By Gilbert Alasa.
FIFA, the world football regulatory body, on Wednesday sacked its Secretary General Jerome Valcke, with immediate effect.
According to a statement by the association in Berlin, the acting Secretary General, Dr Markus Kattner, would replace Valcke.
“The FIFA emergency committee has decided, since its sitting on January 9, to dismiss Jerome Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect.’’
The body said Valcke’s suspension was part of the ongoing investigations into the corruption scandals which rocked the organisation throughout 2015.
Early in the year, the investigatory chamber of the FIFA ethics committee recommended that Valcke be banned from the game for nine years and pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs.
The body further said that his suspension, which remains valid, was extended to Jan. 6 while his case was passed to the adjudicatory chamber of the ethics committee.
Valcke, a close confidante of Blatter, was Secretary General since 2007 and had previously denied any wrongdoing.
