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Costa Rica's former football chief to appear in U.S. court

Xinhua, December 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The former president of Costa Rica's football federation, Eduardo Li, will appear before the U.S. judicial system to answer corruption accusations, his lawyer Roger Guevara informed the local press on Tuesday.

According to local press reports, Li has decided to forgo the extradition process and has accepted to be transferred to the U.S. in the next few days, after which he will appear in court.

"The presumption of innocence protects Li, both in the U.S. and in Costa Rica. He has decided to directly appear in the U.S. court, instead of following the extradition process," Guevara was quoted as saying by local daily La Nacion.

In October, Li's defense team appealed in Switzerland against an extradition order presented by the American justice system. However, Li will now appear in court to face claims he allegedly received bribes for 600,000 U.S. dollars in exchange for the broadcast rights of Costa Rica World Cup qualifying matches.

Li was arrested in Zurich on May 27, along with six other FIFA officials. Endi