Life bans urged for ex-presidents of Colombian and Chilean federations
ZURICH: FIFA’s ethics investigator wants life bans for two senior South American football officials who have admitted corruption offences in the United States’ FIFAGate investigation writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
One is Luis Bedoya, a former member of the FIFA executive committee, ex-CONMEBOL vice-president and, until October 2015 the president of the Colombian federation.
The other is Sergio Jadue, another former vice-president of CONMEBOL and former President of the Chilean FA.
Both have been deeply implicated in fraud and money-laundering connected with the siphoned off of funds from commercial contracts for the South American confederation’s club and national team competitions.
Last November and December the US Department of Justice announced that both men had pleaded guilty to two counts of “racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.”
Cornel Borbely, the chairman of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee, has submitted a report to judge Hans-Joachim Eckert in which recommends life bans from football for both men.
FIFA ethics committee statement:
The chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Dr Cornel Borbély, has concluded his investigation into the activities of Luis Bedoya and Sergio Jadue and handed over the two reports, together with recommendations, to the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, which is chaired by Mr Hans-Joachim Eckert.
As the U.S. Department of Justice informed the public on 3 December 2015, Luis Bedoya, a former member of the FIFA Executive Committee, a former CONMEBOL vice-president and, until October 2015 the President of the Colombian FA, on 12 November 2015 waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. As the U.S. Department of Justice moreover conveyed on 3 December 2015, Sergio Jadue, a former vice-president of CONMEBOL and the former President of the Chilean FA, on 23 November 2015 waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.
In his final reports, the chairman of the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee recommended imposing on both Mr Bedoya and Mr Jadue a lifelong ban on taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for an alleged violation of the general rules of conduct (art. 13 of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE)), loyalty (art. 15 FCE), duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting (art. 18 FCE), conflicts of interest (art. 19 FCE), bribery and corruption (art. 21 FCE) and general obligation to collaborate (art. 41 FCE).
Until formal decisions are taken by the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Mr Bedoya and Mr Jadue are presumed innocent.
#########
