Only an earthquake will force a revote: Blatter
MARRAKECH — FIFA president Sepp Blatter has reiterated that there is no justification for a revote to choose the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
MARRAKECH — FIFA president Sepp Blatter has reiterated that there is no justification for a revote to choose the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
Yesterday, football’s embattled world governing body agreed to release its full World Cup corruption report after voting unanimously to lift the veil of secrecy over its inquiry into the most controversial bid process ever.
The move has been regarded as FIFA bowing to increasing pressure to release the publication of the findings of American lawyer Michael Garcia, following its decision to clear Russia and Qatar to stage the next two tournaments in 2018 and 2022 respectively.
A three-hour meeting of its executive committee in Marrakech, held on the sidelines of the FIFA Club World Cup which ends today with the final between reigning European champions Real Madrid of Spain and Argentina’s San Lorenzo, ended with an agreement to make a redacted version of the American’s full report public at the conclusion of the investigation into the 2010 ballot.
The committee meeting also saw Zurich-based Swiss lawyer Cornel Borbely appointed to replace Garcia in an acting capacity.
In a statement released yesterday, Blatter said a report by independent legal experts appointed by FIFA’s audit and compliance committee chief Domenico Scala found no reason to “revoke the Executive Committee’s decision on the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups”.
“We are already in the process of incorporating recommendations made by independent experts including the Ethics Committee for how the FIFA World Cup selection process can be improved so that everyone can be confident that the 2026 bidding process will be fair, ethical and open,” said Blatter, 79.
He also stressed that the only outstanding matter was deciding on the exact dates for the 2022 World Cup, which is being moved from the traditional June-July schedule to avoid Qatar’s searing summer heat.
Referring specifically to Qatar, Blatter added: “It would really need an earthquake, extremely important new elements, to go back on this World Cup in Qatar.”
But while FIFA have agreed on the full disclosure of Garcia’s report, when it will happen is likely to depend on when an ongoing probe into five individuals are completed, which could take several months.
Before he resigned, Garcia opened disciplinary cases against at least five individuals in FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona of Spain, executive committee members Michel D’Hooghe of Belgium and Thailand’s Worawi Makudi, former executive committee member and Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, and Chilean Harold Mayne-Nicholls — who headed FIFA’s technical committee in 2010.
Garcia spent 18 months and interviewed 75 witnesses in his investigations into allegations of corruption in the bidding process. The identities of the witnesses is likely to remain confidential unless they waive their right to secrecy.
Garcia quit as FIFA ethics investigator on Wednesday in protest at the organisation’s attempts to suppress his 430-page submission and his failure to challenge a 42-page summary of his work by FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, which he claimed contained “numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of facts and conclusions”.
FIFA’s decision to the full disclosure of Garcia’s 430-page report was welcomed by its vice-president Jim Boyce. “I am pleased the FIFA executive committee decided without a vote to publish this report,” said the Northern Irishman.
“It shows that people at FIFA at the moment do desire transparency and the sooner we can get on with talking about the game of football that we all love, the better.”
However, FIFA’s decision was not universally welcomed, with one of the whistle-blowers who contributed to Garcia’s investigation condemning the move. Phaedra Almajid was easily identifiable in last month’s report summary and feared other witnesses would suffer the same fate.
“FIFA has proven once again that it does not respect any of its own rules or policies,” she said. “One should not be surprised by an organisation that has already proven it is ready to negotiate with the wolf and shake hands with the whore.” AGENCIES