Fifa shortcomings revealed in marketing case
A court in central Switzerland has said football's governing body, Fifa, failed to properly oversee marketing payments worth hundreds of millions of Swiss francs.
The judge in the town of Zug said Zurich-based Fifa had been aware of the financial difficulties of its now defunct marketing partner, ISL/ISMM, months before it went bankrupt but failed to carry out certain account checks.
The finding was one of a series presented after a complex legal case.
The judge said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that payments made had been bribes but that they were clearly linked to the sale of rights.
Such payments are not illegal in Switzerland.
The court found one defendant guilty of embezzlement and two others guilty of obtaining false documents by deception but rejected most charges. Fines between SFr12,000 ($11,740) and SFr81,600 were imposed. Three other defendants were acquitted.
ISL/IMMM went bankrupt in 2001. It was founded in 1982 and at one time was the world leader in sport marketing.
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