Swiss say no special treatment for arrested soccer officials

BERN, Switzerland — The immediate price that seven international soccer officials paid for their role in a U.S. corruption probe is perhaps best illustrated by their sudden change of accommodation.

On Tuesday night they were staying at one of Switzerland’s finest hotels, where top suites can cost more than $4,000 a night and a two-ounce dollop of caviar will set you back almost $400. By Wednesday morning the men, who had come to Switzerland to attend the annual meeting of soccer’s governing body FIFA, found themselves in less salubrious accommodation — prison cells around Zurich where the $16 daily budget for food gets inmates a daily portion of meat, a “filler” such as rice, and occasional vegetables.

The dawn arrests of some of soccer’s most powerful figures were the result of an extradition request sent to Switzerland by the United States, where the men are among 14 sought on racketeering and other charges spanning more than two decades.

Swiss justice officials said the suspects can’t expect any special treatment while they await a decision on whether they will be handed over to the U.S.

The seven are FIFA vicepresidents Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands and Eugenio Figueredo of Uruguay; Costa Rican soccer federation president Eduardo Li; Venezuela FA chief Rafael Esquivel; former Brazilian FA chief Jose Maria Marin; Costas Takkas, a Briton who works for CONCACAF President Webb; and FIFA development officer Julio Rocha of Nicaragua.