FIFA suspends Secretary General Jerome Valcke

The world football governing body said in a brief statement Thursday that Valcke "has been put on leave and released from his duties effective immediately until further notice."

Pressure has been mounting on FIFA to introduce reforms in light of the organization's deepening corruption crisis.

FIFA said it had requested a formal investigation by its ethics committee over a series of allegations against Valcke. The scandal-tainted football governing body did not specify the details of allegations.

Earlier on Thursday, a former FIFA ticketing partner made allegations about selling top-tier World Cup tickets at three times the tickets' face value. At a press conference in Zurich, Benny Alon, a former Israeli soccer player and marketing executive, alleged that Valcke had personally benefitted from the deal.

Valcke was FIFA's secretary general for the past eight years under President Sepp Blatter. Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term as FIFA president on May 29, but four days later announced he would step down from the post amid the worst corruption scandal to engulf the organization in its history.

The scandal was focused on 14 sports marketing executives and soccer officials, including several from FIFA, who were indicted by the United States in May on bribery, money laundering and wire fraud charges totaling over $150 million.

Seven FIFA officials were arrested in a dawn raid on a luxury Zurich hotel only two days before the FIFA Congress that saw Blatter re-elected. Blatter's replacement is set to be elected in an upcoming FIFA Congress on February 26.

shs/sms (Ap, Reuters)