FIFA sends 1,300-page corruption probe to Swiss prosecutors

GENEVA » FIFA has sent 1,300 pages of internal investigation reports into suspected bribery and corruption to Switzerland’s attorney general.

However, FIFA said Friday it was legally barred from publishing the full reports or commenting on the evidence or conclusions.

The documents complete a 22-month probe by legal firm Quinn Emanuel, which FIFA retained in the fallout from United States and Swiss federal prosecu- tors revealing their sprawling investigations of soccer corruption in May 2015.

FIFA has said the U.S.-based law firm, whose hiring helped add $30 million to its published legal costs in 2015, is key to helping retain its institutional status as a victim of corruption and not an accomplice.

“FIFA understands and has agreed that the reports will also be made available to the U.S. authorities,” FIFA said in a statement.

In a case identified with former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the FIFA-commissioned re- ports will arrive at the U.S. Department of Justice and Brooklyn federal prosecution under new leaders in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Switzerland attorney general Michael Lauber remains in control of his office’s investigation, which already opened proceedings for suspected criminal mismanagement against former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and his former right-hand man, Jerome Valcke.

Blatter and Valcke, FIFA’s CEOlike secretary general since 2007, were put under suspicion in Septem- ber 2015 and later banned from soccer by the FIFA ethics committee.

It is unclear which other senior FIFA staffers or soccer federation leaders worldwide could be implicated and ultimately indicted on the basis of the investigation reports.

U.S. women’s national team calls up 16-year-old

CHICAGO » The U.S. women’s national team has called up 16-yearold Sophia Smith as an injury replacement on Jill Ellis’ roster.

Smith was set to join the team Friday ahead of two upcoming exhibition matches against Russia on April 6 and 9, both in Texas. A high school junior from Windsor, Colorado, Smith left the Americans’ Under-23 squad in Portland, Oregon.

The Americans are down midfielders Morgan Brian (knee), Lindsey Horan (hip) and Tobin Heath (back), all forced to pull out of the training camp.

Smith was recently in Europe for stints with both the US U-18 and U-20 teams, scoring five goals in three games.