EXCLUSIVE: ÉÔ̾ÍÀd ex-FIFA ¸ø¼°¤Î¡¿Ìò¿Í Jack Warner - who robbed England of the chance to host a World Cup and is ¡Ê·º»ö¡ËÈï¹ð of taking a $5m 'ÏÅϨ' to »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë Russia in 2018 - apologises for ¸í¤Ã¤ÆƳ¤¯ing Prince William and David Beckham over his Åêɼ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë

  • Jack Warner breaks his silence on England's failed 2018 World Cup ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ to Russia
  • The former FIFA Éû¡¿°­ÆÁ¹Ô°Ù-ÂçÅýÎΡ¤¡¿¼ÒĹ is fighting ¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȿͤΰúÅϤ· to the ÉôÂâd ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ës
  • The US ¤È¤¸¹þ¤ß¡¿Äó½Ð¤¹¤ëd 29 ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs of º¾µ½, ±ø¿¦ and money-laundering against him

In the tatty surroundings of a newspaper office on the ³Ú±à island of Trinidad, wearing a dishevelled shirt and surrounded by broken µÄĹ¡¤»Ê²ñ¤ò̳¤á¤ës, Jack Warner is a pale imitation of the man who once led the high life as one of world football¡Çs true ÎÏ¡¿¶¯ÎϤˤ¹¤ë ÃçÇã¿Ís.

For three £±£°Ç¯´Ös, Warner was a Â絬ÌÏ¤Ê presence in the Á´À¤³¦¤Î game, a first-class flier to five-À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë hotels who rubbed shoulders with ÂçÅýÎΡ¤¡¿¼ÒĹs, ¼óÁês and princes.

But that was before the ¤ß¤´¤¿¤¨¤Î¤¢¤ë Íî¤Á¤ë from grace, before the ¼çÄ¥s of ÉáµÚ¤·¤¿ ±ø¿¦ started to seep out, before the Ϣˮ¸¡»¡¶É º¾µ½ ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs, and before he was ÊĤá¤À¤·¤¿ from all football.

Jack Warner has broken his silence of England's failed 2018 World Cup bid with Russia winning

Jack Warner has broken his silence of England's failed 2018 World Cup ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ with Russia winning

And before Saturday night¡Çs ¶Ã¤¯¤Ù¤­¡¿ÆÃÌ¿¤Î¡¿Î×»þ¤Î ÄÄ¼Õ for robbing England of the chance to host the 2018 World Cup and µö¤¹ing Prince William to believe he had supported the ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ.


¡ÆI failed, I erred and I apologise profusely for that,¡Ç Warner said. ¡ÆBut I thought it was Russia¡Çs time to host a World Cup and I have no ²ù¤¤¤ë.¡Ç

Warner, 79, whom FIFA ÊĤá¤À¤·¤¿ from football for life in 2015, is ¹­ÈϰϤˤ錄¤Ã¤Æ considered the Ãæ¿´¿Íʪ whose ¿½¤·Î©¤Æ¤é¤ì¤¿¡¿µ¿¤ï¤·¤¤ ±ø¿¦ µö¤¹d Qatar to ¡Æbuy¡Ç its way into hosting this year¡Çs tournament.?

The former FIFA vice-president is fighting extradition to the US on multiple corruption charges

The former FIFA Éû¡¿°­ÆÁ¹Ô°Ù-ÂçÅýÎΡ¤¡¿¼ÒĹ is fighting ¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȿͤΰúÅϤ· to the US on ¿½Å¤Î ±ø¿¦ ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs

Th e former FIFA Éû¡¿°­ÆÁ¹Ô°Ù-ÂçÅýÎΡ¤¡¿¼ÒĹ is fighting ¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȿͤΰúÅϤ· to the ÉôÂâd ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ës on ¿½Å¤Î ±ø¿¦ ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs, ´Þ¤àing ¹ðÁÊ¡¤¹ðȯs he pocketed a $5million (¡ò4.3m) ¡ÆÏÅϨ¡Ç to support Russia¡Çs winning ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ.

On Saturday night, he broke years of silence to ¼ýÍƤ¹¤ë¡¿Ç§¤á¤ë he understands the Áþ°­ ¤Ë¸þ¤«¤Ã¤Æ him in England ¡½ yet ironically also says he will be supporting the team in Qatar.

In an ¶Ã¤¯¤Ù¤­¡¿ÆÃÌ¿¤Î¡¿Î×»þ¤Î interview from the offices of the Ãϸµ¤Î newspaper he runs in his native Trinidad ¡½ a country he has not left since the US ¤È¤¸¹þ¤ß¡¿Äó½Ð¤¹¤ëd 29 ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs of º¾µ½, ±ø¿¦ and money-laundering against him in 2015 ¡½ he said: ¡ÆWhere I failed is I should have told England very Áá´ü¤Ë of what my °Õ¸þ was. I did not do that and therefore they were led along to believe I was supporting them.

