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FIFA bigwig probed over ticket scam

Jack Warner, a FIFA vice president, will face the organization's disciplinary committee over allegations he illegally sold thousands of tickets during the World Cup.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter told a press conference on Friday that Warner -- the president of CONCACAF -- would have to go before the 19-member committee over accusations that he sold World Cup tickets at inflated prices.

According to British media reports, Warner was involved in the sale of thousands of World Cup tickets on the black market, including to 900 England fans.

The Daily Mail reported it had obtained confidential reports produced by auditors Ernst & Young for FIFA revealing that Warner made at least US$933,000 selling World Cup tickets.

In a statement released through CONCACAF late on Friday, Warner disputed the accusations and said he had instructed his Swiss lawyers to sue for defamation "against persons unknown and in the environment of FIFA and the authors of the report, Ernst & Young."

"I was shocked when I saw the report in the media and all the more shocked when I read the incorrect facts and conclusions it contained," Warner said in the release. "The report is incomplete, biased and wrong."

Blatter said that FIFA's newly established ethics committee was "not the appropriate venue" to investigate the claims against Warner.

"The ethics committee is not ready to deal with cases that occurred until now," Blatter said.

FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said later that no date has been set for the committee to meet.

World soccer's governing body did not elaborate on what Warner's possible punishment might be if found to have acted illegally.

Blatter confirmed that FIFA had been notified of the ticket sales by Ernest & Young months before making the information public, and said the organization had sought to deal with the case internally.

He said internal documents passed to the press which revealed details about the irregular ticket sales were "a leakage which we will try to identify."

Another senior FIFA official, executive committee member Ismail Bhamjee of Botswana, was sent home from the World Cup in Germany for ticket scalping. The 62-year-old Bhamjee sold 12 tickets for England's match against Trinidad and Tobago for US$380 each. The tickets had a face value of US$127 apiece.

Blatter said the cases could not be compared.

"This situation is completely different. Jack Warner flatly denies the charges or evidence against him, and every person is entitled to the right to defend themselves," Blatter said.

"Ismail Bhamjee admitted that he had committed more than an error and even signed a document saying that he had done wrong," he said.
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