Jack Warner suspended from FIFA

Jack Warner has been suspended today as FIFA Vice President, pending investigations into allegations of bribery by the football governing body's ethics committee. Warner, in a media release today said he was "shocked and surprised" by the suspension. But even as he absorbed that blow, Warner hit back at FIFA's general secretary, Jerome Valcke, executive committee member and whistle-blower Chuck Blazer and even current president Sepp Blatter.
Warner, in a three page discourse sent via e-mail from Zurich, Switzerland were the hearing was held today, said the allegations of a "special meeting" between the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and Qatari millionaire and former FIFA president hopeful Mohamed Bin Hammam were false.
He said those types of meetings were a normal part of FIFA's operations and even noted that Blatter held similar meetings with 37 country representatives in South Africa at one point.
Warned even made allegations of his own, calling the hearing itself "biased".
He said proof of this bias was evidenced by the fact that he was not provided with any written documents outlining the allegations but only heard them for the first time at the hearing. He said even the statements that he provided to the five-member ethics committee was met with bias, as no translator was on hand to interpret for the Uruguayan native on the panel, which compromised both his and Hammam's statements.
Warner questioned the credibility of Blazer, by citing a five-year-old legal issue between Master Card, VISA and FIFA, in which a New York District Judge rejected Blazers testimony in that case as a "fabrication".
He noted that Valcke asked him to use his influence in CONCACAF, of which he is also president, to sway voters in the June 1st FIFA presidential elections.
Warner's suspension is expected to last just one month as the committee deliberates but while his future in FIFA hangs in the balance, locals are questioning his standing as the Minister of Works and Transport. When news of the hearing broke, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan pleged his support to his colleague but noted that the outcome of the hearing could have negative ramifications on Warner's year old political career.
Oppostion Member of Parliament for Diego Martin East Colm Imbert said the Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, would have to make the final decision after Warner's suspension was up and the FIFA'a final decision was made public.
As it stands now, Warner, the regions de facto leader in all things football, is barred from any and all football related activities until the matter is completed.