Brazil football chief handed life ban for corruption
Xinhua,April 28, 2018 Adjust font size:
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian football confederation chief Marco Polo del Nero has received a life ban for corruption, the sport's world governing body FIFA said on Friday.
The 77-year-old was found guilty by FIFA's ethics committee of accepting bribes for media and marketing contracts.
He was barred from all football-related activity and fined 1 million Swiss francs (one million US dollars).
Del Nero was suspended by FIFA last December after being charged by US authorities with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.
His predecessors Ricardo Teixeira and Jose Maria Marin were also indicted on similar charges as part of a global investigation by the US department of justice.
Del Nero and Teixeira have not been extradited while Marin was found guilty by a New York court in December and is awaiting sentence.
In a statement, FIFA said Del Niro participated in a scheme that awarded lucrative rights agreements for tournaments such as the Copa America, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil.
Lawyers for Del Nero said he would appeal the decision.
"Mr. Del Nero ... has the conviction that the punishment in a first instance will be reformed after the analysis of a court that is independent and not a subject of external interferences," legal firm Bichara and Motta said in a statement. Enditem