FIFA today announced that after an 18-month investigation by former New York district attorney Michael Garcia, there is not sufficient evidence to justify stripping either Russia or Qatar of the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.
German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert ruled that there was not enough evidence to justify re-opening the process. Qatar was cleared to host the 2022 tournament after the governing body’s ethics committee ruled that any breaches of the rules were only of “very limited score” and closed its investigation into the controversial bidding process.
Shortly after the announcement from FIFA, the chief investigator said that FIFA misrepresented his report into the World Cup bidding process.
A statement issued by Michael Garcia said: “Today’s decision by the Chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the Investigatory Chamber’s report.”
Garcia went on to say that he intends to appeal the decision to the FIFA ethics committee.
The announcement from FIFA today also accused the English Football Association (the governing body’s biggest critic of the process) of flouting bidding rules in an attempt to stage the 2018 World Cup.
The FA was accused of trying to “curry favor” with former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who quit his role in 2011 amid bribery allegations. The report said that England’s bid team tried to win the support of Warner, who is from Trinidad & Tobago, by:
– Trying to help “a person of interest to him” to find a part-time job in the United Kingdom
– Letting the Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 squad hold a training camp in the UK in the summer of 2009.
– Sponsoring a gala dinner for the Caribbean Football Union, at a cost of $55,000, around £35,000.
In the 42-page report, Hans-Joachim Eckert wrote that the England bid’s team “showed a willingness, time and again” to meet Warner’s expectations. By doing so, it damaged “the image of FIFA and the bidding process.”
Despite promising anonymity for whistleblowers in order to encourage them to give evidence, Michael Garcia favored publishing as much of his 430-page report as possible – with redactions where required.
But Eckert insisted on publishing only his interim 42-page summary of the findings, with a promise that any sanctions against individuals would be decided by next Spring.
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Brn442
November 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm
England has been boycotting the World Cup since 1966 but seriously…..this was as predictable as an election is Stalinist Russia.
Smokey Bacon
November 13, 2014 at 9:09 pm
It’s time for England to organize a boycott of the next two world cups. Let’s sit out and maybe get a few other big nations on board for an alternative tournament held in England, USA or Australia, all massive sports markets. It might just be the beginning of the end of FIFA as we know it.
jtm371
November 13, 2014 at 9:27 pm
I would love to see a boycott the only way to break this corrupt organization. Blatter makes the mafia look like amateurs. The only way you get change is thru money or lack of funds like a boycott. It will never happen but it would be great.
Smokey Bacon
November 13, 2014 at 9:52 pm
Unlikely I know but not completely out of the question. We have the stadiums, the fan base, the media. It would have an impact if England sits out.
Brian
November 13, 2014 at 10:09 pm
I doubt very much that England boycotting the World Cup will have any impact. The sport has evolved beyond the traditional football powerhouses. Outside England no one will care. The only way a boycott will have an impact is if it is joined by other European or South American nations.
Flyvanescence
November 13, 2014 at 10:13 pm
I cant stand FIFA corruption, but im skeptical of this idea for one reason. If FIFA’s power is broken, who takes over? The big money clubs, thats who. Those big money clubs create an NFL-Super League closed off from the rest of the football structure to maximise profits, but at the same time killing off grassroots football.
CTBlues
November 13, 2014 at 12:55 pm
This is exactly what we were expecting.