FIFA has charged 16 Caribbean officials

FIFA’s ethics committee has handed out their fourth ban connected with the bribery scandal by suspending leading Caribbean official Colin Klass for 26 months.

s, a member of the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) executive committee and head of the Guyana FA for 22 years, was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs (£3,573).

FIFA said in a statement that Klass “was found to have breached various articles of the FIFA code of ethics (articles 3, 9 and 14) following an investigation related to the special meeting of the CFU held in Trinidad & Tobago on 10 and 11 May 2011.”

After the meeting, which led to Mohamed Bin Hammam being given a life ban for bribery, Klass orchestrated a campaign of support for Jack Warner who resigned as FIFA vice-president in June after himself being charged with bribery. According to a witness statement, Klass was seen emerging from the boardroom where envelopes containing 40,000 US dollars (£25,868) were being handed out to Caribbean associations and was “giggling slightly”.

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The other gold medal winner: Dexter Lee takes the baton from Yohan Blake to anchor the Jamaican men’s 4x100m relay in the qualification heat. With Jamaica having won the race, Lee also got a gold medal.

No one could have missed the fact that the IAAF configured its 13th World Championships in Daegu, South Korea around the world’s fastest man and Jamaica’s Usain Bolt.

The signs were unmistakeable. Bolt was brought into Korea a little earlier than usual to feature in the promotion of the championships and to get the South Korean people excited ahead of the nine-day games.

Before that, his image was emblazoned on public buses and posters. Intriguingly, in an ad on a bus, Bolt was shown holding a huge foot of running shoes, with the message “Less weight more faas”, a suggestion that even our patois language had gone “abroad’.

The IAAF must have panicked when Bolt false started and could not defend his men 100 metres crown which was to have given the championships the start they had scripted.

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Eighteen-year-old Kirani James is now the toast of Grenada and will be the recipient of rewards on his return home, after becoming the youngest male athlete in history to win gold in the 400 metre race at International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) level.

Yesterday was declared “National Colours Day” in Grenada by Prime Minister Tillman Thomas after James outran his competitors to claim the gold medal in a personal best time of 44.60 seconds at the IAAF World Championship in Daegu, South Korea.

James, who turns 19 tomorrow, was a student at the University of Alabama until recently deciding to become a professional athlete.

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ATHLETICS fans in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, were yesterday stunned and disappointed when a false start pushed the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt out of the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The disappointment expressed by some in New Kingston, Half-Way-Tree, Cross Roads and sections of downtown Kingston was, however, short-lived after Bolt’s training partner, 21-year-old Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake, minutes later powered his way to victory in 9.92 secs.

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FIFA executive member Chuck Blazer attends the 61st FIFA congress at the Hallenstadion in Zurich June 1, 2011.

(Reuters) – The FBI is examining documents charting more than $500,000 in payments made by a Caribbean soccer group to a top U.S. official of the sport that has been shaken internationally by corruption allegations.

According to a U.S. law enforcement officer, a New York-based FBI squad assigned to investigate “Eurasian organized crime” is examining evidence related to payments made to Chuck Blazer, U.S. member of the executive committee of FIFA, the Zurich-based governing body of soccer.

Blazer is also general secretary of CONCACAF, the sport’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean. He has recently sparked controversy by accusing two other top international soccer officials of corruption.

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USAIN Bolt has added another record to his already comprehensive list.

Bolt is the first Jamaican to have over five million fans on Facebook, adding 300,000 in less than two months.

Up to June 16, his fan list was just about 4.6 million, a week after his 19.86 seconds clocking in Oslo. Bolt has since run in Paris, Monaco, and Stockholm where he has won the 100 and 200 metres, with creditable performances. Stockholm was a ‘big’ winner for Bolt, where he finally won an event with a 20.03 clocking in the 200 metres. He had previously lost in Stockholm in 2008 and 2010 to Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, respectively.

