FIFA said on Wednesday it had fired secretary-general Jerome Valcke, once one of the global soccer body’s most powerful figures, amid alleged corruption involving World Cup ticket sales.
“The FIFA Emergency Committee decided, on 9 January 2016, to dismiss Jerome Valcke from the position of FIFA Secretary General with immediate effect,” Zurich-based FIFA said in a statement.
Last week FIFA’s ethics judges announced they had opened formal proceedings against Valcke, who had already been suspended by the soccer body’s ethics watchdog. Valcke has denied wrongdoing in the past.
Jérôme Valcke (born 6 October 1960) is a French football administrator, best known for his role as the Secretary General of FIFA (the international governing body of the sport). He is currently suspended and undergoing formal adjudication regarding allegations arising from the ongoing 2015 FIFA corruption case.
Originally a journalist with a French TV station Canal+, in 1997 he was appointed chief executive officer at Sport+. In 2003 he moved to FIFA as their Director of Marketing & TV, under the Presidency of Sepp Blatter. He was released on 12 December 2006 due to his role in negotiating FIFA sponsorship contracts with rival credit card companies Visa and Mastercard. In 2007 he returned to FIFA, being appointed Secretary General by Blatter, succeeding Urs Linsi. He was relieved of his duties on 17 September 2015, and then provisionally banned from all football on 8 October 2015 for a period of 90 days, extended on expiry for another 45 days.