Jack Warner Breaks His Silence on Garcia Report

Former FIFA Executive Committee member and extradition fighting world soccer power broker Jack Warner responded to reports of his corruption in the Garcia Report. The document states that Warner received favors from the English Football Association that included finding his so called “adopted son” Richard Sebro a job with Tottenham to obtain Warner’s support for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup. In addition, the FA withheld documents from the FIFA committee investigating Warner and hosted a banquet dinner for Trinidad & Tobago delegates at the Caribbean Football Union Congress prior to the 2018 bid voting.

Perhaps he thought he was contributing to The Onion, but Warner has written a letter in response to the Garcia Report. The Times of London received an email from the former CONCACAF President in which he declares his innocence and casts doubt on the U.S. being cleared of any wrong doing. Warner, who alleges that he fixed the match that sent the United States to the 1990 World Cup, says that his actions detailed in the report are no different than what the U.S. Soccer Federation did leading up to the bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

In the letter Warner says, “I have taken note that the investigator absolved the U.S. Soccer Federation, and I ask myself how come?” Fear not though, he was not just being rhetorical and pointed to the possibility of malfeasance by the USSF, saying “Was this not the same USSF that facilitated a visit to the White House for Sepp and me to meet Obama?”

Warner went on to imply that there was no difference between this visit arranged by the USSF when campaigning for the 2018 World Cup and those that he participated in that were arranged by the FA. This is despite the fact that a visit to the White House is not nearly the same thing as obtaining a job for someone or doing favors with the explicit purpose of swaying their vote for a World Cup bid.