FIFA exectuives sacked after sponsorship controversy

Four top FIFA executives have been sacked following a damaging US court judgement which said they had "lied repeatedly" when conducting negotiations with sponsors MasterCard.

TV and marketing director Jerome Valcke and marketing executives Stefan Schuster, Tom Houseman and Rob Lampman have all been dismissed after the court judgement identified them as having seriously misled the credit card company.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has wasted no time in wielding the axe in an attempt to limit the damage of the court verdict and a FIFA statement read: "The FIFA employees who had conducted negotiations with VISA and MasterCard were accused of repeated dishonesty during negotiations and of giving false information to the FIFA-deciding bodies in question.

"Even though the judgment has proved to be very biased in favour of MasterCard, the fact cannot be overlooked that FIFA's negotiations breached its business principles. FIFA cannot possibly accept such conduct among its own employees."

It is understood that an appeal against the court ruling is unlikely and a FIFA source added: "We are determined to act ethically and we are doing the right thing."

The court judgement said there had been a breach of FIFA's obligation to give MasterCard first refusal on post-2006 sponsorship when the world's football governing body reached an alternative agreement with VISA.

The ruling stated: "FIFA's negotiators lied repeatedly to MasterCard, including when they assured MasterCard that...FIFA would not sign a deal for the post-2006 sponsorship rights with anyone else unless it could not reach agreement with MasterCard."

The judgement also says that VISA were provided with frequent updates on the MasterCard negotiations, a move which has been regarded as "an action FIFA's president admitted would not be 'fair play'."

The ruling continued: "FIFA's marketing director [Valcke] lied to both MasterCard, FIFA's long-time partner, and to VISA.

"When VISA raised its bid to the same level as MasterCard's, he declined his subordinates' suggestion to give MasterCard the opportunity to submit a higher bid based on his concern for his own reputation with the FIFA Board.

"He also declined his subordinates' recommendation that he recommend to the FIFA Board that it continue with its prior approval of MasterCard as the post-2006 sponsor.

"Instead, he told the board it was difficult for him to make a recommendation and never mentioned MasterCard's first right to acquire the post-2006 sponsorship."

A meeting between Blatter and VISA's president Christopher Rodrigues took place in January 2005 where Blatter expressed support for a potential partnership but Valcke admitted to the court that he lied when he told VISA vice-president Tom Shepard on 9 March "that it was Mr Blatter's wish that VISA get the sponsorship"

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.