CAS Upholds Lifetime Ban on Olimpia President

According to D10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the sanction imposed by FIFA in 2020 on Marco Trovato, then president of Paraguayan club Olimpia, confirming a lifetime ban from all football-related activities along with a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs. The ruling definitively closes a scandal that shook Paraguayan football and drew international attention.

The case began in January 2020, when the Paraguayan Football Association received an anonymous complaint with evidence alleging Trovato’s involvement in attempts to fix matches. The APF forwarded the material to FIFA, which carried out a nine-month investigation and, on September 28 of that year, handed down a lifetime suspension. The punishment came at a time when Olimpia, under Trovato’s leadership, was celebrating four straight league titles between 2018 and 2019.

In its written decision, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee stated that Trovato conspired to manipulate match results and failed to cooperate with the investigation. The report cited twelve matches in which attempts at fixing allegedly took place through intermediaries. Based on those findings, FIFA concluded that Trovato had violated multiple articles of its Disciplinary Code and justified both the lifetime ban and the monetary fine.

Trovato appealed to CAS seeking to overturn the ruling, but after years of delays, the court has now confirmed FIFA’s original decision. As a result, the former Olimpia president is permanently barred from holding any role in football administration, sealing a case that underscored the sport’s determination to clamp down on match-fixing.