NEW YORK: The FIFA corruption trial is to get underway with opening statements in New York on Monday, two and a half years after US prosecutors unveiled the largest graft scandal in the history of world soccer.
Forty-two officials and marketing executives, and three companies were indicted in an exhaustive 236-page complaint detailing 92 separate crimes and 15 corruption schemes to the tune of $200 million.
Yet only three of them are going on trial — three fabulously-wealthy and once-powerful soccer officials from South America, charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
Their fate will be decided by an anonymous jury, chosen after documented attempts at intimidation. The 12-member panel with six alternates was selected after four days of screening last week.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin Monday at the US federal court in Brooklyn.
The most high-profile defendant is Jose Maria Marin, 85, former president of Brazil’s Football Confederation — the sport’s organizing body in one of the premier soccer-playing nations in the world.
Since extradition after his 2015 arrest by Swiss police in a five-star hotel, he has been out on bail, living in luxury at Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper best known for housing the penthouse and company headquarters of the US president.
Also in the dock is former FIFA vice president Juan Angel Napout, 59, and Manuel Burga, who led soccer in Peru until 2014 and once served as a FIFA development committee member.
All three plead not guilty.
The trial due to last five to six weeks, prosecutors are expected to present 350,000 pages of evidence and dozens of witnesses.
If convicted, they will be sentenced by Judge Pamela Chen. The most serious counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
US prosecutors first announced the indictments on May 27, 2015, lifting the lid on a quarter of a century of endemic corruption in the heart of FIFA, soccer’s governing body.
Twenty-four defendants have already pleaded guilty, and two of them were last month sentenced to jail.
While the US investigation did not indict ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter, he was thrown out of the sport in 2015 after FIFA’s ethics committee found him guilty of accepting an improper two million Swiss franc ($2.1 million) payment from then-UEFA chief Michel Platini.
Blatter was banned from soccer for six years, and Platini, his former heir apparent, for four years.
FIFA bribery trial to kick off in New York
FIFA bribery trial to kick off in New York
Pakistan face arch-rivals India today in blockbuster T20 World Cup clash in Colombo
- Cricket contest takes place amid surging political tensions between India and Pakistan after their May 2025 clash
- Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav says team will decide whether or not to shake hands with Pakistani cricketers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan take on defending champions and arch-rivals India today, Sunday, in Colombo in a highly anticipated T20 World Cup 2026 clash between the two sides.
The Group A fixture between the two sides will not just be important for the on-field cricket action but also because of the political tensions between the neighbors. India and Pakistan engaged in a brief military confrontation in May 2025 which came to a halt after Washington brokered a ceasefire.
However, political tensions spilled over onto the cricket field when Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted out of shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart before the toss at their Asia Cup encounter last year in September. The Indian team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in all three matches of the tournament, triggering a strong protest from Pakistan.
Tensions surged again after Pakistan’s government announced earlier this month it would not allow its team to play against India in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh. The South Asian country was replaced with Scotland after it refused to play its matches in India due to security reasons. Pakistan criticized the move and announced boycotting the Feb. 15 match against India. However, Islamabad later took back its decision to boycott the match after negotiations with the International Cricket Council.
“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday. “The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do.”
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not commit whether his team will shake hands with Pakistan or not on Sunday.
“Why are you highlighting that?” Yadav asked reporters. “We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow.”
Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years.
India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.
India has defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played. They also have an impressive 6-1 record in the eight T20 World Cup matches since the first edition in 2007, with one being tied.
“We don’t have a good record against them in World Cups,” Agha admitted. “But whenever you come to play a new match, it’s a new day and you have to play good cricket to win.
“You can’t change history. You can learn from it. We learned from it and we’ll try to do a good performance tomorrow and win the match.”
Both sides have won their two fixtures so far, with India beating the USA and Namibia while Pakistan have defeated the Netherlands and the USA as well.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.
The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
