ZURICH (AP) — A FIFA disciplinary judge and a former president of Venezuela’s soccer federation were found guilty by the world soccer body on Thursday of financial corruption.
Former federation president Laureano González was banned for five years for mismanagement of its money including a “fictitious invoicing scheme,” FIFA said in announcing the verdicts of its ethics committee. González was ordered to pay a fine of more than $410,000.
Carlos Terán was a member of FIFA’s disciplinary committee when he approved and accepted “undue pecuniary advantages in the form of additional monthly payments,” FIFA said.
Terán was banned from soccer for two years and fined 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,000).
The offenses were linked to both men serving on an emergency management panel — known by the FIFA term “normalization committee” — that was running the federation.
Three more emergency panel members were found guilty of charges including conflicts of interest and taking monthly payments and fined $10,000. One-year FIFA bans for Bernardo Añor Guillamón, Luis Eduardo Fernández and Gilberto Velazco Ramírez were each suspended for two-year probation periods.
Venezuela is the only one of the 10 South American soccer federations whose men's team has never qualified for a World Cup.
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