FIFA bans Chuck Blazer for life
July 9, 2015
FIFA has banned former US football official Chuck Blazer for life over his involvement in corruption scandals. The governing body's ethics committee says its case used "the latest facts presented by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York."
"Mr. Blazer committed many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly during his time as an official in different high-ranking and influential positions at FIFA and CONCACAF," said a statement announcing the ban from all football-related activities. 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 money-making schemes," added the ethics committee.
Blazer was a cooperating witness with United States federal agencies since 2011, after his tax affairs were investigated, and in May of this year his guilty pleas on widespread corruption charges were unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This is just the latest rain shower from the dark cloud hanging over FIFA. On Monday, Harold Mayne-Nicholls - former chairman of the Bid Evaluation Group for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups - was banned from football for seven years by FIFA. Last week the US filed formal requests to extradite seven active or former FIFA officials detained on US bribery charges in Switzerland.
Blazer, 70, is reported to be ill in a New York hospital, battling cancer.
jh/apc (AP, AFP, dpa)