FIFA life bans for 3 who pleaded guilty in US case

Published Sep. 19, 2018 10:59 a.m. ET

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA's ethics committee has imposed life bans on three officials for bribery and corruption after they pleaded guilty in the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation of international soccer.

FIFA says marketing executive Aaron Davidson, aide Costas Takkas and match agent Miguel Trujillo are also fined 1 million Swiss francs ($1.03 million).

It is unclear if FIFA has power to enforce the fines, though ethics judges have typically imposed large financial penalties in cases arising from the sprawling U.S. federal probe.

In Brooklyn federal court, Davidson pleaded guilty to racketeering and wire fraud, Takkas admitted money laundering and Trujillo pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud.

Takkas, a British aide to former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb, got a 15-month prison sentence last year and faced being deported from the United States.