News Digest

Life ban for Chuck Blazer, Fifa official at the heart of football corruption scandal

Chuck Blazer was banned for life by Fifa’s ethics committee on Thursday for widespread corruption, finally ending the career of the longtime most senior American in world soccer. The expulsion from soccer duty was a formality after Blazer’s guilty plea to racketeering and tax-evasion charges was unsealed in May by United States federal agencies. Fifa’s ethics panel made its ruling using evidence from the American federal case, which has plunged Fifa and international soccer into crisis. Blazer pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies and income tax evasion.

[Blazer] was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, payment and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, bribes and kickbacks as well as other moneymaking schemes.

FIFA ethics committee said in a statement

Blazer admitted receiving payments in a £6.5million bribe scheme to support South Africa’s successful 2010 World Cup hosting bid. The plot linked Blazer and two other then-Fifa executive committee members in getting cash that South African officials asked Fifa to transfer through the governing body’s accounts in 2008. Blazer also admitted involvement in World Cup ticket sale scams and abusing his position as CONCACAF general secretary to take millions of dollars in kickbacks from commercial deals he negotiated for the Gold Cup tournament. He became a co-operating witness with United States federal agencies in 2011 after his tax affairs were investigated.