World soccer body FIFA's ethics committee said on Thursday it opened formal proceedings against Secretary General Jerome Valcke, after its investigators recommended a nine-year ban against him.
Investigators for the ethics committee recommended on Tuesday that Valcke be banned from world soccer for nine years and fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($99,000).
The committee prepares a ruling over accusations of corruption involving the sale of World Cup tickets.
The FIFA ethics committee has extended the ban on Jerome Valcke for another 45 days while it processes a case against him.
FIFA ethics judges are expected to hear the case within weeks.
The prosecution file charges Valcke with accepting gifts, conflicts of interest, breaches of confidentiality and loyalty, and failing to cooperate with investigators.
Valcke had already been suspended by the FIFA administration in September before the ethics case was opened.
Valcke’s case follows > eight-year bans imposed by the ethics committee on Blatter and Michael Platini last month. They also deny wrongdoing and have pledged to appeal those sanctions.
