Judge Dismisses 2 FIFA Bribery Indictments Against Hernán López, Full Play
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 27
Judge Dismisses 2 FIFA Bribery Indictments Against Hernán López, Full Play
14 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 27
A Brooklyn federal judge on Wednesday threw out the two remaining indictments against Hernán López and Argentina-based Full Play, ending their branch of the long-running FIFA corruption case.
The ruling followed a Justice Department request in December to drop both cases in the “interests of justice,” a sharp reversal after a 2023 jury had convicted the defendants.
Those convictions had already seesawed through the courts over the past three years, with federal judges first overturning and later reinstating them before prosecutors abandoned the case.
Prosecutors had accused López and Full Play of paying bribes for commercial rights to tournaments including the Copa América and Copa Libertadores, and said López helped Fox secure U.S. World Cup rights for 2018, 2022 and 2026.
Why did prosecutors drop a FIFA bribery case after a jury had already returned a guilty verdict?
Does this high-profile dismissal weaken the global fight against corruption in professional sports?
How did a media executive build a $300M podcast empire while fighting federal bribery charges for years?