Former South America football boss Napout jailed for nine years in US

The former head of the South American football confederation CONMEBOL, Juan Angel Napout, was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the sweeping FIFA corruption scandal -- a tough punishment the judge said should deter others tempted by easy money.

The sentencing of the 60-year-old Napout came just a week after the former boss of Brazilian football, Jose Maria Marin, was jailed for four years in connection with the same case.

"There's a need for general deterrence because there was, and perhaps there is still, corruption in international soccer," federal Judge Pamela Chen told the courtroom as she delivered the sentence yesterday.

Wearing a beige prison jumpsuit, Napout implored the judge: "I want to ask for your compassion. I want to ask for your mercy."
But Chen said it was important to send a message "that you cannot steal millions in bribes from soccer organizations and go unpunished... that there are real consequences, that you'll go to jail and it won't be a slap on the wrist."
- 'Among the most culpable' -
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