Sepp Blatter, FIFA president since 1998, has divulged to media that corruption probes into the bidding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup will not be made available to the public.
Former New York district attorney Michael Garcia, who headed the examination, has said that the 350-page report should be released, while UEFA president Michel Platini, FIFA vice-presidents Jeffrey Webb, Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein and Jim Boyce hit the same cord.
However, Hans-Joachim Eckert, the head of the adjudicatory arm of the ethics committee, told media a week ago that four people had seen Garcia’s initial report. Eckert thinks spring will present itself as the timeframe when he can come to a conclusion on the report’s status.
“Given the limited role Mr Hans-Joachim Eckert envisions for the Adjudicatory Chamber, I believe it is now necessary for the Fifa Executive Committee to authorise the appropriate publication of the Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 Fifa World Cup Bidding Process,” said Garcia.
“Publication would be consistent wth statements made by a number of Executive Committee members, with the view recently expressed by Independent Governance Committee Chair Mark Pieth, and with the goals of the reform process.”
Garcia’s inspection will likely name certain men guilty for World Cup biddings and request sanctions upon them. Consequently, Blatter shares a different view.
“There was not any request from any of these members to publish this report,” said Blatter, who will contest for his fifth term as FIFA president in May.