Jerome Valcke, the former Secretary General of FIFA had his decade-long ban upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport today. Valcke held the position for eight years under Sepp Blatter but was fired from his position due to violation of ethics that included misuse of funds. The FIFA ethics committee handed the Frenchman a 12-year ban for all football related activities and a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (£76,600). The ban was reduced to 10 years because a broadcasting deal charge pressed against him was not proven.
He appealed to the court of arbitration to uplift his ban last February and his appeal was heard in October. Today, the Court of Arbitration dismissed Valcke’s appeal and upheld his ban.
The Court of Arbitration released a statement that read, “The offences found to have been committed by Jerome Valcke were cumulatively of a serious degree of gravity.”
Valcke first joined FIFA in 2003 as a marketing executive. In 2006 he was accused of negotiating with VISA who were the rivals of FIFA’s longtime sponsor MasterCard, thus violating MasterCard’s first right of negotiation. He was fired from the position before rejoining the organisation when Sepp Blatter became President.
