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Former Fifa official Jack Warner says he knows why Sepp Blatter stood down – and 'will no longer keep secrets'

The former Fifa vice-president says he fears for his life because of information he has

Adam Withnall
Thursday 04 June 2015 10:21 BST
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Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner hold a copy of a cheque while he speaks at a political rally in Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner hold a copy of a cheque while he speaks at a political rally in Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday, 3 June 2015 (AP)

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The former Fifa executive committee member Jack Warner has said he knows why Sepp Blatter stood down as president of football’s governing body – and that he “fears for his life” because of the information he holds.

In an extraordinary seven-minute speech aired as a paid political broadcast on TV in Trinidad and Tobaco, the former high-ranking official said he will “no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country”.

Mr Warner said he had documents which link Fifa officials, including Mr Blatter, to the 2010 political elections in the Caribbean nation where he was once football association chief.

He said he had delivered his dossier to lawyers and “respectable persons”, and warned that an “avalanche” of revelations was on its way.

US prosecutors have accused Mr Warner of taking a bribe from bidding nation Morocco ahead of the 1998 World Cup, with Fifa super-grass Chuck Blazer acting as intermediary.

Mr Warner denied this claim, and said he would reveal all he knew to US investigators. An Interpol Red Notice has been put out for Mr Warner, alerting the world that he is wanted by the American authorities.

"I apologize for not disclosing my knowledge of these events before,” Mr Warner said.

At a later rally among his supporters in Trinidad and Tobago, Mr Warner vowed not to hold back in his newfound plan to expose Fifa’s alleged corruption.

“Not even death will stop the avalanche that is coming,” he said, to cheers. “The die is cast. There can be no turning back. Let the chips fall where they fall.”

Mr Warner also said that when he heard Blatter was stepping down, he wrote him to urge his immediate departure from Fifa.

“Blatter knows why he fell. And if anyone else knows, I do,” he said.

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