The former president of the El Salvador Football Association has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in the major bribery scandal within FIFA. A judge in New York imposed the sentence on Reinaldo Vazquez. During his presidency of the El Salvador federation, the 66-year-old Vazquez received bribes of more than $350,000 between 2009 and 2011, in order to obtain media rights to World Cup qualifiers from a specific company.
Shortly before the FIFA presidential election in 2015, several football chiefs, mostly from Central and South America, were arrested in a hotel in Zurich. Sepp Blatter was re-elected president of FIFA at the conference, but resigned after a few days under great pressure. The Swiss was eventually banned for years due to a questionable payment deal with Michel Platini.
The US judiciary has been investigating a large-scale bribery scandal within FIFA for some time. It has already led to 27 confessions and numerous convictions. Vazquez pleaded guilty last year.
“These people filled their pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. It happened against the backdrop of a great sport, the El Salvador Football Federation and its members,” the prosecutor said at the Vasquez trial in New York. He must repay the amount he collected.
Several years ago, FIFA imposed a life ban on the former president of El Salvador. He may never again play a role in football.
