US Appeals Court Reinstates FIFA Bribery Convictions for Fox Executive, Marketing Firm

A U.S. appeals court has reinstated the convictions of Hernan Lopez, former CEO of Fox International Channels, and the Argentine sports marketing company Full Play Group in a major FIFA bribery case. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that a Brooklyn judge erred in overturning the March 2023 jury verdicts, finding that the federal wire fraud statute does apply to the bribery scheme involving foreign soccer officials. The court emphasized that the bribed officials violated their duties to their employers, and the defendants' conduct had significant ties to the United States. Lopez and Full Play were convicted of conspiring to bribe officials from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF to secure broadcasting rights for tournaments like Copa Libertadores, World Cup qualifiers, and Copa América. Lopez's defense plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the convictions should not stand under the honest services wire fraud statute, but the appeals court rejected these arguments and returned the case to the lower court for further proceedings. This case is part of a wider Department of Justice investigation into soccer corruption that has charged over 40 individuals since 2015.