FIFA’s chief ethics investigator on Monday Michael Garcia criticized the organization’s lack of transparency and urged it to publish his report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Garcia wrote a report into corruption allegations over the granting of hosting rights for the tournaments, but FIFA president Sepp Blatter says publishing it would compromise witness confidentiality.
Speaking at the ABA Criminal Justice Section International White Collar Crime Institute conference in London, Garcia said: “The investigation and adjudication process operates, in most parts, unseen and unheard. That’s a kind of system which might be appropriate for an intelligence agency, but not for an ethics compliance process in an international sports institution that serves the public and is the subject of intense public scrutiny.”
He added: “Transparency is not intended to embarrass certain individuals by airing dirty laundry or to harm the organization by showing what went wrong: It’s the opposite. Where the institution has taken significant steps forward and made that progress, transparency provides evidence of that to the public.”
Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar was awarded the 2022 tournament after a joint bidding process overshadowed by accusations of corruption and horse-trading.
Several high-profile figures have called for world soccer’s governing body to publish Garcia’s report, including UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Citing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the NFL as examples, Garcia said the bidding process controversy gave FIFA an ideal opportunity to reform.
The committee brought in stringent rules on bidding following revelations of bribery concerning Salt Lake City’s successful bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, while the American football league has been strongly criticized over its sluggish investigation into star player Ray Rice’s assault on his fiancee.
“Look at the IOC, where allegations concerning Salt Lake City were investigated and those results were published and the IOC moved forward,” Garcia said.
“On the other hand, where investigations have been opaque, problems and skepticism have lingered. We have seen that recently with the NFL, where a lack of transparency in its initial investigation concerning Ray Rice fostered scepticism and questions about the integrity of its leadership,” he added. “Notably, the NFL has made clear the results of the new investigation will indeed be made public.”
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