FIFA decides to fire Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on May 23 fired its Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner due to financial violations related to secret bonuses worth millions of dollars.
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| FIFA Deputy Secretary General Markus Kattner. |
FIFA's statement stressed that the decision to dismiss Mr. Markus Kattner is effective immediately.
FIFA said an internal investigation found sufficient evidence of violations by Mr Kattner involving multimillion-dollar contract bonuses whose terms were kept secret from FIFA's audit committees.
These bonuses should have been approved by FIFA's finance committee but were known only to a small group of people.
The internal FIFA investigation was conducted by law firm Quinn Emanuel between 2008 and 2014.
The dismissal is a fresh blow to FIFA's reputation as new president Gianni Infantino, elected in February, attempts to restore the organization's image after recent scandals.
Mr Infantino has repeatedly said he wants to usher in a new era of transparency, honesty and professionalism. But Kattner’s dismissal is a further sign that FIFA’s violations have yet to be fully exposed.
Mr. Kattner, 45 years old with dual German-Swiss nationality, is the acting FIFA Secretary General after the previous Secretary General Jerome Valcke was also fired and banned from football activities for 12 years due to violations related to the smuggling of World Cup tickets on the "black market."
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who resigned and was banned from football for six years, is also under investigation for a $2 million bribe to former UEFA chief Michel Platini, who was also banned from football.
Swiss prosecutors are also investigating the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. At the request of the United States, Swiss police arrested seven FIFA officials at a hotel in Zurich on May 27, 2015.
US officials have charged 39 individuals and two companies in connection with bribes worth more than $200 million for FIFA marketing and television contracts./.
According to VNA