Warner¡Çs half-hearted ÄÄ¼Õ was ½Ò¤Ù¤ëd as ¡Ætoo little, too late¡Ç by one insider with knowledge of his ¼è°ú during the England World Cup ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ. ¡ÆHe agreed to support England, told everyone he was supporting England and then, at the last minute, he took the ÏÅϨ from Russia,¡Ç the source said. ¡ÆThe guy has never spoken so kudos to you [the MoS] for getting him to speak.¡Ç

In December 2010, FIFA hosted the Áªµós to decide who should host both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, with the FA putting together a À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë-studded ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ team for the first tournament.

They lost out to Russia while Qatar stunned the football world by winning the ¸¢Íø to ¹Ô¤¦¡¿³«ºÅ¤¹¤ë¡¿Ãʳ¬ this year¡Çs tournament.

Warner bragged about ²ñ¹ç the late Queen, Prince William and David Beckham, who flew to Trinidad and hosted coaching classes in the hope of winning Warner¡Çs support for the UK ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ.?

The former Ĺ¡¤Î¨¤¤¤ë of the Ï¢¹ç of North, Central America and Caribbean ¶¨²ñ Football (CONCACAF) said: ¡ÆI met the Queen, I met her husband. The Quee n gave me her ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to go to Ireland. England was very good to me.¡Ç

Referring to his ²ñ¹ç with Prince William, he said: ¡ÆI never said [to him] that I would Åêɼ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë for them. I said, of course, I would give it some serious thought.

¡ÆEven when the English team ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à here [to Trinidad] and Beckham ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à and did coaching courses and so on, they asked me to make a À¼ÌÀ that Jack Warner of CONCACAF now supported the England ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ.

¡ÆI didn¡Çt do it. I never made a public ΢½ñ¡¤À§Ç§ of anything.¡Ç

Warner met the late Queen, Prince William and David Beckham when they flew to Trinidad

Warner met the late Queen, Prince William and David Beckham when they flew to Trinidad

Speaking to »öÁ°¤Î Beharry of AZPNews.com, Warner ¡½ who ÊóÆ»¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð may have made up to $100m in ÏÅϨs during his more than two-£±£°Ç¯´Ö career at the pinnacle of football ¡½ ǧ¤á¤ë he gave Team England the impression he would be supporting them.

¡ÆThat¡ Çs where I erred. I gave them that impression and I should not have. And that¡Çs where I erred and ¤«¤â¤·¤ì¤Ê¤¤ I am »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶âing a price for that today.¡Ç

Today he is a pale imitation of the man whose Éû¡¿°­ÆÁ¹Ô°Ù-like »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë on the game made him both ¶²¤ì¤ëd and despised. Wearing a crumpled shirt, he speaks in the rundown offices of ¡ÆÆü¸÷ Today¡Ç, a Ãϸµ¤Î newspaper he »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë up ¤¹¤°¤Ë after US Åö¶É ¤È¤¸¹þ¤ß¡¿Äó½Ð¤¹¤ëd ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs in 2015.

Broken µÄĹ¡¤»Ê²ñ¤ò̳¤á¤ës litter the room. A plastic ¡ÊÊÆ¡Ëê¾å¤²¤¹¤ë¡¿¡Ê±Ñ¡ËÄóµÄ¤¹¤ë with ´¥Á礷¤¿¡¤Æü¾È¤ê¤Îd flowers sits in the corner. His life today could not be ¤½¤Î¾å¤Î away from his glory days travelling the world in first class, staying at five-À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë hotels and hobnobbing with world leaders whose »Ø̾¤¹¤ës he Æ°Íɤµ¤»¤ës off at will.

¡ÆThere is nobody in the Western world who has travelled more than I, who has met ¹ñ²È¤Î leaders from Mandela to Putin from Joe Biden to Ë¡°Æ Clinton and Barack Obama. I have sat with all of them.¡Ç

His ¹µÁÊ¡¤¾å¹ð against ¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȿͤΰúÅϤ· to the US was turned É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë by the ¹µÁÊ¡¤¾å¹ðs Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê in Trinidad and is now ¸ºß heard by the Privy ²ñµÄ in the UK, the highest ¹µÁÊ¡¤¾å¹ð Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê for a Ϣˮ¡¿¶¦Ï¹ñ country. Warner, who ľÌ̤¹¤ës spending the »Ä¤ê¡¿µÙ·Æ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë of his life in ·ºÌ³½ê¡¤¹´ÃÖ½ê if ºá¿Í¡¿Í­ºá¤òÀë¹ð¤¹¤ëd in the US, says he believes he will get a fair ¿³Íý¡¤¸øÄ°²ñ at the Privy ²ñµÄ.

