Jack Warner, Unethical or Savvy?
Jack Warner is the President of Concacaf, Vice-President of FIFA, and one of the sketchiest businessmen you could encounter. His questionable ethics when it pertains to advancing his own self-interest and that of Trinidad & Tobago are legendary.
As a proud supporter of the Yanks, I get scared every time Jack Warner is influential in any big decision. His long known favoritism to the little island nations of the Caribbean is a major concern for US fans. FIFA elects its presidents with each country receiving one vote. Similarly, each continental federation elects its president in the same manner. Warner panders to the numerous island nations, and then ignores nations like Mexico and the US without much worry. Sepp Blatter is also dependent on Warner. Blatter uses Warner to rally all of the Island nations to vote for him when FIFA presidential elections come around. The Caribbean makes up a significant portion of the votes, and Blatter would not be elected without them. So what is so egregious about this? He is operating inside the rules. The far less publicized story is that Warner uses the leverage he has with Blatter to get away with scandals and corruption. Warner has been involved in multiple scandals, and has never received the proper punishment from FIFA.
Warner is a smart guy, but he tried to skirt the law too many times. Warner’s scandals all coincidentally have to do with Trinidad & Tobago, his home country. Trinidad & Tobago played a friendly against Scotland at Easter Road in 2004. Warner attended the game which is no cause for concern, but what he did after that is concerning. He went to John McBeth, the president of the SFA and asked for the proceeds of the game to be made out to him personally, not the FF of T&T. McBeth responded appropriately. ”No, we don’t do that” he said, but Warner also approached other members of the SFA to have the proceeds made out to him directly. Warner was completely out of line, but no investigation ensued from FIFA.
There is also the very publicized World Cup ticket scandal, but there is a less publicized bonus scandal with the T&T players. After the World Cup, which saw T&T make an admirable showing, there were bonuses due to the players. Warner reported that the FA had collected TT $18.25 million, and spent TT $17.9 million. Warner promised the players half of the difference, and the players could not believe the FF had profited so little from going to The World Cup. 13 members of the team retired from international football in protest, until their rightful bonus was given to them. It was later revealed that the FF had amassed more than TT $173 million. The players were rightfully suspicious.
Warner also damaged the possibility of the US hosting the World Cup (something I am not happy about). Warner said that he would ”battle to bring…the tournament to his region”, as he should. Warner controls 3 of the 24 votes when deciding where to host the World Cup, making him very powerful on this matter. He said in that same interview that he would favor Italy, or Spain if the World Cup were to go to Europe. He since changed those statements in hopes of securing a friendly against England for T&T. After he secured a useless friendly in T&T, he changed his mind about England hosting the World Cup. Warner said “The time has come” for England to host a World Cup. It was a big blow for the US’s bid to host in 2018. If your own regional president does not back you, the whole bid could be jeopardized.
What ever you may think of Warner, he was smart enough to get himself in a position where he cannot be reprimanded for his misconduct.
What do you guys think about Warner? Is he as unethical as the evidence points to? You get to decide for your self.
[Sources: BBC Sport, Sunday Herald, BBC Sport International, Gaurdian]
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Jack Warner is every bit the scum that you allege. I am beginning to think that the only way to get the US out of this position is for Mexico, Canada and the US to threaten to break away from CONCACAF and bring as many other contiguous Central American nations with us who will join a true North and Central American Federation. Leave the Caribs to themselves.
It is going to be time to play hardball with FIFA over this issue. A serious threat and unified action from the US and Mexico should be enough, but with Canada along it could work to force FIFA’s hand. If in the end all that is accomplished is that Warner is gone as CONCACAF head, then the effort will be worth it.
Of course, when has Mexico and the US ever collaborated at this level? Well, never. But it has rarely if ever gotten this bad. There is no reason for the two regional powers to have to succumb to the will of the Caribs and Warner. If the FMF and US Soccer were to collaborate and speak with a unified voice on this issue, threatening a true breakaway, with the full package, logo, fixtures, etc. FIFA would be forced to act and they would not dare exert punitive measures against the unified voice of Can-US-Mex as well as whatever Central American nations would join.
A pipedream? Probably so. But is there any other action that could change this? Blatter’s FIFA is not going to act. Warner will not voluntarily step down. CONCACAF will not change unless Mexico and the US force it to change, wielding their not-inconsiderable political and economic leverage. If this or something like it does not happen, we will continue to stay stuck. I don’t see any other way.
Unethical or savvy? Both. But unpleasant nonetheless. Martek’s spot on in his comments above. And he’s not the kind of character England should really be crawling to.
This dude is very slippery, he plays the politics very well.
I’d have to agree with all of you. he clearly is out to help T&T and himself in any manner possible, but he is in a position where he cannot be touched. Blatter needs him and he wouldnt dare go after Warner to the point where he would lose his support. As far as corruption goes, it pains me to have to see it, especially when he is the head of Concacaf. Maybe one of the reasons he doesn’t want the world cup in the US is because there will be too much transparency with money. Not that England isn’t transparent, but he said he would support world cups in Italy, not the most transparent of places.
This is what Jack Warner just said
” The United States should abandon plans to host the 2018 World Cup in favor of a 2022 bid, FIFA vice president Jack Warner urged Tuesday. Warner wants to back England to host football’s showpiece tournament, but says it would be “political suicide” not to support the United States in his role as president of the CONCACAF federation, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. “I have to convince them not to bid,” Warner said in an interview to be aired Tuesday night by the British Broadcasting Corp. “It is easier for me to convince America to wait until 2022 … I have said to England that until America gets knocked out, that’s where my vote will have to go.”
Jack Warner pretty much screwed England over…
Before the Trinidad game - Warner talks about England’s WC bid, Beckham, etc etc. News emerges that England and Trinidad will be able to use 7 subs instead of the regulation 6 because Warner has secured special dispensation from Fifa.
During the game - Trinidad use 6 subs, England 7.
After the game - Fifa may strip game of official status…
If he’s done this deliberately, then he’s as cunning as they come.
Ahmed, your spot on. This guy fools people, dupes them, does what ever he can to manipulate and change peoples minds. No doubt he is cunning, but he screws people over, T&T, England with the subs, USA with 2018 bid, there will be numerous more situations in the future as well. Until FIFA gets serious about corruption, then he will continue to screw people over.