Julian Finney/Getty Images Chuck Blazer, FIFA member, looks on before the 61st FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion on June 1, 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Reports are coming in that Chuck Blazer, of soccer fame, has passed away. How did the former Executive Vice President of the U.S. Soccer Federation die?
Confirmed: Chuck Blazer, larger than life soccer executive whose final years were dogged by investigation, illness and disgrace, has died.
It is not a confirmed cause of his passing, but it had been reported in 2014 that Blazer was possibly sick with colon cancer. A New York Daily News article from then claimed that Blazer was “gravely ill” with the disease, but a later investigation by The New York Times said that he told them that the cancer was gone after surgery.
Before a career in professional soccer that was plagued with scandal, Blazer first found success in a business that manufactured smiley-face buttons.
He first got into soccer in Westchester County, New York by coaching his son’s team, although he had never played the sport. He eventually advanced into the administration of the Eastern New York State Soccer Association. He was eventually elected as executive vice president in charge of international competition to the United States Soccer Federation.
Blazer eventually made his way to the FIFA Executive Committee, where he became a confidential informant for the FBI and the IRS over offshore accounts, reports the Independent.
It was later revealed that Blazer had a $6,000/month apartment in Trump Tower for his cats, reports The Washington Post.
Blazer himself later admitted to accepting bribes during his time with FIFA. He was permanently banned from the organization in 2015, reports the BBC.