Valcke says reputation destroyed as he appears before tribunal

A former FIFA Secretary-General, Jerome Valcke, said his reputation had been destroyed by his 10-year ban from football, as he appeared for a hearing to overturn the punishment at sport’s highest appeal court on Wednesday.

The Frenchman, whose job was to ensure smooth running of FIFA, and World Cup in particular, was right-hand man to now banned FIFA President, Sepp Blatter.

Both men were embroiled in a corruption scandal which swept soccer’s governing body in 2015 and led to a significant change in leadership.

FIFA’s former Ethics Judge, Hans-Joachim Eckert, found Valcke guilty of misconduct over sale of World Cup tickets, abuse of travel expenses, attempt to sell TV rights below market value and destruction of evidence.

After being sacked from his post in January 2016, he was banned for 12 years, which was reduced to 10 years last June by FIFA’s Appeal Committee.

Valcke has denied wrongdoing and is appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

He said: “It takes years to create your reputation; it needs one second to destroy it; that is where I am.”

He that he was living in peace with his family.

Valcke stated: “I remain strong in my world and that is what I protect.”

He said that the hearing was ‘difficult’.

He added: “You have to be very clear with your statements. I hope that the panel of the CAS would have got my point of view.

I often ask the question to myself: why such a desire from FIFA to destroy what has been done in the past and what has been done by myself?”

Valcke, who has resettled near Barcelona, is still facing criminal proceedings in Switzerland.

In March last year, the office of Swiss Attorney-General, Michael Lauber, said that Valcke was suspected of criminal mismanagement and other offences but denies any wrongdoing.

Valcke joined FIFA in 2003 as marketing director, but was fired in December 2006 for his part in botched sponsorship negotiations with credit card firms, MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc.

Within months of that settlement, Valcke was not only back at FIFA, but at the helm of the administration as secretary general, answering directly to Blatter.

He was widely credited with getting the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments held in South Africa and Brazil up and running in time after delays in the preparations.