Full time for Jack and Simpaul
Lasana Liburd (Express)
Friday, March 17th 2006
FIFA vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special adviser Jack Warner has legally distanced himself from Simpaul's Travel Service as the 2006 World Cup ticket scandal nears full time.
Warner, one of six ordinary FIFA vice-presidents, had his name removed as the owner of Simpaul's Travel by the Ministry of Legal Affairs early last week. The names of his wife, Maureen, and sons, Daryan and Daryll Warner, were also expunged from the Simpaul's Travel records.
Warner's legal sidestep is the latest twist in the Simpaul saga, which began with a series of articles in the Express last year that highlighted his joint interests in local football as administrator and businessman, and led to the UNC deputy political leader being convicted of breaching FIFA's code of ethics last month.
Between yesterday and today, FIFA was to decide on the ramifications of Warner's actions, which carry the threat of expulsion.
Section three of the FIFA Code of Ethics governing "Eligibility for and removal from office" states:
"Only persons with the highest ethical principles who are willing to be bound by this Code without reservation may serve as an official or a member of a body. Anyone who does not fulfil or ceases to fulfil these conditions shall be deemed ineligible to serve as an official or a member of a body and, if already in office, shall be relieved of that position.
"The same applies to persons convicted of an offence that calls into question their ability to discharge their duties. Prior to being elected or appointed as an official or a member of a body, all persons must automatically declare any interests they have that may interfere with their duties."
On November 26, 2005, ten days after the Soca Warriors qualified for the 2006 World Cup tournament in Germany, Warner announced that Simpaul's Travel had paid the T&TFF $500,000 to be its official ticket distributor.
Warner did not say, at the time, that he was a director at Simpaul's along with his wife and sons. T&TFF president Oliver Camps also claimed ignorance of this fact when questioned by the Express.
Once Simpaul's ownership became a matter of public discussion, Warner admitted his role in the company on January 3, 2006, but denied receiving a single ticket from the T&TFF, and insisted that his supplier was an unnamed European tour operator.
Warner is a board member of the FIFA Organising Committee for World Cup 2006 and Bureau 2006 FIFA World Cup, which are directly responsible for the planning of the upcoming event.
At his February 15 meeting with FIFA to discuss his ticket distribution business, Warner dropped the mysterious European seller and claimed to receive 1,770 World Cup tickets from the T&TFF. This figure, if correct, means that Warner's family could have pocketed near $18 million from ticket sales, factoring a profit of $10,000 per ticket on his package, which is valued at $30,000 each.
Warner said that he initiated the FIFA meeting so the global organisation could "help the administrator who serves on eight boards and has been a vice-president for over a decade understand the meaning of conflict of interest".
Warner was nevertheless found guilty by the FIFA Committee for Ethics and Fair Play and is the first FIFA Executive Committee member to ever suffer that fate.
It could possibly get worse by today. Warner will travel with more than Simpaul's change of directorship for protection.
A March 7 release from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which is headed by his long time friend and employee Harold Taylor, insisted that its 30 member nations stood "united in full support of their president, Jack Warner".
FIFA must now decide whether they believe Warner was ignorant of what constitutes a conflict of interest in the first place and that a name change and a few statements suggest he has subsequently mended his ways.
Of course, Warner might also point to his political strength in the Caribbean as another reason why he deserves FIFA's continued indulgence.
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