Tension as FIFA sacks secretary general, Jerome Valcke, first sacked in 2006 for Mastercard scandal that cost FIFA $90m

There is tension in the circles of the World football’s governing body FIFA which yesterday dismissed the secretary general, Jerome Valcke.
The Frenchman, 55, was provi¬sionally suspended from football for his alleged involvement in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.
He was released from his duties on 17 September after being accused of a series of FIFA ethics code breaches.
Appointed in 2007, the former right-hand man of FIFA president Sepp Blatter has denied any wrong¬doing.
“The duties of the secretary general will continue to be assumed by the acting secretary general, Dr Markus Kattner,” read a FIFA statement.
FIFA’S ethics committee said on 7 January that it had decided to open “formal adjudicatory proceedings” against Valcke after studying a report submitted by its investigatory cham¬ber.
Valcke had also been accused of be¬ing party to a potential £6.8m ($10m) bribe paid to Jack Warner, the former head of the North and Central Ameri-ca football governing body Concacaf, in return for his vote and backing to South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA’S ethics committee had al¬ready recommended that Valcke should be banned from all footballing activities for nine years.
Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini were both suspended for eight years in December following a FIFA ethics investigation.
Valcke had been sacked twice by FIFA.
He joined the organization in 2003 as director of marketing and TV, but was dismissed in 2006 over a scandal involving its long-time sponsorship partner Mastercard.
He was found to have negotiated with Mastercard’s rival Visa in violation of the former company’s right of first negotiation, which cost FIFA $90m (£61.3m) in a settlement.