Jack Warner, Ex-FIFA Official, Claims Conspiracy by Trinidad Government

Indicted former FIFA vice president Jack Warner on Friday blamed a conspiracy by the government of Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, his one-time ally, for the corruption charges against him.

The fallen football executive lashed out at Persad-Bissessar in a diatribe published by an online news site after he was indicted by the United States for allegedly taking a $10 million bribe to help South Africa win the race to host the 2010 World Cup, among other charges.

Warner, who was a minister in Persad-Bissessar's government before falling out with her, said the prime minister was attacking him because he had opposed her nepotism.

"At the end of the day, all that the prime minister was concerned about was schooling me so that their minions would rise as she promised," wrote Warner, the 72-year-old former president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

"I stand accused for not breaking my silence, for not blowing the trumpet and echoing the devil devices of this government and kept silent for too long and that is my greatest fault, my most profound weakness and my saddest imperfection," he wrote in the article, published by Trinidad and Tobago Sunshine.

He said Persad-Bissessar had "crossed a line" when she allowed her attorney general to begin processing the US request to extradite him.

Warner, who is also a powerful member of parliament in Trinidad and Tobago, backed Persad-Bissessar to become the leader of their United National Congress party in 2010, but broke with both her government and the party in 2013.

The rift came after a previous corruption scandal in which Warner was accused of trying to buy Caribbean football officials' votes for the 2011 FIFA presidential election, a case that led to his suspension from all duties by the world football governing body.

- Media campaign -

The charismatic former school teacher has launched a campaign to proclaim his innocence since being arrested last Wednesday at the request of US authorities as part of their sweeping case against 14 top football officials and marketing executives.

He is currently out of jail on $400,000 bail pending a decision in his extradition case.

Warner has taken out paid ads in the Trinidadian media, published articles in local newspapers and held rallies with his Independent Liberal Party to defend himself.

On Wednesday he said he fears for his life and threatened, to divulge an "avalanche" of dirty secrets about FIFA and its outgoing president Sepp Blatter.

The same day, Interpol put Warner on its most wanted list, along with Nicolas Leoz, a former FIFA executive committee member and ex-president of South American football federation CONMEBOL, as well as four sports marketing executives wanted by US authorities.

Warner has also accused the United States of conspiring against him because the country failed in its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, which will be played in Qatar.

As proof of this claim, he initially cited a joke article from satirical news site The Onion, drawing snickers on social media networks.