Judge Pamela Chen approved a request from the lawyers for former Brazilian Football Confederation President José Maria Marin, who was sentenced to four years in prison in August 2018 for accepting millions of dollars in bribes, on humanitarian grounds.

The 87-year-old will be released in part because of the COVID-19 virus, which elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions have an elevated chance of contracting.

According to reports, Marin, the first football official to be jailed in connection with the corruption scandal, will be freed because of his "advanced age, significantly deteriorating health, elevated risk of dire health consequences due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, status as a non-violent offender, and service of 80 per cent of his original sentence".

It is not yet clear exactly when Marin, who had been due for release in December 2020, will be freed.

The Brazilian is being held at the FCI Allenwood facility, a minimum security prison in Pennsylvania.

Marin had been found guilty of six counts of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy in December 2017 following a trial in New York City.

He was one of the seven high-ranking FIFA officials arrested in dramatic dawn raids on the Baur Au Lac Hotel in Zurich in May 2015.

FIFA banned Marin from any involvement in football for life in April 2019.

Former FIFA vice-president Juan Angel Napout was jailed for nine years for his role in the corruption scandal.