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PASSPORT SCANDAL: RECOBA BANNED FOR A YEAR

ALVARO RECOBA has been banned for a year and his club Internazionale fined, after the player was found guilty of passport fraud.

With Juan Sebastian Veron being acquitted of any offence, Uruguayan Alvaro Recoba is the highest profile star to receive a playing ban - although an appeal seems likely.

Recoba was accused of obtaining a false passport that allowed him to play as an EU player, which allowed him to circumvent the old rules on non-European Union players.

Milan goalkeeper Dida has picked up a one-year ban for a similar offence, as have Udinese's Warley, Alberto, Jorginho and Da Silva and Vicenza's Jeda.

Former Roma players Gustavo Bartelt and Fabio Junior also face suspension.

Director of sport at Inter Gabriele Oriali was suspended for a year by the courts for his part in the Recoba scandal.

Fifa confirmed that they would endorse the ban worldwide, as soon as the punishment is confirmed by the Italian football federation (FIGC).

"As soon as we know the ban is final and we have received the relevant request to extend then yes we will do so," a spokesman for Fifa told planetfootball.

"We have already done this to an Argentine player in France, but we would have to have a decision saying 'this is it and please take action.'

"Usually we follow suit whatever the decision, in the case of Fernando Couto and Edgar Davids it was a provisional ban and we followed suit and banned them until further notice."

Disciplinary commission member Gianpaolo Tosel stated that the players knowledge that their passports were false galvanised the decision on lengthy bans.

"The people found guilty were fully aware that they had false passports, with Veron we are satisfied that he was not."

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