GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A FIFA tribunal on Friday issued lifetime bans against two South American football officials who had already pleaded guilty to corruption offences in US court.
The ethics committee adjudicatory chamber barred Sergio Jadue of Chile and Luis Bedoya of Colombia, both former senior FIFA officials as well as vice presidents of the South American confederation CONMEBOL, “for life from all football-related activities”, said a FIFA statement.
FIFA’s in-house court launched a probe into both men on December 4, the day after the pair admitted in a New York court that they had committed racketeering and wire fraud.
They are among dozens of officials and sport marketing executives within world football detained as part of an unprecedented scandal that has spurred a massive reform drive within FIFA.
Both Jadue and Bedoya “asked for and received bribes from sports marketing companies in relation to the awarding of marketing rights” for major South American football tournaments, the FIFA statement said.
As part of his plea deal, Jadue agreed to collaborate with US investigators and was escorted out of Chile late last year under police escort.
The guilty plea sealed Jadue’s downfall after a career that saw him rise from the front office of a humble local club to the vice presidency of CONMEBOL.
Bedoya, once known as the “tsar” of Colombian football, is a former clothing salesman who reportedly bought a dozen luxury properties during the nine years he led the Colombian Football Federation.
His plea deal with US prosecutors included a pledge to forfeit assets held in a Swiss bank account.
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