Football Chiefs Snub Fifa Bribe Investigation

Sky News understands a majority of the 25 Caribbean Football Union (CFU) members have turned down Fifa's invitation to attend investigative interviews in Miami.

Caribbean football associations have said they will hold their own emergency meeting in the Caribbean to discuss a way forward through the bribery claims crisis.

The announcement comes after Fifa's probe was branded "tainted and biased" by one member of the CFU.

Earlier, Sky News obtained a leaked letter from the sport's governing body demanding officials from 25 Caribbean associations attend a special hearing in Florida this week.

While the correspondence warned a "negative inference" may be drawn from non-attendance, at least one CFU member country accused Fifa of "scaring and intimidating" recipents of the letter.

The organisation requested a three-day session - for which travel expenses would be reimbursed - for "further investigation, including the interview of any persons with potential knowledge of pertinent facts".

The probe relates to cash-for-vote claims about senior Fifa members Mohamed bin Hammam and Jack Warner.

But an angry riposte, seen by Sky News, from the member association describes it as "tainted and biased and clearly has a US-driven agenda".

Fifa's reputation has suffered further damage since the coronation of Sepp Blatter last week, when ultimately no candidate stood against the 75-year-old president.

Qatari bin Hammam was due to be his only rival but was forced to stand down just hours before he was suspended from all football activities over the allegations.

Bin Hammam and Fifa vice-president Warner were suspended following a meeting of the CFU on May 10 to discuss bin Hammam's candidature.

After this meeting, it emerged that a whistleblower - American Fifa member Chuck Blazer - had compiled a dossier which included a picture of $40,000 (£24,000) left in a hotel room for the Bahamian FA.

Fifa announced a full inquiry into the accusations would be led by another American, Louis Freeh, leading to one CFU member country describing it as a "conspiracy" and Mr Freeh as "a former director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigations" who "served under the Bill Clinton Administration".

The letter adds: "Former President Clinton was an integral component of the unsuccessful US 2022 World Cup bid."

And it goes on: "...the facts presented above depict two American complainanants, an American investigator, an investigation and an interrogation being conducted on American soil while Fifa remains a Swiss-registered entity and none of the persons under investigation being US citizens."

And finally it asks: "To what end, one must wonder, is the US featuring so prominently in this entire elaborate scheme?"

It is understood the final verdicts on bin Hammam and Warner's suspensions are scheduled to be delivered next month.

A Fifa spokesman told Sky News on Tuesday: "As you may understand and in order not to compromise the efficiency of the investigation, Fifa cannot provide details of the investigation or comment on it while it is on-going.

Blazer said the CFU allegation that it is an American "conspiracy" against them is "nonsense".