Mulberry bags cause football row
05/11/2009
A member of the executive committee of football's governing body, FIFA, has announced that he will return to the English Football Association (FA) a Mulberry handbag worth £230.
The FA gave a Mulberry bag as a gift for the wives of all executive committee members during a recent fact-finding visit to England, which is bidding to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
But the delegate representing North and Central America and the Caribbean, Jack Warner, has written to the football authorities in England to complain that the gift has led to accusations of a lack of objectivity on his part. He said he originally believed the handbag to be a birthday gift for his wife, but later wrote to the FA asking for a statement clarifying the matter, pointing out, for example, that bidding countries are permitted to offer gifts and souvenirs and that the Mulberry bags were within the price guidelines laid down for these.
He claimed on November 4 that this request had gone unanswered and that criticism of him and his wife had continued as a result. This led him to state that the bag had become "a symbol of derision, betrayal and embarrassment for me and my family", and for that reason he said he had no choice but to return it.
Share this story:
