according to this reporter JC will win and Linsi will be out
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/09/16/sfnbon16.xmlWarner fights back in Fifa row
By David Bond
(Filed: 16/09/2006)
Fifa were last night rocked by a series of explosive counter-claims by under-fire vice-president Jack Warner after he was accused of profiteering from the illegal sale of black market World Cup tickets.
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An investigation by the auditors, Ernst and Young, claims to have unearthed proof that Warner, a member of the Fifa executive committee, and his son Daryan set up secret deals worth millions of pounds.
However, Warner hit back at yesterday's meeting of the Fifa executive committee in Zurich, presenting the results of an investigation by a former US federal prosecutor which not only rubbishes the Ernst and Young findings but goes on to accuse senior Fifa officials of trying to frame him.
The Daily Telegraph has seen a leaked copy of the report by John P Collins, a respected American lawyer who sits on Fifa's legal committee.
The report, which was handed to members of Fifa's executive committee late on Thursday night, also details evidence of a potentially damaging rift between Warner and Fifa general secretary Urs Linsi — two of the most powerful figures in world football.
In one letter from Warner to Linsi, dated Sept 10, he accuses him of being "hostile" and issuing "veiled threats" over his role with the Simpaul Travel Company and their purchase of World Cup tickets.
The Collins report goes on to claim that Ernst and Young's investigation was "fatally flawed" and was "based upon incomplete information and contains erroneous conclusions".
Despite the report by Collins, Warner knows he faces a major fight for his future. He made an impassioned plea to his fellow committee members yesterday and Fifa have now decided to set up a new inquiry into the controversy by an independent disciplinary committee.
It could have deep ramifications not only for Warner but for the future of Fifa, as the Collins report goes way beyond trying to defend his reputation against the latest claims over his conduct. The report goes on to raise "serious issues for Fifa and how it conducts its business".
Sebastian Coe, the shock choice to head Fifa's ethics commission to fight corruption in the game, will be relieved that the new watchdogs have not been asked to take on what is certain to become a messy political squabble.
At the heart of the controversy is an invoice for World Cup tickets purportedly ordered by Warner and worth €29,820 (£20,082).
Payment Report 20,605 is at the centre of the allegations made by Ernst and Young. It appears to be the only evidence of a direct link between Warner and the purchase of tickets which, it is claimed, ended up being sold above face value on the black market. The document purports to outline the number of tickets that Warner apparently ordered for nine World Cup matches, including England's group game against Sweden in Cologne on June 20. The invoice also includes a credit card payment form, which has not been signed.
The most recent of two Ernst and Young reports, dated July 8, says the claims against Warner came to light after a Swiss ticket agent, named Antonio Gallicchio, reported that a batch of tickets he had ordered for Switzerland's games against Togo and Korea had been sourced directly from Fifa headquarters on June 14.
Ernst and Young traced some of the tickets he had received back to Warner, claiming Payment Report 20,605 proved that Warner had ordered and paid for the tickets himself.
But, according to the John P Collins report presented to the executive committee yesterday, Warner only agreed to pay for the batch of tickets after Jaime Byrom, the joint head of the World Cup tickets office, had demanded payment.
The Collins report claims Warner's son had already settled the bill for those tickets in cash two weeks earlier. He says that Warner was immediately refunded the money he had paid on his credit card in cash once the mistake had been spotted.
Collins not only raises question marks over the use of the credit card slip signed by Warner as evidence against him but amazingly goes on to suggest that it was a part of a plot to entrap him. Collins writes: "The E&Y [Ernst and Young] letter was issued on July 8, 2006. The issuance of the letter on this date seems more dubious than coincidental.
"The only conclusion is that the E&Y letter had been substantially drafted and the 'conclusions' reached before Jack Warner had signed that document."
The allegation will place Linsi under intense pressure as the man responsible for World Cup ticketing and for appointing Ernst and Young as auditors to stamp out any wrongdoing.
Warner maintains throughout the Collins report that he did not break any rules over the purchase of World Cup tickets and that he has severed all links to Simpaul, the Trinidad-based travel company run by Daryan. The company have an official Fifa licence to sell World Cup tickets. Earlier this year, Warner was forced to distance himself from Simpaul after he was found guilty of a conflict of interest by the Fifa ethics committee. He and his wife sold all their shares in the firm.
Fifa's disciplinary committee now face the difficult task of picking their way through these conflicting accounts but, with Fifa president Sepp Blatter reliant on Warner's support in next year's elections, it looks as if Linsi is instead facing a fight for his future as general secretary.
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