PORT-OF-SPAIN: Jack Warner, the man who warned once of a “football tsunami” about to swamp FIFA, has insisted he is not guilty of corruption charges levelled against him in the United States writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Warner is among 14 people indicted by the US Justice Department in an investigation into the alleged soliciting of bribes over more than two decades.

His two sons, Daryll and Daryan, have pleaded guilty to US charges after two years reportedly assisting the FBI and tax authorities with their investigation.

The Trinidadian politician was president of CONCACAF from 1991 until 2011 when he walked away from the game rather than answer disciplinary charges over a votes-for-cash scandal in the FIFA presidential election campaign that year.

That was when Warner warned about an imminent “football tsunami” about to engulf FIFA.

Questioned today in his native Trinidad and Tobago over the US legal action, Warner observed that he had not been questioned and, in any case, was no longer involved in international soccer.

‘No due process’

He said: “I have fought fearlessly against all forms of injustice and corruption. I have been afforded no due process and I have not even been questioned in this matter.

“I reiterate that I am innocent of any charges. I have walked away from the politics of world football to immerse myself in the improvement of lives in this country where I shall, God willing, die.”

Later, he told a local television channel that US authorities “know where to find me” and added: “I sleep very soundly in the night.”

Warner is a member of Parliament in Trinidad. His term is due to expert when the current session ends June 17. He can be extradited to the United States under a bilateral treaty.

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