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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - A member of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee was handed a provisional 90-day ban from football on Friday, a day after pleading guilty in a US court to taking bribes in exchange for using his influence within the global soccer body.

FIFA’s ethics committee said in a statement it suspended Richard Lai, who is also president of the Guam Football Association (GFA), at the request of its chief investigator Cornely Borbely.

In separate statement, FIFA president Gianni Infantino thanked the US prosecutors for their efforts in battling corruption in the sport and said his federation would continue to co-operate with authorities.

Lai, 55, pleaded guilty on Thursday to wire fraud conspiracy charges before US District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, according to US prosecutors who said he had taken close to $1 million in bribes.

As part of the plea, Lai, a US citizen, has agreed to pay $1.1 million, prosecutors said.

He was not among several dozen officials and sports marketing agencies, mainly from Latin America, who were indicted in the United States in 2015 in the biggest crisis in FIFA’s history.

Lai, who has been president of the GFA since 2001, sits on the committee responsible for checking FIFA’s financial accounting.

He was also suspended on Friday by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), where he is a member of the marketing committee.

The Pacific island of Guam is a US territory, though its football association is a member of the AFC. As a full FIFA member, it holds a vote in FIFA presidential elections.

Announcing Lai’s guilty plea, the US department of justice said his “breach of trust was particularly significant given his position as a member of the FIFA Audit and Compliance committee, which must play an important and independent role if corruption within FIFA is to be eliminated.”

Infantino, elected in February 2016 to rebuild FIFA, thanked the US “for their continued efforts to stamp out corruption from football, which is also the top priority of the new leadership of FIFA.”

“The new FIFA has been fully supportive of the US authorities’ investigations, and will continue to be,” he said.

“I am happy to confirm once again, that FIFA will provide whatever assistance is needed by the US and any other authorities around the world.”

*Reuters