By RYAN TOLMICH
The Trinidadian government believes that it has taken the right steps towards attaining justice for Jack Warner.
Trinidad attorney general Garvin Nicholas said Wednesday that government officials feared Warner was a flight risk, but now feels confident in the protocol taken to keep the former FIFA executive in the country.
Warner is currently being charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money-laundering, and is set for a court appearance on July 9. To keep Warner local, the government has seized Warner’s passport while requiring him to check in with local police at least two times per week.
“Any person with the level of resources that Mr. Warner has would be considered a flight risk,” Nicholas said. “We certainly made it a lot more difficult for him to escape or leave the country.”
Here are some more news and notes to kick off your Thursday morning:
FIFA COMMUNICATIONS HEAD RESIGNS
The purge of FIFA’s front office is continuing with the organization’s head of communications.
FIFA director of communications Walter De Gregorio resigned from his post with immediate effect Thursday, just days after making a joke about FIFA’s demise on a Swiss television show.
“The FIFA president Sepp Blatter, the director of communications and the general secretary are all sitting in a car – who is driving,” De Gregorio asked Monday on Swiss television. ”The police.”
De Gregorio joined FIFA in September 2011 and will consult the organization until the end of the year. His deputy, Nicolas Maingot, will assume the role until the end of the year.
“Walter has worked incredibly hard for the past four years and we are immensely grateful for all he has done,”said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. “I am glad we will be able to continue to draw on his expertise until the end of the year.”
MOURINHO STATES INTEREST IN FALCAO
Radamel Falcao did not have the most fruitful of seasons at Manchester United, but one of England’s top clubs remains interested in the Colombian forward.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says that he is interested in welcoming the forward into the fold and would look forward to helping the Colombian star return to his best form.
“It hurts me that people in England believe that Falcao is the one seen at Manchester United,” he told DirecTV Sports. “He is a player who I know, who I have followed since Atletico Madrid, and if I can help Falcao to reach his level, I will do it.”
Chelsea is currently in the market for a striker due to the departure of Didier Drogba, while Falcao has returned to Monaco following his disappointing loan stint with Manchester United.
QUICK KICKS
Former Brazilian star Zico says he would like to run for FIFA president, but doesn’t believe he would win. (REPORT)
Swansea City has signed Ghanaian forward Andre Ayew on a free transfer. (REPORT)
Jose Mourinho has been banned from driving for six months due to a speeding charge. (REPORT)
Goalkeeper Adam Bogdan is expected to join Liverpool on a free transfer after featuring for Bolton last season. (REPORT)
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What do you make of Warner’s current situation? What do you expect from FIFA in the coming weeks? How would Falcao fit at Chelsea?
Share your thoughts below.
#SnitchesGetSmooches
Flight risk… lol yes. A certainty if left to his own devices. An already very rich man who was willing to take money from the very most destitute and fill his pockets with 750 million in Haiti Relief Fund money has proven beyond doubt that Jack Warner’s ONLY motivation is improving Jack Warner’s position. Whatever measures they have in place better be good- he has the resources where whoever is keeping an eye on him may suddenly become quite wealthy to look the other way a brief moment. Whoops!
Like Zico, i too would like to run for FIFA pres but i don’t think i’d win either.
That is a good joke! He should have received a promotion.
Just sitting here eating my popcorn
“Any person who has taken the amount of bribes that Mr. Warner has would be considered a flight risk”
I hope all the federations that did not vote for Sepp are orchestrating as a bloc to speed up that replacement process/election to August, just after all the summer international tournaments (women’s wc, copa amer, u20 wc, gold cup, etc). I’m with everyone else in believing Sepp set the date far out in advance in order to see how the legal proceedings unfold, and whether Lynch and company really do have the goods on him. I think we all know that if he senses she’ll primarily go after others, he’ll retract his resignation.
Seizing his passport,and the lax check-in procedures with the police, give Warner every opportunity to skip. Right now, I believe that Cuba does not have a extradition treaty with the US for “financial” crimes. many Caribbean countries also have byzantine expedition rules.
I once went to a nation run by a guy named Fido, or something like that, from a country that has great Mexican food, with absolutely no documentation except a drivers license and the required” fees” round trip, as the nation run by Fido, was off-limits to most ‘mercans.
I think T&T would rather he slip the noose in that country and let someone else handle it as it will be a circus there.