ZURICH โ FIFA has imposed a five-year ban on a Venezuelan soccer official due to financial misconduct and has ordered him to pay a fine close to $1 million.
Manuel รlvarez, who previously held the position of secretary general of the Venezuelan soccer federation, was found responsible for facilitating the โmisappropriation and misuseโ of funds belonging to both the federation and FIFA. This decision was highlighted in a statement released by soccerโs global governing body on Friday.
The ethics committee of FIFA also accused รlvarez of violating principles related to โduty of loyaltyโ and other โgeneral dutiesโ as outlined in their code of conduct.
Although FIFA allocates at least $2 million annually to support each of its 211 member federations, the specific details regarding his financial improprieties have not been disclosed. รlvarez has the option to appeal this ruling.
There are also concerns about how FIFA will enforce the payment of the fine if รlvarez is not involved in soccer again in the future.
Notably, Venezuela remains the only member of the 10-nation CONMEBOL group of South American soccer federations that has never succeeded in qualifying for the menโs World Cup.