Rafael Esquivel

Last updated

Rafael Esquivel
Born
Rafael Esquivel Melo

1946or1947(age 76–77) [1]
Nationality Venezuelan
Occupation(s)former president of the Venezuelan Football Federation
former member of CONMEBOL executive committee

Rafael Esquivel Melo (born 1946/1947) is a Venezuelan former football administrator. He was a member of CONMEBOL executive committee and president of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF).

Contents

Career and arrest

Esquivel was president of the Venezuelan Football Federation from 1988 to 2015. [1]

Esquivel was arrested in May 2015 in Switzerland to face corruption charges in the United States. [2] He was banned by FIFA Ethics Committee for life. [3] [4]

In March 2016, Esquivel was extradited to the US and pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court. [5] He was released from jail on a US$7 million bond. [6]

Chilean actor Gonzalo Robles portrayed Esquivel in the 2020 Amazon Prime Video original series El Presidente .

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References

  1. 1 2 "FIFA Corruption Arrests: What We Know So Far". SkyNews. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  2. Apuzzo, Matt; Schmidt, Michael S.; Rashbaum, William K.; Borden, Sam. "FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges; Blatter Isn't Among Them". New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  3. Ruiz, Rebecca R. (8 August 2015). "How the 14 Indicted FIFA Defendants Currently Stand". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  4. "Three Fifa officials banned from football for life over corruption charges". The Independent. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  5. "Football: Ex-Conmebol VP Esquivel pleads not guilty in US court over Fifa graft scandal". The Straits Times. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  6. McDermid, Brendan; Rosenberg, Mica (10 March 2016). "U.S. judge allows release of Venezuelan ex-soccer official on bond". Reuters. Retrieved 28 June 2016.