Swiss court clears extradition of ex-Nicaragua soccer boss Rocha to U.S.

ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss Federal Court has cleared the way for former Nicaraguan soccer official Julio Rocha to be extradited to the United States after rejecting his appeal to be sent to his home country, the court said in a statement on Monday.

Rocha, a former FIFA development officer and president of the Nicaraguan Football Federation, was among seven people arrested at a Zurich hotel a year ago in the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into corruption surrounding world soccer body FIFA.

U.S. federal prosecutors in New York accuse Rocha of demanding and taking bribes of $150,000 in connection with the sale of marketing rights to World Cup qualifying games.

(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Michael Shields)