The Fifa ethics committee has handed down lifetime bans to two South American football officials who pleaded guilty in the United States to corruption charges.
The Fifa ethics committee judging chamber says it found Luis Bedoya, a former FIFA executive committee member from Colombia, and Sergio Jadue of Chile guilty of wrongdoing including bribery and conflicts of interest.
Bedoya and Jadue have already pleaded guilty in the United States to racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, according to a Department of Justice statement published in December.
“Their guilty pleas related to two schemes by means of which they asked for and received bribes from sports marketing companies in relation to the awarding of marketing rights (for competitions),” said the ethics committee.
It added that the competitions involved included the Libertadores Cup, and this year’s centenary Copa America that will be held in the United States.
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa chief Michel Platini were banned for eight years, later reduced to six by FIFA’s appeals committee, and former secretary general Jerome Valcke for 12 years. More than forty officials have been indicted in the US in the corruption scandal that plunged FIFA into crisis in 2015.
