NEW YORK -- A former World Cup referee arrested in New York City has admitted to heroin smuggling charges.
A U.S. attorney's office spokesman says Byron Moreno pleaded guilty Thursday in a Brooklyn federal court to one count of heroin smuggling.
Prosecutors say Moreno was caught in September at Kennedy Airport with bags of heroin attached to his body after a flight from his native Ecuador.
He faces up to 63 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. No sentencing date was set, and he is being held without bail.
Moreno's attorney did not immediately return messages for comment.
Moreno refereed the United States' opening 3-2 upset of Portugal at the 2002 World Cup.
Moreno was also involved in Italy's controversial elimination that year,
when he ejected Francesco Totti, giving the Italian a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area 13 minutes into overtime of a 2-1 loss to South Korea in the second round.
A 111th-minute goal by Italy's Damiano Tommasi that would have advanced Italy was disallowed, apparently for offside, and South Korea was awarded a penalty kick -- that goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved -- for a foul by Christian Panucci against Seol Ki-Hyeon.
"I think Moreno already had the [heroin] in 2002, but not in his underwear, in his body," Buffon said in September after Moreno was arrested. "Joking aside, when sports people get involved in drug cases it means they're scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"It also means they've lost the real meaning of the sport, which is also to save kids from the street and various dangers, like drugs," Buffon said.
In 2003, Ecuadorean soccer officials suspended Moreno for 20 games after a game there drew complaints about him from both teams. He added 11 minutes of stoppage time to a game between domestic clubs Barcelona and Liga de Quito without recording it.
He resigned a short time later.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.