Croatia official allowed to watch semis despite conviction
MOSCOW (AP) FIFA is letting a top Croatian soccer official watch the team's World Cup semifinal against England from a VIP section on Wednesday despite him being convicted last month in a corruption case linked to the transfer of Luka Modric.
When Croatia beat Russia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, the soccer federation's CEO-like director general sat in the same row of seats as state President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Damir Vrbanovic has retained his position since being sentenced by a court in Croatia in June to a three-year jail term - though Article 68 of FIFA's disciplinary code bars officials ''convicted of a criminal offense in the past five years.''
However, FIFA has decided that the sentence is not final because the former Dinamo Zagreb director general is appealing to a higher court
