July 23 – Colombia’s government says the national FA should kick out any officials deemed to have been found guilty of wrongdoing following a two-year investigation by the country’s business regulator into the resale of tickets for World Cup qualifiers at inflated prices.
Earlier this month, the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) and a raft of its most influential officials – including FIFA Council member Ramon Jesurun – were fined $4.6 million over the scam which revealed that tickets were sold at well above market prices and restricted the ability of other firms to compete. The matches involved were played between October 2015 and October 2017, ahead of the World Cup in Russia the following year, where Colombia reached the last 16.
Those fined not only included Jesurun but also his vice president Alvaro Gonzalez and former FCF chief Luis Bedoya, one of those who has pleaded guilty in the United States in the widespread FIFAGate scandal.
“An investigation is necessary … to determine if transgressions existed,” Colombia’s sports ministry said in a letter to the federation.
“The suspension or removal” of members should take place if regulations are found to have been breached, it added.
Members can only be suspended or removed once the investigation is completed.
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