Court annuls Peru official's life ban, returns case to FIFA

Updated Apr. 7, 2022 1:18 p.m. ET

Associated Press

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — A South American soccer official who was acquitted of a racketeering conspiracy charge in the United States has had his life ban by FIFA annulled and sent back for a fresh investigation.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday its panel of judges partially upheld an appeal by Manuel Burga against FIFA “on the basis of a violation of due process rights.”

Burga’s ban from soccer

Burga was the president of Peru’s soccer federation when he was implicated in taking bribes by a sweeping investigation unsealed in 2015 by American federal authorities.

He stood trial in Brooklyn with two other South American soccer leaders and was the only one

Two years later, FIFA investigators argued there was “overwhelming evidence” Burga got or had been promised $6.6 million in bribes linked to marketing deals for competitions including the Copa America and Copa Libertadores.

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