Ex-Concacaf president Hawit sentenced to time served

NEW YORK: The former president of football’s governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean was sentenced to time served for his role in accepting US$1.66mil (RM7.1mil) in bribes in the FIFA scandals and will return to Honduras after 4½ years in the US.

Alfredo Hawit of Honduras, Concacaf’s president from May 27, 2015, until Dec 4, 2015, was given the sentence on Monday by US District Judge Pamela K. Chen in Brooklyn during a video hearing.

The 68-year-old Hawit also was sentenced to two years of supervised release and barred during that time from holding a title in FIFA, Concacaf or any professional football organisation. Chen deferred a ruling on restitution for 90 days, said forfeiture will be US$950,000 (RM4mil) and said he must pay US$400 (RM1,700) in special assessments.

“I do take responsibility and I have changed considerably. I want to ask forgiveness for all those things I did back then,” Hawit said through a translator.

“There are no words to express how sorry I am,” he said in a written statement read by the translator to the court.

“I also regret all the harm I did to football, which is the sport that I love . ... From the day of my arrest in Zurich and the time that I spent in jail and 4½ years so far, I’ve suffered. I’ve felt humiliated and shamed by my behaviour, and I’m paying the price.”

Hawit, a lawyer, teacher and former professional player, will be deported when the coronavirus pandemic eases and Honduras reopens its border.

Prosecutors said his family is working with the Honduran consulate to arrange transport, and Chen recommended that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement allow him to self-deport.