Blatter sold off World Cup TV rights at cut price to Fifa vice president: report

Fifa president Sepp Blatter sold off television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups to disgraced former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner at a knockdown price. Swiss media say that Blatter signed off the screening rights for South Africa and Brazil to Warner for 529,000 euros, just 5 per cent of their true market value.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter AFP

Warner was, at the time of the deal in 2005, the Fifa vice-president and president of football's governing body in North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).

His fortunes have since fallen after being named in the Fifa corruption probe, and he is now fighting extradition from his native Trinidad and Tobago to the United States.

Trinidad authorities arrested Warner after the United States indicted him and 13 other football officials and marketing executives for corruption.

Swiss television station SFR published a contract signed by Blatter selling TV rights for the 2010 World Cup for 250,000 dollars and the 2014 edition for 350,000 to Warner.

According to Australian Jaimie Fuller, a Fifa anti-corruption expert interviewed by the programme, those amounts "are around 5 per cent of the market value".

Fifa has been embroiled in a major corruption scandal since the arrest of seven of its officials on 27 May attending a Fifa congress in Zurich to elect a new president.