FIFA has fired finance director and deputy secretary general Markus Kattner after an internal investigation revealed he got irregular bonus payments worth millions of dollars. Kattner was due the payments over a six-year period from 2008-14 from additions to his employment contract, a person familiar with the FIFA investigation said Monday. The extra payments were signed off by then-president Sepp Blatter and then-secretary general Jerome Valcke, Kattner's immediate boss in that period. "We don't yet understand why these payments were made," the person said on condition of anonymity as details of the investigation are confidential. "These contract provisions were not known widely and not to the appropriate officers at FIFA." Kattner, who joined FIFA as director of finance in 2003, has been temporarily filling the top administrative job of world soccer's governing body since Valcke was suspended last year before being fired in January. "Markus Kattner has been dismissed from his position effective immediately," FIFA said in a statement Monday. "FIFA's internal investigation uncovered breaches of his fiduciary responsibilities in connection with his employment contract." FIFA has already announced that United Nations official Fatma Samoura is due to start work next month as the new permanent secretary general. Kattner's alleged wrongdoing came to light last Friday, the person said, one week after Samoura's hiring was announced by President Gianni Infantino. The 45-year-old German official was at FIFA headquarters Monday before his firing was announced. Kattner handled the 2011 request to pay Michel Platini 2 million Swiss Francs ($2 million) which led to the UEFA president and Blatter being banned from soccer for four years. Euro 2016 security concerns grow The French football federation has opened disciplinary proceedings against Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille following incidents during the French Cup final that raised major concerns only a few weeks before the country hosts the European Championship. Despite a two-meter high security wall surrounding the Stade de France and triple security checks, supporters smuggled flares into the venue in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis and ignited fires in the stands. Fans also complained about severe overcrowding at the security check points. PSG won the game 4-2. A statement from the French Interior Ministry said "it has been decided to correct dysfunction without delay in order to guarantee the fluidity of supporters entering sporting venues and to strengthen security checks by private companies and secure stadium exits." The French Football Federation (FFF) also opened disciplinary proceedings against both Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain Monday. "The body condemns the unacceptable behavior of some supporters of Marseille and Paris, inside and outside the Stade de France," the FFF said in a statement. The Stade de France will host seven Euro 2016 matches, including the opener between France and Romania on June 10 and the final on July 10. — Agencies
