Brazilian football chief Marco Polo Del Nero given 90-day FIFA ban

FIFA handed Brazilian football confederation (CBF) president Marco Polo Del Nero a 90-day provisional ban from all football activities on Friday.

The 76-year-old, a former member of the FIFA Council, is the latest prominent South American official to be banned by the sport’s governing body as part of its investigation into a vast corruption scandal.

Del Nero was indicted on corruption charges in the United States in December 2015 and has faced numerous calls, including from Brazilian greats Pele and Zico, to step down.

“Mr Polo Del Nero is banned from all football activities at both national and international level,” FIFA said in a statement. “The ban comes into force immediately.” FIFA added that Del Nero’s ban could be extended by up to 45 days while the ethics committee completes its investigation.

Del Nero’s predecessor at the CBF, Jose Maria Marin, has been on trial in New York since November alongside Paraguayan former CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout and ex-Peruvian football chief Manuel Burga.

Marin was part of the first wave of arrests of football officials by Swiss police on a Zurich hotel in May 2015.

Del Nero has always protested his innocence and told the Brazilian Senate two years ago that he was “unjustly accused”.