Acting CONCACAF Chief Insists Blazer Has Been Sacked

Acting CONCACAF president Lisle Austin has maintained that FIFA bribery whistleblower Chuck Blazer has been sacked as its general secretary.

Austin has temporarily succeeded Jack Warner, exposed by Blazer and suspended by FIFA on Sunday, May 29, for his alleged role in the bribes-for-votes scandal and attempted to relieve Blazer of his duties in the early hours of yesterday, June 1, morning.

Shortly afterwards CONCACAF’s head office in New York claimed that Blazer’s dismissal was unconstitutional and taken without any authority, claiming that Austin did not have permission to take such action.

As the uncertainty continues within the body, two statements by Austin have re-iterated the fact the Blazer no longer works for the organisation, the latest accusing him of “waging war” against the Confederation’s senior vice-president, a staunch Warner ally.

Austin’s second statement, which funnily enough came after what he claimed would be his first and ‘last’, came just as Sepp Blatter was about to be re-elected FIFA President.

Austin said a communiqué issued by the CONCACAF head office in New York in support of Blazer was “another blatant disregard for process and procedure by the former staff member”.

It accused Blazer of illegally using CONCACAF services and equipment from his hotel in Zurich, the very same kind of accusation levelled at Warner by Blazer when the former was reported to FIFA for allegedly breaching his ban from all football-related activities.

The statement added: “The former general secretary…presently still has access to all of the Confederation’s online services.

“It is interesting to note that Mr Blazer received his letter of dismissal at 11:55pm [Zurich time] last night; however an official statement was released on his behalf by the CONCACAF media department just before 2am this morning.

“In my capacity as acting President, I will not order the immediate shut down of all online facilities of the Confederation due the integral role it plays in our day to day operations.”

“It saddens me to note that Mr Blazer is using the online publications of a Confederation of which he is no longer employed to wage a war against the Office of the acting President.”