Fifa denies French Valcke approved 9 million euros payment

Fifa admitted on Tuesday that it had made a 9 million euro payment to a football official but denied its secretary general Jerôme Valcke was involved.

Fifa's secretary general Jerôme Valcke. Reuters/Cathal McNaughton/

According to the New York Times, Valcke, right hand man to Fifa president Sepp Blatter, approved the payment to Jack Warner, a former head of Fifa’s finance committee.

The daily, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, said the payments are a crucial part of the indictment against the 14 football officials and marketing executives – Warner is one of the 14 facing corruption charges in the United States over 135 million euros in alleged bribes. 

Fifa said in a statement that it had acted as an intermediary between South Africa and a World Cup legacy project to “ support the African diaspora in Caribbean countries.”

Neither Valcke, “nor any other member of Fifa’s senior management were involved in the initiation, approval and implementation,” of the transfer said the Fifa statement.

Swiss police, following a US request, arrested seven Fifa officials in Zurich two days before Blatter was reelected as president on Friday, but they said they have receive no request for assistance regarding Valcke.

Valcke, age 54, has been Fifa’s secretary general since June 2007, although Blatter fired him the same year over a 90 million euro scandal involving the MasterCard sponsorship.

However, Blatter hired him again a few months later, in 2007.

Blatter, who has faced calls to stand down, has expressed doubts about the raid, but the corruption scandal has since spread to several countries.

Valcke on Monday announced that he had called off a visit to Canada next week for the start of the Women's World Cup while Blatter still plans to attend the final.