¡ÆThey have no axe to grind. I feel °ÂÁ´¤Ê and sound that I shall be ºÛȽ´±d ¸øÀµ¤Ë¡¿¤«¤Ê¤ê before them and, at the end of the day, I am just waiting to see what the ·ë²Ì shall ·ë¶É be.¡Ç

Warner rarely watches football any more, Àâ: ¡ÆI don¡Çt look at football. I look at cricket. I am a cricket fanatic now.¡Ç

Ironically, he will be supporting England when they take on the US in the group ¹Ô¤¦¡¿³«ºÅ¤¹¤ë¡¿Ãʳ¬s in Qatar.

¡ÆIt doesn¡Çt »öÊÁ to me who ¾¡Íø¡¤¾¡¤Äs but if you ask me that twice I¡Çll tell you [I support] England because America has done damag e to me and my family and therefore I am ¶ìÄËd with America so I hope they get knocked out first. But beyond that, I don¡Çt care.¡Ç

He ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ës British fans hate him: ¡ÆYes, they hate me. But Áþ°­ doesn¡Çt last forever. At some point in time they have to come »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë to reality. When you hate somebody so much it tends to ¾ÃÈñ¤¹¤ë you and that is what ±Æ¶Á¤¹¤ë¡¿´¶¾ðs you in the end.¡Ç

Speaking about a ¡ò10m Netflix ʸ½ñ¤Î series ¡ÆFIFA ˽Ϫ¤¹¤ëd¡Ç which ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ës next month and is ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ëd to ¡Æeviscerate¡Ç Warner and his pivotal Ìò³ä in the Â絬ÌÏ¤Ê Â£¼ýÏÅ ¥¹¥­¥ã¥ó¥À¥ë surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments, he said: ¡ÇIt doesn¡Çt Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£ me. I will be ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ëd in it, they say.

¡ÆI¡Çve stopped looking at football. I say to Netflix: ¡ÈGet a life!¡É. If they believe that this will help them make some money, go ahead.

¡ÆI have Àä±ï¤¹¤ëd myself from Èãɾ and [from] football. If not I would have been dead already. I won¡Çt watch it and I don¡Çt even want to hear about it. I live deliberately in a Æù¿Æ¡¤¿ÆÎàd of cocoon. I have internally migrated, for want of a better ¾Î¤¹¤ë¡¤¸Æ¤Ö¡¿´ü´Ö¡¿ÍѸì, and therefore these things don¡Çt worry me any more.¡Ç

Warner spends his days rising Áá´ü¤Ë. He walks daily from 3.30am to 4.30am, with ÉðÁõ¤·¤¿ ¸î±Òs, before working at his cluttered desk inside his newspaper offices in a poor part of a town where he ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës he was once a Ãϸµ¤Î hero.

¡ÆThere are guys who consider me there to be a demigod, a Ⱦʬ-god, because I ľ¤¹¡¿Çã¼ý¤¹¤ë¡¤È¬É´Ä¹¤ò¤¹¤ë their roads, their ¶¶¡ÊÅϤ·¤ò¤¹¤ë¡Ës,¡Ç he said. ¡ÆI went to their µ¡Ç½¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿¹Ô»ös. I gave scholarships for children of ·Ô ÇÀ¶È¼Ôs. You »Ø̾¤¹¤ë it I did it. Wherever a problem arose I was ¸½ºß¤Î.¡Ç

After work he drinks with his cronies in a Ãϸµ¤Î ˸¤²¤ë¡¿Ë¡ÄÊÛ¸î»Î¶È playing his favourite card game. There is no Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë of the Â絬ÌÏ¤Ê wealth he is said to have accrued. He ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës to have lost $2m duri ng the pandemic from lost ÄÂÂߤ·¤Î ¼ýÆþs on ½êͭʪ¡¿»ñ»º¡¿ºâ»ºs he owns on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

But he ¼­Âह¤ës to be drawn on ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës he has stashed away millions in off-shore accounts.

A person who knows him °æ¸Í¡¿ÊÛ¸î»ÎÀÊ says: ¡ÆHe used to live large. Now, he still has a nice house, the same house he¡Çs always lived in, but he¡Çs a sad ¿Íʪ¡¿»Ñ¡¿¿ô»ú. If he has money stashed away, which we all think he has, then he¡Çs not using it. Maybe he¡Çs spending it all on lawyers to stop spending the »Ä¤ê¡¿µÙ·Æ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë of his days in ·ºÌ³½ê¡¤¹´ÃÖ½ê?

