It is becoming clearer that the scenario surrounding the Fifa bribery allegations which forced Jack Warner to resign and in the process keep his "presumed innocence" of the allegations remains cloudy. And notwithstanding his departure from the international football body, Mr Warner could still be central to how matters unfurl in the not-too-distant future. What was not considered in the discussions on Monday in the wake of the resignation of the former Fifa vice-president was how the allegations against the Asian football president, Mohamed bin Hammam, and that of the two Concacaf officials would be proceeded with.
In a release Tuesday, Fifa indicated that "Mr Warner will be heard as a witness. He will be investigated as a witness but not as an accused party. He has offered his support to the Ethics Committee in their continued investigation." But almost immediately that release reached the international media, Mr Warner was quoted by Bloomberg Television in the US as saying, "I will die first. Not me. If Fifa wants me to cooperate, I will do that but not with (Louis) Freech"-the retired FBI director who has been put in charge of the investigations. The former Concacaf boss reiterated his concerns about the process of the investigation. "I'm not going to back a complaint made by an American and investigated by Americans and an attempt to put it on American soil because the complaint is from Miami. I don't back this farce," Mr Warner is quoted by Bloomberg as saying.
Effectively Mr Warner is telling Fifa and its Ethics Committee that if they want his assistance to pursue the bin Hammam investigations, then there has to be change in the approach, investigator/s and venue for the hearing. In all of this, the fact of the former FBI director, the Concacaf general secretary, the man who made the allegations against Mr Warner and Mr bin Hammam, Chuck Blazer, and the reality of Qatar having been awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup over the US, a point which irritated President Obama, cannot be ignored. In the circumstances there must be concern that if Mr bin Hammam is found guilty of being involved in the alleged bribery in Port-of-Spain by an inquiry controlled by the Americans, then there will certainly be calls for a re-opening of the bidding to host the 2022 World Cup. Surely the Americans will be in front the line if bidding is reopened. Juxtapose that possibility with the e-mail statement of the secretary of Fifa that Qatar was able to use its resources to "buy" its way to hosting the 2022 World Cup and you would discern the connection.
As our editorial of Tuesday indicated, Mr Warner's contributions to the development of football and football facilities in the Caribbean during his long tenure in Fifa are significant and worthy of serious recognition. However, it must be said that the resignation and the clearance of charges and the still to be determined outcome of all of the above leave unanswered serious questions about the allegations and the general operations of Fifa. For instance, what of the e-mail Mr Warner said he sent to Mr Blatter informing him of all that transpired at the Port-of-Spain meeting in May between Mr bin Hammam and the delegates of the Caribbean Football Union?
Does it mean that the settlement arrived at through the resignation of Mr Warner now prevents him from ever releasing the e-mail which he said then could have absolved him from any wrongdoing? And what of Mr Blatter's role in the ever deepening mystery? Does he escape having to answer questions about the e-mail? Frankly, the possibilities are bewildering.