Rio de Janeiro: Former South American football officials Eduardo Deluca, Jose Luis Meiszner and Manuel Burga have been banned for life for their role in a sprawling corruption scheme, FIFA has announced.
The trio were found guilty by FIFA’s ethics committee of accepting bribes in exchange for awarding lucrative media and marketing rights for major competitions, reports Xinhua news agency.
In addition to the lifetime ban on all football-related activities, Deluca, Meiszner and Burga were fined one million Swiss francs (around $1 million) each.
Argentineans Deluca and Meiszner both served as general secretary of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and Peru-born Burga is a former member of the CONMEBOL executive committee.
The sentences form part of a global crackdown by authorities on corruption in football, which has snared some of the game’s top officials.
Former CONMEBOL president Juan Napout and ex-Brazilian Football Confederation chief Jose Maria Marin were also handed life bans earlier this year and are currently serving jail terms in the US. Burga was acquitted of racketeering conspiracy charges by a New York court in December 2017.
