FIFA bans former Paraguayan football president for life. — Photo channelnewsasia.com

Football

LAUSANNE — Two weeks after former South American football official Juan Angel Napout was sentenced to nine years in prison by a US court for corruption, he was banned for life on Thursday by FIFA.

Napout, at one time the head of both the Paraguayan and the South American(Conmebol) football federations and a FIFA vice president, was found guilty by a New York court in April.

On August 29, he received the longest sentence of any of the 42 accused in the "Fifagate" case.

The FIFA Ethics Commission followed suit on Thursday, saying they had  found Napout guilty of "corruption".

They suspended him for life from "any football-related activity" and fined him US$1,010,365.

The US investigation exposed tens of millions of dollars in bribes paid by sports promotion companies to senior figures in South American soccer federations, for broadcast rights and promotional events at tournaments organised by Conmebol, including the Copa America and the Copa Libertadores.

The US court also fined Napout $1 million and ordered the 61-year-old to return the $3.3 million in bribes received.

The former boss of the Brazilian Confederation, Jose Maria Marin was sentenced to four years in prison. — AFP