LAUSANNE:  Jerome Valcke has lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a 10-year ban from football which had been imposed by the ethics committee of world federation FIFA.

Valcke, appointed secretary-general in the summer of 2007, was sacked in January 2016 over the illicit sale of World Cup tickets, abuse of travel expenses, attempting to sell World Cup television rights below market value, destruction of evidence and failure to cooperate with the ethics inquiry.

He was also accused over unregulated spending, notably on private jets.

Valcke was initially banned for 12 years, subsequently reduced to 10 by FIFA’s own appeal committee. He contested both verdict and sentence at CAS and has said that, in the case of further rejection, will appeal to the Swiss Federal Court.

A CAS statement said: “The offences found to have been committed by Jerome Valcke were cumulatively of a serious degree of gravity.” Hence the ban and accompanying fine of 100,000 Swiss francs “were wholly proportionate.”

The former TV journalist from France who rose rapidly through the sports business ranks with Canal+ and Sport+, played a crucial role in ensuring that South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014 were organisational in place to host their World Cups.

He now lives in Barcelona where he has up a promotions and marketing company.

Valcke, who denies all wrongdoing, also faces possible legal action in Switzerland over TV deal negotiations with the Nasser Al-Khalaifi, who is head of BeIN Sports and president of French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

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