Former FIFA Vice-President  and  Concacaf  boss  Austin  Jack  Warner  has  broken  his  silence   over voting for Russia to stage the 2018 World Cup finals.

The  Trinidadian who  is  serving  a  life ban  for corruption, is one of the most senior figures in the notorious FIFA-gate scandal that brought the world governing body to its knees.

He is accused by U.S authorities of racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery and could spend the rest of his life in prison if ongoing extradition proceedings are ultimately successful. 

Warner dramatically fell from grace after being banned following an investigation into the bidding contest for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.

He has  accused the U.S of damaging his family and says he has no regrets about voting for Russia, despite being accused of taking a $5 million bribe. 

Warner,  who  also  served as  a  government  minister  in  his  native  Trinidad   is said to have originally promised he would vote for England to stage the  2018  World  Cup after having bragged about meeting members of the royal family.

He says  in  the  end  when  he  sat  down  and  realized  that England had hosted the World Cup in 1966,  Russia had never hosted and he  felt it was Russia’s turn. 

He adds  that  he  has  no  cause  for  grief  because  he  felt  he  did  the  right  thing.

Warner is also widely considered to have played a major role in Qatar winning the vote to stage this year’s tournament.