FIFA suspends number-two official after ticket allegations

ALLEGED TICKET DEAL

Alon got into the ticket marketing and hospitality business after retiring from the game as a player. He said he was working at ticketing firm JB Sports Marketing AG in 2013 when he discussed with Valcke the allocation of tickets with better views of the field for the Brazil World Cup.

Alon says he informally agreed to split revenues from the re-sale of the tickets with Valcke 50-50 in a deal that could have netted the soccer official more than $2 million. While Alon provided emails to the media he said backed up his claims, the documents were incomplete and could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Berke, Valcke's lawyer, said in his statement that "FIFA entered into an agreement with Mr. Alon's company, JB Sports Marketing. That agreement and FIFA's subsequent business dealings with Mr. Alon were vetted and approved by FIFA and its legal counsel." FIFA did not respond to a request for comment on Valcke's statement.

Valcke, who had already indicated he was likely planning on stepping down in February like Blatter, has had a checkered career at FIFA. He originally joined in 2003 as marketing director but was fired in December 2006 for his part in botched sponsorship negotiations with credit card firms MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc.

He was dismissed when a New York court ruled that FIFA had "lied repeatedly" during World Cup sponsorship negotiations with MasterCard, but eight months later he was re-hired as secretary general.

Markus Kattner, FIFA's Deputy General Secretary, will temporarily take over Valcke's duties, according to a FIFA spokesman.