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Football Association chairman Greg Dyke returns £16,000 watch to FIFA

FIFA has said it has closed proceedings against Football Association chairman Greg Dyke after he returned a £16,000 watch given to him by the Brazilian FA during last summer's World Cup.

World football's governing body said its ethics committee would now be taking no action against Dyke over a possible breach of its ethics code.

His decision to return the watch ends a process that began in September when the ethics committee ruled that watches given to representatives of the 32 countries at the World Cup must be returned.

Dyke had instead said he wanted to auction the watch, with the funds raised going to a cancer charity, but it has now been returned following legal discussions.

It is not clear how many of the other watches have been returned.

FIFA's ethics committee said accepting such valuable gifts violated its rules, demanding that the watches should be returned by Oct. 24.

Speaking in September, Dyke confirmed he had been given the watch but had no idea of its value and would be returning it.

He said in a statement: "During the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo, a bag with a watch inside was left in my hotel room by the Brazilian FA. I had no idea of the value and it has been left untouched in my office since returning to England.

"We are already taking steps to return the bag and its contents -- which are still in their original packaging.

"I welcome FIFA's investigation on the matter, including their intention to donate the items to good causes back in Brazil.

"The fact that gifts of great value are being handed out randomly and often with the recipient unaware shows up a culture in need of change.

"I had actually set the bag aside in my box of items to donate to charity."