US prosecutors move to drop soccer bribery case against former Fox executive

By Jasper Ward and Jack Queen

Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss charges against a former Fox executive and an Argentine sports marketing company convicted of trying to bribe soccer officials in exchange for lucrative broadcasting contracts, according to a court filing.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. wrote a letter on Tuesday to the judge who oversaw the case, saying dismissing the case against Hernan Lopez was in the "interest of justice."

Lopez was among more than 40 to face criminal charges in a sweeping U.S. Department of Justice probe unveiled in 2015 into soccer corruption, including at the sport's world governing body FIFA.

Prosecutors said Lopez, a former chief executive of Fox International Channels, schemed to bribe officials at South American soccer federation CONMEBOL to win rights for that continent's most popular club tournament, Copa Libertadores.

The move to dismiss the case comes months after an appeals court reinstated the 2023 conviction against Lopez.

A federal judge had said Lopez's conviction could not stand because a federal law addressing honest services wire fraud did not reach alleged foreign commercial bribery.