FIFA calls for life ban for ex-CONCACAF president

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA’s ethics commission on Friday called for a life ban from football for the former head of the CONCACAF federation and former Honduras federation president Alfredo Hawit on corruption charges.

Hawit was extradited from Switzerland last January to the United States to face charges a month after his arrest in Zurich on the fringes of a FIFA executive committee meeting.

US prosecutors have accused the 65-year-old of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and money laundering in connection with the sale of broadcasting rights for tournaments in Latin America, including World Cup qualifiers when he was secretary general of the Honduran Football Federation between 2008 and 2014.

Hawit pleaded guilty to charges on four counts of conspiracy and obstructing justice last April at a Brooklyn court.

FIFA’s top ethics investigator Dr Cornel Borbely had already called for the former president of Honduras, Rafael Callejas to be banned from football for life for his role in corruption scandals.

After leading the Central American republic of Honduras between 1990 and 1994, Callejas became president of the Honduran Football Association (FENAFUTH) in 2002, and also served on FIFA’s marketing and television committee.

Callejas, who pleaded guilty last March and was president of his county between 1990 and 1994, was indicted by the US Department of Justice on fraud and racketeering charges pertaining to broadcasting rights for the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

A judgement will be given by the New York court in January 2017, but with his plea bargain he may escape a jail sentence.

FIFA have yet to state when their judgement will be announced.