FIFA's top lawyer Marco Villiger was the last remaining link to the Sepp Blatter era. GETTY IMAGES
FIFA parted ways with its top lawyer on Monday, removing the last senior official remaining from the Sepp Blatter era, "when a corruption scandal devastated the organization’s top leadership and its reputation," according to Tariq Panja of the N.Y. TIMES. The departure of the Swiss lawyer, Marco Villiger, came as FIFA President Gianni Infantino "tries to impose his authority" on the governing body, and it "may not be the last." Infantino is "mulling major changes" in the upper ranks of his administration, according to sources. Villiger had been the head of FIFA’s legal department under Blatter, who was forced out in '15 after a U.S. Department of Justice indictment revealed dozens of top football officials and businessmen "engaged in bribery and kickback schemes dating back more than two decades." While many of his former colleagues were "quickly and quietly removed," Villiger remained in place. He oversaw some of FIFA’s most important agreements with broadcasters and sponsors, including some subject to allegations in American court proceedings. Under Infantino, he "even won a promotion." Villiger was responsible for managing FIFA's reaction to the U.S.-led case, which has since "spawned further investigations in Switzerland and France" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/20).
