Jack heads to Switzerland to face FIFA's ethics committee; PP gov't stands behind him

Jack Warner appears before FIFA'a Ethic Committee in Zurich Sunday to deal with allegations of bribery made by a member of the world football body's executive committee.

He will appear before the committee and remain in Switzerland for the election of FIFA's president, which takes place on Wednesday. The government of Trinidad and Tobago is standing behind the Works and Transport Minister, saying no one has proved anything against Warner.

For his part, Warner has said if it becomes necessary he will quit his FIFA post and focus solely on serving Trinidad and Tobago as a cabinet minister and MP. However he was firm that he has "nothing to answer to.”

He added that people were making the allegations because of the elections. He reminded journalists that the same thing happened in the run-up to the 2002 elections.

The FIFA vice president said, "Let them go ahead I have no problem with that...I will hold my head high to the very end because I repeat here again totally I am not guilty of a single iota of wrongdoing.”

He also commented on an e-mail, which he said was simply a request for assistance for Haiti to get two big screens at a cost of more than $1 million to see the World Cup.

“What is wrong with that?” Warner asked. “A simple e-mail about Haiti to get some big screens, that make news, boy I am amazed.”

Warner predicted an imminent "a football bombshell". He said, "In the next couple days, you will see a football tsunami that will hit FIFA and the world and will shock you."

He added, "The time has come when I must stop playing dead. So you’ll see it, it’s coming, trust me it is coming by now and Monday.”

Warner is not perturbed about what might happen in Zurich. "They can do what they want, it does not bother me.”

He said he has become the target of all kinds of attacks. "FIFA has 24 persons on the executive committee, Europe has nine, if the other 15 people are crooks and thieves and no good and so on, how come England only got one vote?” Warner asked.

“Why is it the other people in Europe didn’t vote for England? And nobody wants to answer that question.

“Why is it Jack Warner is being held as the person who bring them down? So I am Mandrake then.

“The US is accusing me of not working hard enough for them. What more do you want me to do? I did for the US all I could have done."

He also said he is not about to retire. "I know when I propose to leave FIFA, but it won’t be on a walking stick or when I reach 75."