EX-FOOTBALL OFFICIALS GO ON TRIAL

THREE former football officials went on trial in New York on charges of bribery yesterday.

Jose Maria Marin, Manuel Burga and Juan Angel Napout are accused of taking bribes worth millions of dollars, US prosecutor Keith Edelman said in his opening statement.

The illicit payments were made in exchange for making sure lucrative TV and sponsorship deals for football tournaments went to a particular marketing firm, Edelman said.

Marin is the former president of the Brazilian football association and Burga was head of the Peruvian association, while Paraguayan Napout was previously in charge of CONMEBOL, the South American football association.

The US government combed through more than 2 million documents from 2000-15 related to CONMEBOL in the wake of the corruption scandal which rocked FIFA.

Several former top-level football officials have already been jailed in the US for promising marketing rights to companies in exchange for cash.

More than 40 people have pleaded guilty to taking at least 150 billion dollars in bribes over two decades as part of the scandal.