• Former Concacaf general secretary denies allegation
• 'I'm responsible for confederation's good levels of income'
A £15m centre of excellence in Trinidad funded by development cash secretly ended up in the ownership of the disgraced former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, members of Concacaf were told .
The US-based Concacaf federation, covering 40 countries, also faces financial penalties after not making tax returns for a number of years, its legal adviser told its annual congress taking place in Budapest.
Meanwhile, the former Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer, the whistleblower who exposed bribe allegations last year, has himself been accused of overseeing financial irregularities and is considering suing the confederation for commissions – running into million of dollars – he says he is owed on TV and sponsorship contracts.
Blazer, a member of the Fifa executive committee, defended his record in charge of Concacaf, saying: "I spent 21 years building the confederation and its competitions and its revenues and I'm the one responsible for its good levels of income. I'm perfectly satisfied that I did an excellent job. I think this is a reflection of those who were angry at me having caused the action against Warner. This is also a reaction by people who have their own agenda. I now have to consider what my options are but to say the least I am very disappointed."
Blazer said he was "not yet in litigation" to retrieve the payments he was owed but said his contract had included 10% of all Concacaf's TV and sponsorship deals. The commissions and salary for Blazer totalled between $4m (£2.5m) and $5m last year, the meeting was told.
The allegations sparked fury from delegates - many of whom from Caribbean countries ended up being sanctioned by Fifa's ethics committee in the fall-out from the bribery scandal which saw Warner resign and the Asian Fifa member Mohamed bin Hammam banned for life.
Concacaf's lawyer John Collins told the congress he had instructed lawyers in England and Trinidad to investigate the ownership of the João Havelange centre of excellence, built at a cost of $22.5m . Collins said: "I received their report yesterday and it appears the centre of excellence was put in the name of two corporations owned by Mr Warner and his family." Collins said Concacaf should take legal action to recover the centre from Warner.
In relation to the tax irregularities, Collins said no returns had been filed since at least 2007 and maybe before then. Blazer said that no tax returns had been declared in the US because Concacaf was a non-profit organisation, and no profits had been made in the US.
Blazer's contract with Concacaf saw his paid commissions of 10% on all media and sponsorship deals to be paid to an offshore company of his called Sportvertising, based in the Cayman Islands. Collins said that Blazer was preparing legal action to claim outstanding commission payments.
Warner resigned from all his positions in international football last June. He had been suspended pending the outcome of a bribery inquiry, claiming that people within the organisation "sought to undermine me in ways that are unimaginable". Fifa said the ethics committee procedures against him "have been closed and the presumption of innocence is maintained".
Warner had been suspended pending an investigation into allegations made by Blazer, who worked as Concacaf's general secretary under Warner for two decades, that he had offered financial incentives to members of the Caribbean Football Union. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
