The Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit of the United States recently reversed the acquittal of Hernán López, a fox exejecutive, and reinstated his criminal sentence for his participation in a network of bribes to ensure exclusive transmission rights in Latin America. According to the judicial resolution, López was an active part of a corruption scheme that directly benefited the company through illegal payments to Conmebol officials, ensuring tournaments such as the Copa Libertadores and the World Cups of 2018 and 2022.
The sentence not only revokes the 2023 ruling that had exonerated it, but also instructs the Court of First Instance to issue a new resolution that recognizes the criminal responsibility of the exexecutive. The court confirmed that the payments were made from accounts in the United States and that they directly favored the then Fox subsidiary.
The ruling also discredits the narrative promoted by Fox Corporation, which has tried to displace responsibility for The Walt Disney Company, after the acquisition of part of its assets in 2019. The Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office of New York was clear: the investigated events occurred years before said transaction, when Fox was still controlled by the Murdoch family, which today directs Fox Corporation.
Although the criminal process focuses on Hernán López, judicial documents point to another key name in the operation: Carlos Martínez, current executive vice president and general director of Fox Corporation for Latin America. Between 2011 and 2016, Martínez would have operated under the direct orders of López and participated in the structuring of contracts designed to cover up illicit payments. The Prosecutor’s Office argues that it also helped create legal mechanisms aimed at disconnecting the bribes matrix.
Far from facing internal consequences, Martínez has climbed positions within the company and its ascent reinforces the perception that the executive structure that facilitated undue payments not only survived Fox’s business reconfiguration, but also remains active under its new corporate identity.
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Fox Corporation in the Mira: FIFA Gate justice and points to its directive dome in Latin America
Amid the judicial resurgence of the case, Fox Corporation announced in June 2025 the acquisition of hot TV in Mexico. The operation, led by Martínez, is part of an ambitious regional expansion plan that includes a multiplatform offer with pay, SVOD and original sports content. Currently, Fox controls the transmission rights of six male clubs of the MX League, ten women’s teams, and international competitions such as the Champions League, Premier League, Coppa Italia, Ligue 1, the UFL and Nascar México Series.
However, the reactivation of the FIFA GATE case and the involvement of active executives in the region could detonate regulatory pressures and reputational questions that affect Fox’s growth strategy in Latin America.
The court made it clear that bribes were not the result of individual actions, but part of a corporate strategy designed to benefit an American public company. The judgment reopens a file that, after more than a decade of investigations, continues to reveal high -impact edges for the media and sports industry.
To this judicial front is added a conflict in Mexico between Fox Corporation and Grupo Lauman for the commercial use of the Fox Sports brand. Despite the precautionary measures that prevent its use in sporting events, the company would have ignored these restrictions, according to sources in the sector.
Documents linked to litigation argue that Fox would have orchestrated a systematic strategy to erode the commercial value of Fox Sports Mexico. Among the reported maneuvers include contractual obstacles, deliberate actions to weaken their positioning and discredit campaigns against strategic partners. The objective: devalue the assets, avoid the payment of their real market price and facilitate eventual appropriation of the business through third parties linked to the Mexican football ecosystem.
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