Chuck Blazer: FIFA hands American life ban

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FIFA bans Chuck Blazer from football for life
02:33 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

Chuck Blazer, the corrupt former U.S. soccer official turned FIFA whistleblower, has been banned from all football-related activities for life by the Ethics Committee of world soccer’s governing body.

Blazer, who served on FIFA’s Executive Committee between 1997 and 2013 and as CONCACAF general secretary from 1990 to 2011, pleaded guilty to a string of charges brought by U.S. prosecutors including racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and income tax evasion in 2013.

FIFA’s Ethics Committee says it suspended its original investigations into Blazer in May 2013 after receiving written assurances that the 70-year-old, who is suffering from colon cancer, would not engage in football-related activities.

Proceedings reopened in December 2014 and have now concluded resulting in Blazer’s ban from “any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for life.”

“Mr Blazer committed many and various acts of misconduct continuously and repeatedly during his time as an official in different high-ranking and influential positions at FIFA and CONCACAF,” the FIFA statement said.

“In his positions as a football official, he was a key player in schemes involving the offer, acceptance, payment and receipt of undisclosed and illegal payments, bribes and kickbacks as well as other money-making schemes.”

Blazer’s life ban is “effective from July 9 2015,” FIFA said.

In court records released in June, Blazer revealed that he and other members of the FIFA executive committee took bribes from 2004-2011 and helped South Africa land the 2010 World Cup as well as facilitating a bribe relating to the 1998 World Cup bidding process.

According to an investigation by the New York Daily News, Blazer began cooperating with U.S. Federal government officials from the FBI and IRS in 2011 and reportedly used a keychain wired with a microphone to gather evidence at the London 2012 Olympics.

FULL COVERAGE: FIFA under fire