahead with Blatter winning a fifth mandate. The 79-year-old then announced that he would be stand down with a new election scheduled for February.

Valcke came under scrutiny in recent months over what he knew about a 10-million-dollar payment from the South African FA to an account controlled by Jack Warner, the then North and Central American (CONCACAF) football chief, through Fifa in 2008.

American investigators believe the money was a bribe in return for backing South Africa getting the 2010 World Cup.

Fifa has insisted it only acted as an intermediary between South Africa and the former Fifa vice-president Warner, who quit world football's governing body and his other functions in 2011 over other corruption allegations.