Nothing sleazy onmeclaims Jack as Fraud Officemovein

FORMER FIFA vice-president Jack Warner insists he asked for “nothing out of the ordinary” in the controversial race for the 2018 World Cup.

The decision to award Russia the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the 2022 edition in December 2010 has been dogged by allegations of bribery and corruption ever since.

And yesterday, it was revealed the Serious Fraud Office is analysing FIFA’s longawaited report into the bidding process, which was published on Tuesday.

In the report, the England 2018 World Cup bid team was found to have “accommodated or at least attempted to satisfy the improper request” of FIFA executive committee members, including Warner. Warner, inset,who denies any wrongdoing, had been a longstanding member of t he FIFA executive committee,but became embroiled in corruption allegations before being provisionally suspended by the FIFA ethics committee.

He was then subsequently arrested and charged in the United States as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe into money-laundering.

In 2015, Warner was banned from taking part in any footballrelated activity for life.

However, the 74-year-old claims there was nothing unusual about his requests and even suggested such behaviour would continue at FIFA.

Warner said: “For me, the report is not even worth the paper it has been written on and, of course, not the whopping fee paid for it either.

“As it relates to me personally, I continue to sleep very soundly at nights, for nothing in the report implicates me personally in any sleaze.

“Nothing in the report I asked for was out of the ordinary in the FIFA for the last 100 years as far as bidding countries are concerned, and these newfound purists in world football today will do the same thing and more next time around.”

The investigation, led by American lawyer Michael Garcia, found that Warner had requested England 2018 to find his “adopted son” Richard Sebro, a man with no obvious football credentials, a job with Tottenham, then at Wembley, before moving to Aston Villa.

OTHER favours granted to Warner were the waiving of a £168,000 debt owed to the Football Association by the Jamaican Football Federation and the sponsorship of a £36,000 Caribbean FU gala dinner.

Undisclosed “favours and benefits” were also granted by the FA to a team Warner owned – Joe Public Football Club. Warner added: “Everything I asked the FA for was for other persons or entities and never for my family or me.

“It is also informative to note that the FA was equally disposed to give.”

The Serious Fraud Office, me anwhile, is looking into whether it has cause to act.

Confirmation of the SFO’s interest comes 20 months after its director David Green told MPs of potential money-laundering offences, including a payment of 500,000 Australian dollars (£295,000) made by the Australia 2022 bid committee to Warner which may have gone through London.

At the time, Green said the SFO “cannot touch FIFA with the Bribery Act as things stand” as it became law in July 2011 and most of the World Cup allegations took place before then.