An American judge has ruled that the plea agreement between the US government and former FIFA executive turned whistleblower Chuck Blazer must be unsealed.
Several media outlets including the New York Times called for the action to occur last week following the indictment of 14 officials in an investigation into corruption at football's world governing body by US authorities.
The step was opposed by the authorities but a court has now cleared the way.
In a court transcript being widely reported, US District Judge Raymond J Dearie said: "Because the court concludes that the government has not met its high burden of establishing that continued sealing is necessary to prevent a substantial probability of prejudice to a compelling government interest, the applications to unseal the agreement are granted."
The order was stayed until Monday, allowing time for an appeal or for prosecutors to unseal the agreement.
Blazer, 70, a former general secretary of North American and Caribbean confederation CONCACAF, has admitted - among a series of revelations - that he and other FIFA officials took bribes in connection with the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.
Source: PA
