Trial of Fox executives in FIFA case delayed to January

By Associated Press

NEW YORK: The trial of a pair of former 21st Century Fox Inc. executives and a sports marketing company on charges related to the U.S government investigation of corruption in soccer was postponed to Jan. 3.

Hernan Lopez and Carlos Martinez were charged in March 2020 as part of an alleged scheme related to rights to the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament, South America’s club championship. The Uruguayan sports marketing company Full Play Group SA also was charged.

All three defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their trial in federal court in Brooklyn was to have started on May 23.

U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen said Monday that prosecutors and the defendants had requested a delay because the government disclosed “a large volume of discovery materials — perhaps as many as 7,000–8,000 documents conservatively totalling 40,000 pages — some of which had not been turned over as of May 6.”

Prosecutors initially asked for a delay to May 30 and the defendants to June 27. Chen said because of the schedules of herself and the lawyers involved in the case, a trial estimated to take five-to-six weeks was not possible until January.

Lopez, Martinez and Full Play are charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, 11 counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy in connection with the Copa Libertadores.

Full Play also is charged with one count each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in connection with South American World Cup qualifiers and exhibition games, and one count of wire fraud conspiracy, six counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with Copa América tournaments.