With the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press comes the equal onus of fair and responsible journalism. When one looks at the headline, timing and content of this article ("Warner's rise to power," June 4), in my opinion it is far removed from responsible journalism. I am fortified in the position when after perusing the over 24 paragraphs written that no one had the ethical and moral position to sign their name to it, therefore the public is being fed an anonymous article casting the most egregious assertion on a most faithful son of the soil and his family. I wish to categorically state that in 2001, neither I nor any company owned by me was ever awarded the food and beverage contracts for the stadiums.
In fact FIFA had a major issue trying to control the individuals granted the contracts because items were being sold that breached FIFA's contracts with its sponsors. A booth selling Pepsi instead of Coke is a major issue along with the sale of alcoholic beverages at a youth tournament and this occurred during almost every match day. Additionally, I have never been a project manager for or represented Semtor in any capacity. I unequivocally deny that I received any payment whatsoever from Semtor. I wish to state that I have never been summoned to FIFA to answer any questions by any committee nor have I ever been a member of any football body or association in any capacity. Therefore I ask on what basis would I be accountable to FIFA and liable to a fine of US$1 million?
Ernst & Young, a most reputable international accounting and auditing firm, prepared a report on the World Cup ticket sales. This report, available on the Internet, has never stated that I sold World Cup tickets on the black market, or that the allocation of tickets assigned for the TTFF was ever managed by me. There were at least five local organisations selling packages to Germany in 2006. Have any of these entities or their owners been fined by FIFA? Has anyone that purchased a World Cup package from Simpaul Travel complained about not receiving any- thing promised?
In 2010 there were two entities that sold packages to South Africa that included flights, ground transfers, hotel accommodations and yes tickets. No Warner involvement so no problem. Is it that the editor was unaware of the facts or simply didn't care? I am now predicting that the next article from the Guardian would be that I own road-paving equipment, asphalt plants, trucks, dredging equipment, and I have been actively involved in the building of box drains as of May 25, 2010. I am left to wonder if this is not another get-the-Warner-family-at-any-cost campaign.
Daryan Warner
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