Fifa called to investigate Blazer

Blazer's bribery claims have engulfed football's governing body Concacaf general secretary Chuck Blazer has been questioned by Fifa's ethics committee after complaints were made against him by Caribbean associations.

Blazer sparked the investigation that led to the suspension of fellow Fifa members Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam on bribery charges.

The complaint is related to remarks Blazer is alleged to have made in a meeting in Zurich in May.

"I am confident of a positive resolution," said Blazer.

The official complaint was made in a letter to the committee signed by 11 heads of Caribbean federations.

The complaint is related to Blazer's behaviour at a Concacaf meeting before last month's Fifa Congress and does not refer in any way to the bribery issues currently under investigation by world football's governing body.

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[Blazer] discriminated against certain members of the Concacaf through his contemptuous and denigratory words since all the persons who were singled out were of a specific race

Extract of letter sent by Caribbean federations to Fifa

The letter said Blazer made "statements of contempt and slander that served to impugn the integrity, discriminate against and infringe upon the personal rights" of Concacaf members.

The meeting came after Blazer gave a dossier to the ethics committee containing allegations of bribery relating to a meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad, between Caribbean federations and Asian soccer chief Bin Hammam.

A Caribbean football source told Reuters the meeting spilled over into a row over who should take over as acting president after Warner was suspended, during which Blazer told some Caribbean officials they faced investigation.

The letter of complaint continues: "The statement of Mr Blazer flouts the principle of a person being innocent before being proven guilty."

It says Blazer "violated the personal rights" of Captain Horace Burrell, the president of the Jamaican Football Federation - Blazer blocked him becoming active vice-president of Concacaf.

It also alleges Blazer "discriminated against Capt Burrell and certain members of the Concacaf through his contemptuous and denigratory words since all the persons who were singled out were of a specific race".

Bin Hammam and then Concacaf president Warner were subsequently suspended by the ethics committee pending a full investigation.

Blazer claims that Warner and Bin Hammam paid Caribbean delegates $40,000 (?24,250) each to vote for Bin Hammam in his failed bid for the Fifa presidency.

The Fifa investigation gets under way on Wednesday, with Caribbean representatives being interviewed by Fifa investigators in the Bahamas.

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