FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has been put on leave by the organisation, and released from his duties until further notice after a number of fresh allegations were made about him relating to the selling of tournament tickets. It's alleged that Sepp Blatter's right-hand man was involved in a scheme which involved selling tickets for FIFA tournaments for many times their face value, and sharing in the profits that the sales made. A statement from the disgraced organisation reads: "FIFA today announced that its Secretary General Jérôme Valcke has been put on leave and released from his duties effective immediately until further notice. Further, FIFA has been made aware of a series of allegations involving the Secretary General and has requested a formal investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee." The Guardian report that documents seem to suggest that Valcke was part of said scheme, with one email thought to be sent from a consultant to the FIFA official, said in reference to tickets for 2014 World Cup group stage tickets: “we made US$114,000 each on Germany." Valcke has denied involvement in any improper dealings. Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have announced that they have approved the extradition of a Uruguayan football official, one of the seven FIFA officials arrested back in May accused of taking bribes. Eugenio Figueredo was a FIFA vice-president and a former vice-president of vice-president of the South American Football Confederation, and had previously fought attempts to extradite him. The Swiss statement says that he is accused of taking bribes from a Uruguayan sports marketing company over the sale of marketing rights to the Copa America tournaments in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023, and gaining US citizenship "fraudulently by submitting forged medical reports in 2005 and 2006". The news comes just as FIFA's situation was just beginning to slide out of public notice again, a timely reminder to those in danger of forgetting the widespread corruption at the top levels of a sport loved by billions across the world.
The is a fair amount of gravity in this situation as he was airborne on his way to Moscow when he was recalled, or chose to return, but either way done by radio shows something big. Maybe Sepp is having a crackdown or meltdown.
