Fifa sacks Blatter's former right hand man Jérôme Valcke
Fifa’s secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, has been sacked following an investigation by the organisation’s emergency committee.
Valcke, the former right-hand man to banned Fifa president Sepp Blatter, was placed on indefinite leave in 17 September 2015 after he was implicated in a number of financial scandals.
A statement on Fifa’s website said that its emergency committee had now decided to “dismiss Jérôme Valcke from the position of FIFA Secretary General with immediate effect".
German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, headed the emergency committee which made final decision. The ethics committee’s investigatory chamber initially recommended a nine-year ban and a 100,000 Swiss francs (£67,500) fine when it passed the case to the adjudicatory arm.
The Frenchman was reported to be involved in a scheme to sell World Cup tickets above face value and share in the profits. The plan was never carried out and he denied the allegations.
The 55 year-old, who returned to the Fifa for a second spell in 2007, was also investigated by the governing body’s ethics committee over claims he facilitated a $10m (£6,8m) payment to the South African FA to an account controlled by the disgraced former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.
The news marks the second time Valcke has been dismissed by Fifa. In 2006 a New York judge said Valcke, who was then head of marketing, had “lied repeatedly” to potential sponsors however Blatter rehired him eight months later.
Valcke's duties will continue to be handled by the acting Secretary General, Dr Markus Kattner.