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Sandals sponsored Audi TT-R

With the ATL Automotive Audi TT DTM in tip-top shape, Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore went with all guns blazing to dethrone ‘King’ David Summerbell Jr  and set a new Dover track record of 1.18.114 minutes with a breathtaking performance at the recent Independence of Speed race meet held in Jamaica.

The previous record of 1.18.47 minutes, held by Summerbell since 2009, was almost effortlessly cast into the annals of history when Gore showed the genius of German engineering on the sixth lap of the grueling 12-lap Thundersport race.

“The ATL team and myself, we were all motivated and boosted to give our best performance and that’s exactly what we did – we beat the track record and beat Summerbell…” said Gore, the new Dover track record holder. The record-breaking race was the pinnacle of an impassioned rivalry between the two motor racing giants, Gore and Summerbell after what had become a day of fierce encounters.

Both drivers started the day with an episode titled ‘Crash of the Titans’, when Gore’s Audi and Summerbell’s Evolution exchanged blows during a rumble at the mouth of the chicane in the first MP4 race.

This incident rendered the Evolution incapable of continuing the race with a damaged front end and tyres while the ATL Automotive sponsored Audi shook off its minor injuries and rejoined the race to place second behind Heath Causewell in the MP 4 class. Both stalwarts returned to the battle field for the second MP 4 race with Summerbell chasing Gore all the way to checkered flag, as the Audi earned another stripe on its road to the track record.

Then for the grand Thundersport 2 race, Gore unleashed the big guns. Summoning all the Audi TT-R’s horses, its aerodynamic advantage, its braking superiority, Gore sped to the finish line unchallenged as the clear victor. So optimally prepared and unshakeable was the Audi that the crew did little else but the requisite tyre changes to ready it for its record breaking performance.

Supporters of the ATL Racing Team and Team Summberbell were drenched with emotions as the rivalry burned the tarmac under the blazing sun, amidst shouts of “Go Daddy Go” from the Gore and Summerbell offspring. With ‘Daddy Doug’ emerging victorious in the Thundersport 2 race and ‘Daddy David’ placing second, Summerbell agreed that Gore did a marvellous run and believes the competitive factor is good for the sport, “I think it’s a very good time, Doug definitely raised the bar.

I think we can be competitive in racing, but I’d like to get back the track record for sure, we want it back. Doug breaking the record is a good thing, it certainly makes all of us motivated to get more out of the team,” said the former track record holder.

Delving further into a scandal that shook the sport, FIFA will investigate 16 Caribbean soccer leaders about a bribery scandal involving former presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam.

The officials are suspected of being offered or taking $40,000 in cash to back Bin Hammam against FIFA President Sepp Blatter, then denying their actions to investigators led by former FBI director Louis Freeh.

FIFA said Thursday the suspects from 11 countries include Colin Klass of Guyana, a long-standing ally of former Caribbean soccer boss Jack Warner. FIFA said Klass has been provisionally suspended.

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Bridgetown, Barbados: International cricket umpire Clyde Duncan has died in Trinidad and Tobago following a brief illness.

The 57-year-old Guyanese, who stood in two Tests, 21 One-Day Internationals and six Twenty20 Internationals, had been undergoing treatment for cancer.

Guyana Cricket Board president Chetram Singh hailed Duncan’s contribution to the game.

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Worawi Makudi was among the FIFA executive members who accompanied Mohamed bin Hammam in Trinidad when he allegedly tried to bribe Caribbean voters. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

After banishing Mohamed bin Hammam for life in a bribery scandal, FIFA was challenged Monday to uphold its zero-tolerance fight against corruption by investigating each football official who attended a now-infamous meeting in Trinidad.

A wider probe must examine three more members of FIFA’s executive committee who accompanied the Qatari official on his presidential campaign visit and all the Caribbean football leaders allegedly receiving his $40,000 cash gifts, the Transparency International global watchdog said.

A request by FIFA’s ethics panel chairman for new investigations to be launched will keep the focus on corruption this week as Sepp Blatter and his world football family gathers in Brazil to launch its marquee, moneymaking event at the 2014 World Cup qualifying draw on Saturday.

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