Football’s global governing body Fifa has handed a lifetime ban to Marco Antonio Trovato Villalba, the current president of the Paraguayan side Club Olimpia, after finding him guilty of match manipulation.
Fifa’s Disciplinary Committee said Trovato Villalba’s sanction was in relation to a number of matches that took place between 2018 and 2019, all while he was president of the club.
Fifa did not go into further detail about the matches in question, but did confirm that Trovato Villalba had breached article 18 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, which focuses on the manipulation of football matches and competitions.
Trovato Villalba was also ruled to have breached article 20 of Fifa’s Code, which relates to failure to comply with his duty to collaborate during Fifa disciplinary proceedings.
As a result, Trovato Villalba must serve a lifetime ban from all football-related activity and also pay a fine of CHF100,000 (£83,680/€92,350/$107,700).
Trovato Villalba was informed of the decision today (28 September) and has 10 days to request the grounds of the ruling, after which it will be published on Fifa’s legal website.
Pursuant to article 56 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, Trovato Villalba may be able to file an appeal against the decision with the Fifa Appeal Committee.
The ruling comes after Fifa earlier this month designated a new smartphone app from the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) to anonymously report match-fixing as a valid reporting tool for potential corruption in the sport.
Fifa and its integrity department will now investigate confidential information submitted via the app that is shared by FIFPro.
