Jack Warner was a world renown wheeler and dealer in the world of international soccer. Few within the FIFA hierarchy held more sway than Warner did, but it led to many rumblings of corruption and in May it led to the United States attorney general indicting Warner and 13 others within FIFA.
The Trinidadian is fighting extradition to the United States, but after its own internal investigation, FIFA has decided to ban Warner for life from the organization, according to the BBC.
Had this been done in January or even two or three years ago, Warner’s ban would’ve been hugely important and completely shocking. After the events of the last four-plus months, should this move really be shocking?
Given the details already out there from the attorney general’s investigation, the only question is what the heck took FIFA so long to issue this ban?
FIFA released the following statement condemning the actions of Warner while head of CONCACAF:
“In his positions as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, as well as other money-making schemes.”
Warner continues to fight against the mountain of evidence against him, but he also pointed out the curious timing of this ban. After all, it comes on the heels of Swiss prosecutors bringing outgoing (we’ll believe that when it actually happens) FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
“I do not believe however that this will serve as the distraction to Fifa’s present problems as Fifa wishes it to be,” Warner said, via the BBC.
“Given what is happening in Zurich with Blatter I wish to say that there is no such thing as coincidence.”
Despite having a very good point on the timing of his ban, Warner is so discredited within the international soccer fan community that this move isn’t even close to surprising.
All that is really left is for Warner to make his way to the United States to actually face the charges of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Until that conviction happens, nothing that happens to him would even be the least bit surprising.
