October 14 – Almost a decade into a World Cup black market tickets investigation, the Swiss criminal case against former FIFA number two Jérôme Valcke, for years Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man, has finally been closed.
In 2016 after an initial suspension, FIFA dismissed Valcke and he was later banned from the game for 12 years after accusations that he sold blocks of World Cup tickets on the black market as well as allegations over abuse of expenses and corruption in the sale of TV rights. Valcke was found to have breached the FIFA Ethics Code on seven counts.
He had long been Blatter’s go-to official, delivering the World Cup in both South Africa and Brazil. Yet his high-profile position at FIFA was in itself remarkable given that in 2007, he had to quit as director of marketing, accused of lying by a US judge during contract negotiations with Mastercard.
On Friday the Swiss attorney general’s office said it has decided to end criminal proceedings into an alleged tickets deal proposed for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But a separate probe is ongoing.
Proceedings against “among others, Jerôme Valcke, in connection with the award of media rights are still pending in front of the Federal Supreme Court,” said the federal prosecution office.
Valcke’s lawyers welcomed the tickets announcement as proof he did nothing wrong in that regard.
“This acknowledgement of Mr. Jérôme Valcke’s full innocence is the outcome that was always expected,” lawyers Patrick Hunziker and Elisa Bianchetti said in a statement.
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