FIFA suspended its top official Jerome Valcke and ordered an investigation into alleged unethical conduct on Thursday, throwing world soccer's scandal-scarred governing body into further turmoil.
Valcke, FIFA's secretary general for the past eight years under President Sepp Blatter, was hours earlier the subject of allegations over a deal for 2014 World Cup ticket sales on the black market.
Earlier Thursday, a former FIFA ticketing partner made allegations about being supplied by Valcke to sell top-tier World Cup tickets to matches in Brazil at three times face value.
The marketing executive, Benny Alon, also made an unproven allegation that Valcke had been prepared to profit personally from the deal.