by Our Sports Desk

SEVEN Fifa officials arrested on corruption charges could stay locked up in Switzerland for months after Swiss authorities confirmed yesterday that the US had formally requested they be extradited.

The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said the men could challenge the requests all the way up to the country’s Supreme Court.

A source close to one of them said they were being held separately in jails around Zurich and had been limited to a single visit a week.

Following a US request, they were nicked in a dawn raid on a posh hotel on May 27, two days before the Fifa congress. If convicted on the US charges, they could face up to 20 years in jail.

The FOJ said: “The requests are based on the arrest warrants issued on May 20 by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which is investigating the high-ranking Fifa officers on suspicion of taking bribes worth over $100 million.”

It is alleged that in return for the money, the officials awarded contracts for media, marketing and sponsorship rights to football tournaments in the United States and Latin America. The payments are said to have been routed through US banks.

The US Department of Justice has charged 18 people in total. Four of them have pleaded guilty to corruption charges, including former Fifa executive member Chuck Blazer, who has admitted taking a bribe to vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup.

The Swiss authorities are leading a separate investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar.

The seven Fifa officials facing extradition will now be given a hearing by the Swiss authorities, after which they will have 14 days to prepare a response.

They can request an additional two weeks “if sufficient grounds exist,” and may ultimately appeal to both the Swiss Federal Criminal Court and the Federal Supreme Court.