(CNN Spanish) - The president in charge of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), Jesús Berardinelli, died on Wednesday at the age of 61, according to the federation itself.
"We fulfilled the painful duty to report that Ing. Jesús Berardinelli QEPD, who was president of the FVF, has died today," the federation wrote on its Twitter account. "To his family and friends we extend our heartfelt word of regret for such a painful loss that national football mourns," adds the tweet.
- Jesús Berardinelli, president of the Venezuelan Football Federation, dies
Her son, Gian Piero Berardinelli, published a statement on social networks in which they describe the last few weeks as uneasiness and anxiety. They claim that they could not defend themselves from what they describe as ruthless and deadly attacks on their father by "unseemly people", comments that, according to them, caused great harm to their family.
"Time, life and God will be in charge of judging and putting things in their place, always with the truth ahead," said Gian Piero Barardinelli.
Legal and health problems
According to the son's account, several security officials appeared with long weapons on July 21 at the residence of the president in charge of the FVF, located in San Felipe, in the central-western state of Yaracuy, arguing that he should be arrested and taken to court in Caracas. They highlight that at that time he was recovering from a heart operation.
Berardinelli noted that they were not presented with an arrest warrant or a search warrant. Still, they searched the house and then took the sports leader away. Her son notes that they carried a gun and $ 17,000 in cash owned by his father.
In a statement, the family reported that the now deceased Berardinelli was detained at a police station in the center of the capital. In the letter and without giving details, they denounce that he was ordered to resign his position to be released, but this did not happen.
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He narrates that when he was transferred to the headquarters of the Judiciary at the presentation hearing, the courts declared that they did not know the cause. The family highlights that so far no official institution has issued any statement formalizing the arrest.
He assures that during the transfers the sports leader got wet and then was exposed to air conditioning, so when he entered the police station again, he presented a fever, signs of decompensation and passed out. He adds that on July 22, the president in charge of the FVF entered an emergency clinic in Caracas after suffering syncope.
Berardinelli's son explained that at the end of May his father had had a heart operation and that his health condition was precarious due to diabetes, being insulin-dependent and hypertensive.
CNN contacted the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic to find out their version of what happened without receiving a response so far. For his part, the Minister of Sport and Youth, Pedro Infante, published through his Twitter account that he joins the mourning that grips national football with the departure of Berardinelli.
Jesus Berardinelli