Former Peru soccer official found not guilty in U.S. FIFA bribery case
(Reuters) - Former Peru soccer federation president, Manuel Burga, was found not guilty yesterday of racketeering conspiracy by a U.S. jury in New York.
Burga was charged along with Juan Angel Napout, the former president of the South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL and Paraguay’s soccer federation, and Jose Maria Marin, former president of Brazil’ soccer federation, with taking bribes in exchange for the award of valuable marketing and media rights to international soccer matches.
The three men were the first to stand trial on charges brought by U.S. prosecutors in 2015 as part of investigations of world soccer’s governing body FIFA.
Napout and Marin were both convicted on several counts on Friday, following a five-week trial in federal court in Brooklyn. The jury said at the time it was deadlocked on the single count against Burga.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom after the verdict was read, Burga, 60, said the criminal proceeding had been an ordeal for his family and that he was eager to spend time with them in Peru.
Burga’s lawyer, Bruce Udolf, said the verdict was the “right thing to do” but that he had expected Burga to be found guilty because a question posed by the jury suggested it was siding with the prosecutors.
U.S. prosecutors have charged 42 people and entities in the case, at least 24 of whom have pleaded guilty. Several of those testified for prosecutors in this trial, telling of corruption that went far beyond the defendants in the courtroom.
Alejandro Burzaco, the former head of Argentine sports marketing company Torneos y Competencias, told jurors in November that he paid bribes to all three defendants to secure rights to matches including the Copa America and Copa Libertadores. Burzaco had pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Burzaco also said that Fox Sports, Mexico’s Grupo Televisa and Brazil’s Globo paid bribes for media rights to games. Fox and Globo denied being involved in bribery, while Televisa declined to comment after Burzaco’s testimony.