WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the US Justice Department (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging 14 defendants — among them top FIFA and CONCACAF executives — with racketeering and money laundering. Seven of the defendants were arrested in Zurich at the request of the US authorities.
“In accordance with the Confederation’s Statutes, the Executive Committee provisionally dismissed Jeffrey Webb and Eduardo Li, and — also in accordance with its Statutes — named Senior Vice President Alfredo Hawit as CONCACAF President,” the statement read.
Webb is the current CONCACAF vice president and executive committee member, while Li is the global soccer association’s current executive committee member-elect.
The soccer confederation also said that they were immediately placing its General Secretary Enrique Sanz on a leave of absence and will replace him with Deputy General Secretary Ted Howard.
Hawit stressed that the confederation will continue to “cooperate with the ongoing investigation by governmental authorities, which have not placed any restrictions on our ongoing activities.”
CONCACAF also said that it has appointed Victor Montagliani of the Canadian Soccer Association, Justino Compean of the Mexican Soccer Federation and Sunil Gulati of US Soccer Federation to a Special Committee to oversee the confederation's business operations amid the DOJ indictment.
