Former CONMEBOL President Nicolás Leoz's attorney said that a Paraguayan judge should dismiss a U.S. extradition request for Leoz "because a treaty between the two countries is fraught with legal holes," according to Daniela Desantis of REUTERS. Leoz, 86, is among nine football officials and five marketing execs hit with U.S. charges "including conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the biggest corruption scandal ever to hit world football." Paraguay has an extradition treaty with the U.S., but the legal argument put forward by Leoz's lawyer "highlights how the long arm of U.S. law may struggle to reach all defendants swiftly." Ricardo Preda, the attorney representing Leoz, said, "The defense is saying that you cannot extradite somebody if the law did not lay out the rules of the game. The treaty does not establish clear procedures to follow. There is a legislative void" (REUTERS, 8/24). REUTERS' Patrick Johnston wrote FIFA "dismissed claims by Indonesia that they will visit Jakarta in October" with a view to overturning the football ban on the Southeast Asian nation for government interference. Indonesian Youth & Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi said that FIFA "would send an investigative team and see that all was well again" in the country's football governance, but the world governing body said on Tuesday that the trip was news to it. A spokesperson said, "FIFA and AFC [Asian Football Confederation] would like to confirm that no such visit is planned" (REUTERS, 8/25).
