Businessmen in FIFA bribery case surrender

Two Argentine businessmen wanted on US charges of bribing FIFA officials have surrendered, the justice ministry said on Thursday.

Father and son marketing executives Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, the owners of sports marketing company Full Play, are among the 14 football officials and marketing executives indicted by the United States in a sweeping investigation into corruption at the heart of world football’s governing body.

The pair appeared early on Thursday morning before a federal judge in Buenos Aires, the ministry said. They will remain in detention while the US request for their extradition is considered.

Argentine sports marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco turned himself in to police in Italy last week.

Full Play held the TV rights to the South American World Cup qualifying matches and is accused of bribing FIFA officials for multi-million-dollar contracts.

The company also co-owns the broadcast rights to the Copa America, the South American football championship currently being played in Chile, with Torneos y Competencias -- run by Burzaco -- and TrafficSports USA, run by Aaron Davidson, who was arrested in Switzerland last month.

The father-son duo co-owned another company involved in the case, Datisa, with Burzaco.

High-powered lawyers

FIFA’s embattled president, Sepp Blatter, and his second-in-command have hired high-powered lawyers to represent them, two sources said as a corruption probe engulfs soccer's global governing body with Swiss authorities identifying suspicious bank transactions.

Blatter recently retained Richard Cullen, the chairman of the law firm McGuireWoods and a former US federal prosecutor, said a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA secretary general, has hired prominent New York defense attorney Barry Berke to represent him, a separate person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.