Marco Polo Del Nero, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), is a step closer to facing trial.

On Friday, Polo Del Nero was provisionally banned from all football activities at both national and international levels by FIFA’s Ethics Committee. The duration of the ban may be extended by a period not exceeding 45 days.

Polo Del Nero was among 16 additional FIFA officials indicted for racketeering, conspiracy, and corruption by the United States Department of Justice in 2015. After resigning from the FIFA Executive Committee, he was charged one week later with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies, among other offences, in connection with a scheme to make money by corrupting international football.

According to the Guardian, Polo Del Nero fled Switzerland in May 2015 when nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice. It was the beginning of the corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body, and Jose Maria Marin, a former president of the CBF, was among the defendants.

Romario, a politician who was part of Brazil’s squad when the Selecao won the 1994 World Cup, wrote on Facebook: “My hope, like many Brazilians who love football, is to see him banished once and for all. Del Nero has already had his crimes unmasked with those of other corrupt ones like Jose Maria Marin, already imprisoned in the USA, and Ricardo Teixeira, still loose in Brazil. They used the CBF to illegally enrich.”

Antonio Carlos Nunes de Lima will be employed as the CFB’s president while Polo Del Nero serves his ban.

INDIANAPOLIS — Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian left Thursday night’s game against the Indianapolis Colts because of a left shoulder injury.

The team ruled out his return.

It is believed he suffered a sprain to the AC joint following an initial exam, a source told ESPN. An MRI will take place Friday in Denver to verify and gauge severity.

Siemian, who had surgery on the shoulder after the 2016 season and was held out of some of the team’s offseason work, was sacked by Barkevious Mingo late in the first quarter and landed on his left arm and shoulder. Siemian immediately got up holding his left arm against his body and was examined by the Broncos’ medical staff before being taken to the locker room.

• 

  The Colts announced that tight end Brandon Williams was taken to a hospital because of a head injury after he was injured in the second quarter of Thursday night’s game against Denver. The Colts said Williams was moving his extremities.

• 

  Broncos-Colts is the last TNF game of the season, but it’s going to be back in 2018 and beyond. Here’s why.

Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is under the spotlight.

As detailed by the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland and Jon Swaine, bribes for the rights to televise football were allegedly paid with the “agreement and support” of senior executives at 21st Century Fox, as documents and testimony forming parts of the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA placed the executives in meetings with corrupt officials.

Three men were named in a previously unreported court filing:

• Carlos Martinez, chief executive of Fox Networks in Latin America
• Hernan Lopez, former head of Fox International Channels
• James Ganley, former chief operating officer at Fox Pan American Sports

The court filing, which was detailed by the United States Department of Justice and shielded the identities of certain organisations and individuals, alleged that Martinez, Lopez, and Ganley were involved in a bribery-for-broadcasting-rights scheme. Prosecutors said multimillion-dollar payments helped T&T Sports Marketing Limited obtain the lucrative rights to the Copa Libertadores, which is the South American equivalent of the Champions League.

T&T Sports Marketing Limited – an affiliate of Torneos y Competencias CA, an Argentinian sports marketing company that admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to a high-ranking FIFA official – was listed as a subsidiary by 21st Century Fox in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Government documents showed its investment in the company stretches back to 2002.

Torneos y Competencias CA entered into a four-year deferred prosecution in 2016, agreeing to over $112.8 million in forfeiture and criminal penalties, while agreeing to cooperate fully with the government’s ongoing investigation. At the time, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that “Torneos paid the bribes and kickbacks with the agreement and support of the U.S. broadcasting company affiliates and their representatives, including three high-ranking officials.”

Fox Sports declared it “did not not participate in any wrongdoing” and is “vigorously defending” the complaint.

Lopez’s lawyers stated: “Mr. Lopez built his entire career on a foundation of respect and integrity, and he never authorised or was aware of any improper payments on his watch.”

Ganley’s lawyers claimed: “Mr. Ganley has a well-earned reputation as a highly accomplished and ethical business executive. He has never been involved in any wrongdoing, and has never been accused of wrongdoing. Any contention to the contrary is flatly false.”

Meanwhile, the Walt Disney Company is set to acquire 21st Century Fox for approximately $52.4 billion in stock.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Robert Woods believes his previously sprained left shoulder has passed every test, even though the shoulder has yet to go through the rigors of a traditional practice. The Los Angeles Rams’ standout wide receiver will take part in full-speed practices Thursday and Friday, but he is already certain that he will play in the upcoming road game against the Seattle Seahawks.

“I’m ready for Sunday,” Woods said shortly after the Rams’ walk-through on Wednesday. “I’ve been waiting on this.”

Woods has missed the last three games with his shoulder injury, suffered after absorbing a tackle from safety Harrison Smith late in the Nov. 19 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Woods, 25, initially feared surgery, but MRI results revealed a need for only a short rehabilitation process.

“Very grateful that I didn’t need surgery, that I didn’t hit anything,” Woods said. “I was looking at Aaron Rodgers’ injury. He broke his [collarbone]. Fortunately, mine wasn’t broken; just a little injury there.”

Woods, who came over on a five-year, $34 million contract, has compiled 47 catches for 703 yards and 4 touchdowns. He led Rams receivers in basically every category when he was hurt, but the Rams have averaged 31 points in the games that he has missed, with Josh Reynolds picking up Woods’ snaps at receiver.

Still, Rams coach Sean McVay called Woods’ return “a big boost.”

“He’s been such a great player for us, great person, all the things that you’re looking for,” McVay said. “Certainly, we have a lot of confidence in our receiving group, but getting Robert back gives us a boost. We’re a better team when Robert is on the field.”

The Rams recently lost cornerback Kayvon Webster for the rest of this season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but outside linebacker Connor Barwin will join Woods in returning this week. So will left tackle Andrew Whitworth, right tackle Rob Havenstein and cornerback Trumaine Johnson, all of whom exited Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles early with injuries.