Fifa scandal spreads as Asia confederation official admits taking bribes

New York

THE first Asian soccer official to be convicted in the Fifa corruption scandal, a member of a committee that oversaw ethics compliance, told a US judge that he accepted about US$1 million in bribes, including US$100,000 from the former president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Guam Football Association president Richard Lai, a US citizen who is also on the Asian confederation's executive board, implicated the group's ex-president, Mohamed Bin Hammam, and two other Asian soccer officials during his guilty plea last Thursday, according to records in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.