FIFA upholds life ban on Brazil's Del Nero

RIO DE JANEIRO - FIFA's appeal committee has upheld a life ban on former Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Marco Polo Del Nero for corruption, the sport's global governing body said on Monday.

The 78-year-old was guilty of accepting bribes and kickbacks as well as violating rules related to conflict of interest and general conduct, FIFA said in a statement.

The ruling comes just over a year after FIFA's ethics committee barred Del Nero from all football-related activity and fined him 1 million Swiss francs ($1 million).

Del Nero was suspended by FIFA in December 2017 after being charged by the US authorities with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.

Investigators said the Brazilian participated in a scheme that awarded lucrative rights agreements for tournaments such as the Copa America, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil.

His predecessors Ricardo Teixeira and Jose Maria Marin were also indicted on similar charges as part of a global investigation by the US department of justice.

Del Nero and Teixeira have not been extradited while Marin was found guilty by a New York court and sentenced to four years in prison last August.