Criminal proceedings opened against ex-Fifa man Jerome Valcke

Criminal proceedings have been opened against former Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke, Swiss investigators say. Valcke was put on leave last September after football's governing body said it had "been made aware of a series of allegations" involving him.

Valcke became secretary general at Fifa in 2007

The 55-year-old Frenchman was later banned from football for 12 years. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) said it is now investigating Valcke for "various acts of criminal mismanagement".

It added the criminal investigation related to the "matters investigated by the Fifa Ethics Committee" which led to Valcke's ban last month. He has not been arrested but was questioned by investigators who carried out searches on Thursday.


Valcke was sacked by Fifa after it investigated allegations of misconduct relating to sales of World Cup tickets. His lawyer said his client had done "absolutely nothing wrong".

But the inquiry heard as well as his involvement in the World Cup tickets sales, from which he allegedly sought to privately benefit, he also attempted to sell TV and media rights to a third party in a cut-price deal.

The inquiry also heard Valcke routinely used a private plane for personal use "and caused considerable financial damage to Fifa".

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