Fresh evidence has been uncovered in the investigation of claims of high-level corruption within Fifa, with Carlos Powell, the vice-president of Guyana’s federation, claiming “gifts” were given out at a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union in May.
Jack Warner and Mohamed bin Hammam are at the centre of the allegations claiming that Fifa officials paid and received sums of money to gain support from other federations.
The Daily Telegraph claims the football associations of nine Caribbean countries have given statements that appear to confirm suspicions of wrong-doing.
Powell told the Press Association: “Mr bin Hammam came and made his presentation and talked about what he wanted to do about football. After that we were told to go to collect our gifts – it is normal to receive token gifts at all football functions from Fifa, Concacaf and CFU.
“I was in the lobby and saw some of the other guys coming out with brown envelopes. I did not know what was inside the envelope but was told by one them it contained cash.
“We didn’t know how much inside the envelopes – only later when we read about it in the media. We took a collective decision not to receive the gifts.”
Bin Hammam was set to challenge Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency before these claims were initially unearthed, but has maintained that he is innocent of any allegations surrounding him. The Fifa ethics committee will meet on July 22 to determine if bin Hammam is guilty or not.
Warner was strongly linked with corruption claims and, in the face of “convincing and overwhelming evidence” against him, resigned from all footballing posts in June and will not face an investigation.
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