Warner says may return to FIFA for 'unfinished business'

Thursday, 14 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who quit soccer administration last month amid bribery allegations, said he would consider returning to the game to deal with "unfinished business."

Warner, who for 21 years was president of CONCACAF, the body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, quit in June after he had been suspended pending a FIFA investigation into claims he helped facilitate bribes.

The allegations being probed by FIFA suggested Trinidadian Warner acted on behalf of Qatari Mohamed bin Hammam, who was a candidate for president of FIFA.

Both Warner and bin Hammam have denied any wrongdoing and FIFA said Warner's resignation meant they no longer had any jurisdiction to investigate him.

In comments reported by the Trinidad Guardian on Tuesday, Warner said he would consider a return to FIFA politics.

"I will not say no because you can never tell what the future holds. There is some unfinished business which I will have to finish in both FIFA and CONCACAF at the appropriate time and who knows I may go back," he said.

Warner, who was on FIFA's executive since 1983 also headed Trinidad's football federation in the past, said no one in his country had his experience of the international body.

"The only expert on the FIFA in this country is me and in the fullness of time I will tell this country what FIFA is and what FIFA is not," he said.

FIFA's Ethics Committee will hold a hearing with bin Hammam into the allegations on July 22. The body has interviewed a number of members of the Caribbean Football Union regarding the allegations that federations were given cash gifts by the Qatari who was hoping to defeat Sepp Blatter and become the top man in world soccer.