Bin Hammam and Warner suspended by FIFA

FIFA has provisionally suspended executive committee members Mohamed Bin Hammam and Jack Warner after Sunday's meeting of its ethics committee.



Football's governing body will now begin a full investigation into allegations that bribes were offered to members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).



CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester have also been suspended.



But FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was accused of not reporting the evidence when it was brought to his attention, was found to have no case to answer.



Petrus Damaseb, deputy chairman of the ethics committee, said of Bin Hammam and Warner: "We are satisfied that there is a case to be answered."



However, FIFA insists that they are innocent until proven guilty.



If found guilty, the pair could be expelled from the organisation and banned from all football activity.



Bin Hammam due to oppose Blatter in the forthcoming election for the FIFA presidency but he withdrew in the early hours of Sunday morning in the wake of the allegations.



FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke confirmed that Wednesday's election would go ahead unless three-quarters of the 208 delegates voted to change the agenda.



"I am not FIFA, I can't change the agenda," Valcke said. "It is up to the delegates - they have the final say."



"I don't see what is wrong with this election with Mr Sepp Blatter.



"I think the most important thing is a commitment from all the members of the FIFA ExCo with the president to support a change within FIFA and in his last mandate make sure that FIFA is stronger and cleaner than it was.



"Maybe we can have the top guys around the world come to put things in place to stop these things from happening again."



The Qatari and his colleague, FIFA vice-president Warner, were forced to answer charges of bribery following allegations made by executive committee member Chuck Blazer in Zurich on Sunday.



It was alleged that they offered bribes at a meeting of the CFU on 10 and 11 May.



A file of evidence claimed cash payments of up to $40,000 were handed over to members of the CFU at the meeting in Trinidad.



The payments were allegedly made to secure votes for Bin Hammam in his bid to become FIFA president.



After the meeting, Blatter said in a statement: "The FIFA ethics committee has reached its decisions.



"I do not wish to comment in detail. But simply to say that I regret what has happened in the last few days and weeks.



"FIFA's image has suffered a great deal as a result, much to the disappointment of FIFA itself and all football fans."



Warner said he was shocked and surprised by the decision to suspend him.



"I will vigorously defend my reputation as well as the reputation of the rest of the Caribbean members," he said.



"I denied the allegations that I made statements at the CFU (Caribbean Football Union) meeting about gifts being given by Mr Bin Hammam. I also indicated that at the Miami CONCACAF Congress on May 3 Mr Blatter made a gift of one million USD to CONCACAF to spend as it deems fit."



He added: "This annoyed (UEFA) President Michel Platini who was present and he approached Secretary General Jerome Valcke complaining that Mr Blatter had no permission from the Finance Committee to make this gift to which Jerome replied that he will find the money for Mr Blatter.



"I also indicated at the CFU meeting held in Trinidad on May 10 which was requested by Mr Bin Hammam, FIFA through Mr Blatter organised gifts of laptops and projectors to all members of the Caribbean and no objections have been made today of this to date."



Bin Hammam also expressed his unhappiness with the verdict.



"I'm very disappointed about the way the status of the proceeding has been presented at the media conference," he said. "This is not how I understand fair play. I'm reserving all my rights."



Asked if the latest developments marked a nadir for FIFA, Valcke replied: "The reputation of FIFA? Maybe it's not at the highest, that's clear. It's sad.



"Definitely, there is a need for change. I'm not the FIFA president so he is the one who must decide what he wants to do and FIFA must make the necessary changes so that the institution has systems in place to avoid something like this happening again.



"This is the pattern of the work which we have to do very quickly in the next few months."




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France technical director suspended amid race row

The technical director of the French Football Federation, Francois Blaquart, has been suspended amid allegations of a plan to enforce racial quotas in youth academies.



Chantal Jouanno, France's sports minister, said Blaquart was suspended with immediate effect "pending the conclusions of an investigation led by the FFF and the IGJS [General Inspection of Youth and Sports]".



The story cited sources within the FFF claiming Blaquart advocated limiting the number of non-white children entering the selection process through training centres and academies.



On Saturday Mediapart published further claims about a meeting at which Blaquart, the France coach, Laurent Blanc, the under-21 coach, Erick Mombaerts, and the under-20 coach, Francis Smerecki, among others, allegedly debated African players with dual nationality who were groomed in France but opted to play for their country of origin.



"We can mark out, in an unspoken way, a sort of quota. But it needs to remain unspoken," Blaquart was quoted as saying by Mediapart.



Blaquart told RMC website : "I cannot not acknowledge these remarks. But they have to be put in their context. We acknowledged the fact that there were many players with dual nationality ... we had to control the management of these players who might be leaving us. There is nothing more to it."



Blanc, who played in the 1998 World Cup-winning team that was dubbed "Black-Blanc-Beur" (Blacks, Whites and Arabs) by French media, has often raised the issue of dual nationality players, but rejected the claim he was in favour of racial quotas.



"No such project has been revealed to me,' he said. "It's a lie. You cannot have quotas in football. It does not exist. Football is made of diversity. It really bothers me because it's against my values. To me, this is totally false."



Blanc said in a statement: "I do not withdraw what I said yesterday. I admit that some remarks made during a work meeting, taken out of their context, may be misinterpreted and, as far as I am concerned, I apologise if I have hurt some feelings. But I, who am against any form of discrimination, do not stand being accused of racism or xenophobia."



"One has to be insincere not to see that the debate I took part in had obviously nothing to do with 'reducing the number of blacks and Arabs in French football' as the article's headline said.



The only question was to "discuss the future of French football and deal with the delicate problem of players with dual nationality..."



The FFF president, Fernand Duchaussoy, has also denied any such policy existed.



"What happened in a meeting, behind a door or in the corridors... I cannot vouch for everyone working at the federation," he said. "But I am confident [that there was no wrongdoing]," he said. The FFF's investigation into the claims is expected to be completed within eight days.



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French president suspended over Messi bid

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The president of a French village team has been suspended by the French Football Federation (FFF) after he made a transfer bid for Lionel Messi.



Cedric Enjolras, president of FC Borne, has been hit with a six-month ban, three of which are suspended, after he attempted to lodge the bid with the Spanish champions.



Borne, a village of 400 people, play in the second division of the Haute-Loire league and their transfer offer was blocked by the player registration office of the FFF.



"To submit bids among small clubs, you need to fill out forms on the internet," Enjolras is reported as saying by The Guardian. "I decided to register a bid so I typed the name Lionel Messi, his date of birth and his parent club into the system. Then the league transmitted the request to the federation.



"They were shocked by it and refused to send it to their Spanish counterparts. I have been suspended for six months, of which three are suspended. It was just a joke, to amuse friends."



The FFF failed to see the funny side of the joke bid and described the club's behaviour as unacceptable.



"One cannot accept such behaviour," said Yves Begon of the player registration office. "It is perhaps a joke but we are here to judge the facts."



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