World soccer bodies awarded just $2.63 million in U.S. bribery case

FILE PHOTO: Jose Maria Marin (L), president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, and Juan Angel Napout, president of the Paraguayan Football Association, smile after an executive committee meeting, in Asuncion April 30, 2013. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said the world soccer governing body FIFA and two regional soccer federations deserved to recoup just $2.63 million (2.06 million pounds) from two former officials convicted on bribery charges, a small fraction of the roughly $125 million (97.82 million pounds) they sought.

The decision on Tuesday night by U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, New York is a defeat for FIFA and the regional bodies CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, which were seeking restitution from former Brazilian soccer federation president José Maria Marin and former CONMEBOL chief Juan Angel Napout.