FIFA’s ethics judges announced yesterday they had opened formal proceedings against suspended secretary general Jerome Valcke over alleged corruption involving World Cup ticket sales, one of many scandals now surrounding soccer’s governing body.

The announcement came after an ethics investigation into the case recommended a nine-year ban for Valcke, former right-hand man to FIFA president Sepp Blatter who himself has been banned for eight years.

Jerome Valcke, who is suspended pending the final outcome and has denied wrongdoing, has been invited to submit evidence to the panel, FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee said.

Valcke was one of the most powerful men in FIFA and responsible for ensuring that preparations for the last two World Cups, in South Africa and Brazil, were completed in time.

Even so, his case has been overshadowed by the turmoil which has engulfed FIFA in the last year, with criminal investigations into the sport in both the United States and Switzerland.

Altogether, 41 people and sports entities, including top FIFA officials, have been indicted by US prosecutors for offences including corruption and money laundering.

FIFA’s own ethics committee has banned numerous officials including Blatter and European soccer boss Michel Platini and is still investigating the conduct of others.

“The adjudicatory chamber has studied the report carefully and decided to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings against Mr Valcke,” said yesterday’s statement.

The allegations against Valcke stem from former Israeli football player Benny Alon telling a news conference in September in Zurich that he had agreed in 2013 to pay cash to Valcke to secure plum tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

FIFA controls the rights to sell all the World Cup tickets and Alon said the plan was then to sell the tickets to fans at a markup and split the proceeds with Valcke. Alon said the deal fell through and he never paid the football official.

Valcke was placed on leave by FIFA in September following the allegations and initially suspended for 90 days in October. That suspension was extended for another 45 days on Wednesday.