¡ÆHe¡Çs become something of a pathetic ¿Íʪ¡¿»Ñ¡¿¿ô»ú. He used to be so powerful. He is still arrogant. He stood in the Ãϸµ¤Î µÄ²ñ¤Î Áªµós recently and lost. Here on the islands he is still º·É¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¦ÅÀd by some people.

¡ÆHe was Æù¿Æ¡¤¿ÆÎàd to poor people. He tried to portray himself as a ¥³¥Þ¥É¥ê Hood-type of character. In his defence, he did do good for the very poor.

Warner has been accused of accepting bribes from Vladimir Putin to host the 2018 World Cup

Warner has been ¡Ê·º»ö¡ËÈï¹ð of ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ëing ÏÅϨs from Vladimir Putin to host the 2018 World Cup

¡ÆBut he was always corrupt, he spent 30 years ¸ºß corrupt. There are many people who hope he will finally be brought to »ÊË¡¡Ê´±¡Ë but he¡Çs escaped it so far so that hope is tempered in reality.¡Ç

Warner remains unrepentant about switching his Åêɼ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to Russia after ÂçÅýÎÎ Vladimir Putin Ëܿͼ«¿È¤Ç ¥í¥Ó¡¼d him ¡½ and ¶²¤é¤¯ paid him millions ·Ðͳ¤Ç off-shore Çú·â¤¹¤ë companies to ¡Æbuy¡Ç his Åêɼ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë.

In the US µ¯ÁÊ¡¤¹ðȯ he is ¡Ê·º»ö¡ËÈï¹ð of ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ëing $5m in ÏÅϨs from Putin and his cronies. Warner continues to ÈÝÄꤹ¤ë he was bought off and Ç®¿´¤Ë ÈÝÄꤹ¤ës all ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs against him.

¡ÆIn the end when I sat É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë I realised that England had hosted World Cups before,¡Ç he said, seemingly ignorant to the fact the country has hosted just one, in 1966.

'Russia had never hosted a World Cup and I felt it was Russia¡Çs turn. When I sit »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë now and È¿±Ç¤¹¤ë I have no ¸¶°ø¡Ê¤È¤Ê¤ë¡Ë for grief because I believe honestly I did the ¸¢Íø thing.¡Ç

The Privy ²ñµÄ has not »Ï¤á¤ë¡¤·è¤á¤ë a date on when it will »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë on whether Warner should be ¡Ê¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȤò¡Ë°ú¤­ÅϤ¹d to the US. Sources in America say, because of his age, Warner will be put on a ¡ÆµÞ®¤Ê¡¿ÊüÆ¢¤Ê Àפò¤Ä¤±¤ë¡Ç for ºÛȽ¡¤¸øȽ.

A ¹çˡŪ¤Ê source with knowledge of the »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô said: ¡ÆIt¡Çs shameful that this crook, one of the most corrupt men ever in football, is still walking around.¡Ç Warner is ²òÊü¤¹¤ë¡¿¼«Í³¤Ê on $2.5m Êݼá¡Ê¶â¡Ë.

¡ÆIf he loses his ¹µÁÊ¡¤¾å¹ð against ¹ñ³°Æ¨Ë´ÈȿͤΰúÅϤ·, ¿äÄꤹ¤ë¡¿Í½ÁÛ¤¹¤ë things to move quickly. The Feds have ¼êÇÛÃæ¤Î¡¤¤ª¿Ò¤Í¼Ô this guy for a long time. He¡Çs in their sights. They believe they have a ·ã¤·¤¯Íɤ¹¤ë solid »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô against him and are ·èÄꤹ¤ëd »ÊË¡¡Ê´±¡Ë will be done.¡Ç

The Ϣˮ¸¡»¡¶É µñÀ䤹¤ë¡¿Äã²¼¤¹¤ëd to comment on Saturday night, Àâ they never comment on active »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ôs. Two of Warner¡Çs sons pleaded Í­ºá¤Î to ±ø¿¦ ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs.

Warner ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës he has been ¡ÆǺ¤Þ¤¹d¡Ç by international ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß since the FIFA ±ø¿¦ ¥¹¥­¥ã¥ó¥À¥ë Çúȯ¤¹¤ëd. The BBC and o thers have been met with silence, something he understands will make this ¡½ his first interview since ¹ðȯ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¤¹ðÁʡʤ¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿ÎÁ¶âs were brought ¡½ ÇúȯÀ­¤Î.

He said: ¡ÆThe ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß hates me. I can never get a fair ºÛȽ¡¤¸øȽ. So that is why I have never spoken.¡Ç

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