Former football official Jack Warner (79) has appealed against extradition to the United States.
The decision by the Privy Council in London comes more than seven years after US justice sent a similar request to Warner’s home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Warner is considered a key figure in the corruption scandal at the world governing body FIFA, which led to numerous arrests in 2015 and ultimately to the fall of long-time President Joseph S. Blatter.
The former FIFA Vice Warner is accused of fraud and money laundering, among other things. The world association’s ethics committee banned him for life in 2015 for his offenses in connection with the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to Russia and Qatar. The former president of CONCACAF, the association for North and Central America and the Caribbean, was considered a particularly unscrupulous official.
However, the now 79-year-old delayed his extradition to the USA for years with legal means. Also on Thursday he spoke of a “campaign” from the United States related to the unsuccessful US bid for the 2022 World Cup. He wants to continue to fight for his interests legally.