November 11 – Peruvian police have arrested the head of the country’s FA, Agustín Lozano, as part of an investigation into allegations that he abused his position to extort local clubs into surrendering their television rights.
Lozano was detained last week outside his home Lima promising to clear up any misunderstanding and saying that “everything will be clarified to ensure peace of mind”. Six other people connected to the suspected conspiracy were also arrested.
Lozano is the second Peruvian football boss to be arrested since 2018 after his predecessor was investigated for an alleged role in two murders for which he was later absolved.
Prosecutors, in a 140-page court filing seeking Lozano’s arrest, said he and others tried to wrest lucrative broadcast rights from Peru’s first division teams.
Clubs that refused were apparently threatened with being relegated according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Lozano is also suspected of illegally spending $1.8 million in federation funds to transport 142 people unconnected with the Peruvian FA to Doha in 2022 for the World Cup playoff match between Peru and Australia
A prosecutor overseeing the current case told local radio that Lozano had been under investigation for over a year. Although he has not been criminally charged, authorities ordered his arrest because they deemed him a flight risk and could obstruct their investigation.
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