July 31 – Has South American football been hit by more scandal? Uruguayan FA president Wilmar Valdez (pictured) resigned suddenly on Monday following the release of compromising audio recordings, just a day before he was due to stand for re-election.
Agency reports say that although the exact content of the recordings is unknown, specialist media said they contained comments about sports administrators, a member of the government, sports journalists and supporters.
One of Valdez’s main rivals for the presidency, Arturo Del Campo, told local media that he’d heard the recordings five days ago, describing them as “slightly compromising Wilmar’s image”.
Valdez, who has been in the job for four years and was bidding for a second term, denied they had any link to his resignation, however. “This decision has been motivated solely by family and personal reasons that have nothing to do with the context of the current election,” he explained in a statement released by the federation.
“I want to stress that I was under no undue pressure, threats or extortion in making this decision.”
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