S America’s scandal-hit football boss dies

ASUNCION: Former South American football chief Nicolas Leoz, a key suspect in the huge FIFA corruption scandal investigated by the US Justice Department, has died aged 90 in Asuncion, medical sources said.

The United States had sought to extradite the Paraguayan — one of the most powerful men in South American football — to face trial over alleged bribery and money laundering but his lawyers frustrated all attempts to do so, citing his frail health.

He died of heart failure in hospital on Wednesday, medical sources and local media reported in Paraguay. Leoz had been under house arrest in Asuncion in connection with the scandal and was suspected of receiving millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for marketing and TV rights for games.