Soccer:Former Irish FA president Boyce, who takes over from England's Geoff Thompson as Fifa vice-president tomorrow, said the latest scandals that continue to dog football's governing body had grieved him.

“Like everyone else who cares about football, the events of the last few months have saddened me greatly,” he said today.

“It’s a big honour for me, the club [Cliftonville] that I have been associated with since I was seven years of age, it’s a big honour for my association and for my country to be the FIFA vice-president.

“I don’t want to go into what has happened in the past and it’s wrong for me to make comments on that as I was not in the position then.

“People who are in high positions have got to be whiter than white and if any of the allegations that have been flying about are proven to be correct then people have to suffer the consequences.”