FIFA bans Costa Rican Li for life

The ban handed down by FIFA's independent ethics committee and was triggered by Li's guilty plea to racketeering in the United States as part of the Justice Department's massive investigation into fraud across world football.

Li had been the head of the Costa Rican federation from 2007 until his arrest in Zurich in May of 2015 by Swiss police acting on a US warrant.

Disgraced former Costa Rican football chief Eduardo Li was on Friday banned from football for life over bribery and corruption.

The ban handed down by FIFA's independent ethics committee and was triggered by Li's guilty plea to racketeering in the United States as part of the Justice Department's massive investigation into fraud across world football.

Li had been the head of the Costa Rican federation from 2007 until his arrest in Zurich in May of 2015 by Swiss police acting on a US warrant.

The adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's ethics watchdog chaired by Hans-Joachim Eckert said Li had broken a series of FIFA's rules governing bribery and corruption, and conflict of interest.

"As a consequence the official is banned for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level," a statement announced.

At a New York federal court in October, Li admitted to extortion and fraud after taking more than $500,000 (473,000 euros) in illicit payments for steering match marketing rights to a private firm.