Qatar and Russia Cleared by FIFA World Cup Investigation, English FA Criticised

FIFA's report on their investigation into corruption allegations surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has become the source of significant controversy. Although Qatar and Russia have been cleared, others are now being investigated for their role.

Continue for updates.

Thursday, Nov. 27

Franz Beckenbauer Among Executives Investigated

BBC.com's Staff reported who was being investigated for their roles in choosing the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts:

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Germany's World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer is being investigated over his part in picking Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts.

[...]

Prospective Fifa presidential candidate Harold Mayne-Nicholls, who led Fifa's pre-decision inspection of the bidding nations, is also under investigation.

Ethics chief Michael Garcia is also investigating three Fifa executives.

All three are current members of the world governing body's executive committee - they are Spain's Angel Maria Villar Llona, Michel D'Hooghe from Belgium and Worawi Makudi from Thailand. 

 

"

Monday, Nov. 24

Rauball Tells Blatter to Quit

Kris Voakes of Goal.com provides German football chief Reinhard Rauball's comments discussing Sepp Blatter's position:

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Unlike other people who only do so in the media, I called Mr Blatter some time ago myself to give him my opinion.

This is a Herculean task because there are a lot of different interests. Fifa has 209 members, all of which have just one vote. The award of a World Cup is in the hands of the national associations, and the small football nations have interests other than the greater good. They also depend very much on economic considerations.

"

Thursday, Nov. 20

Garcia, Eckert Release Statement

Lead investigator Michael Garcia and FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert have released a statement today. Dan Roan of the BBC summed it up nicely:

Wednesday, Nov. 19

Sepp Blatter Reportedly Threatens FA With Legal Action if Full Report Released

According to Rob Harris of the Associated Press, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has threatened FA chairman Greg Dyke with legal action if the full corruption report is released:

Tuesday, Nov. 18

FIFA to Pass Garcia Report to Swiss Attorney General

FIFA issued a statement on Tuesday, saying it would pass on the Garcia report to the Swiss Attorney General, filing a criminal complaint regarding the World Cup bidding process:

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Following the statement issued by the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, on the report by the chairman and deputy chairman of the investigatory chamber, Judge Eckert has recommended to the FIFA President – in line with the FIFA Code of Ethics – that a criminal complaint be lodged with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in Berne. This criminal complaint has been lodged today. The subject of the criminal complaint is the possible misconduct of individual persons in connection with the awarding of the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups investigated by Michael Garcia, chairman of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee. In particular there seem to be grounds for suspicion that, in isolated cases, international transfers of assets with connections to Switzerland took place, which merit examination by the criminal prosecution authorities. The reports compiled by Michael Garcia and Cornel Borbély will be made available to the Office of the Attorney General via Hans-Joachim Eckert.

Unlike FIFA’s bodies, the Swiss criminal prosecution authorities have the ability to conduct investigations under application of criminal procedural coercive measures.

"

Dan Roan of BBC Sport passed along comments from Sepp Blatter following the announcement:

Monday, Nov. 17

Dyke Writes to FIFA to Demand Full Report

English FA chairman Greg Dyke has written to FIFA in an effort to have the full Garcia report released, via Dan Roan of BBC Sport who shared the full letter:

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I am writing to each member of the FIFA Executive Committee on behalf of The FA to urge you to insist on the publication of Mr Garcia’s full report as a matter of some urgency.

As you probably know the reputation of FIFA was already low in England and much of Europe before the events of last week. The failure to publish Mr Garcia’s report and his statement that the summary report which was published contained “numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations” has resulted in a further decline in public confidence of FIFA. We cannot go on like this. Complete transparency is required if the actions of all those who bid, including England 2018, are to be judged fairly.

I know some of you believe that FIFA’s reputation in England is the result of an obsession amongst the English media with FIFA and I know Mr Blatter sees their reports as an unfair attack on the organisation he leads.

However, in England we see it differently. If you read a whole range of English newspaper reports about FIFA, particularly those in the Sunday Times, they do provide compelling evidence of wrong doing. They cannot be simply dismissed as “racist” or “an attack on FIFA” as Mr Blatter described them at the FIFA Congress in Brazil.

Urgent action is needed if confidence in FIFA is to be rebuilt in England. The FA is of the view that this action should start with the full publication of Mr Garcia’s report.

"

Saturday, Nov. 15

German and Australian FAs Slam FIFA Over Report

According to Kicker (via Owen Gibson of the Guardian), German FA president Reinhard Rauball has threatened that UEFA could leave FIFA if the full report on FIFA's corruption investigation isn't released:

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The result was a breakdown in communication, and it has shaken the foundations of Fifa in a way I’ve never experienced before.

As a solution, two things must happen. Not only must the decision of the ethics committee be published, but Mr Garcia’s bill of indictment too, so it becomes clear what the charges were and how they were judged.

Additionally, the areas that were not evaluated [in the report] and whether that was justified [should be published]. It must be made public. That is the only way Fifa can deal with the complete loss of credibility.

[...]

If this doesn’t happen and the crisis is not resolved in a credible manner, you have to entertain the question of whether you are still in good hands with Fifa. One option that would have to bear serious consideration is certainly that Uefa leaves Fifa.

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Gibson also reported that Australian FA communications director Bonita Mersiades commented on the report:

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It’s an organisation that, in terms of governance, is just a farce. There’s no other word for it.

The only people that come out well in that summary report by Eckert is Fifa. [It says] they got their decisions right in respect to Qatar and Russia, and there’s even a sentence and a reference in there that Sepp Blatter ran a wonderful process. It’s almost like high comedy.

"

Friday, Nov. 14

FIFA Judge Surprised by Garcia Criticism

FIFA judge Hans-Joachim Eckert commented on lead investigator Michael Garcia's criticisms of the judge's report on the investigation's findings, according to the BBC's Dan Roan:

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Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's independent ethics committee, responded: 'I'm surprised, not shocked. I'm a long time in the job here. I don't think anything surprises me.'

He also defended his work.

'A lot of my report was word for word from the Garcia report,' he said.

"

Eckert responded to other criticisms as well, per Roan:

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They claim that the 'disagreement' between Eckert and Garcia as well as the need for 'complete transparency' means the full report should be made public 'as soon as possible.'

They added: 'Providing the entire independent report for inspection is in the best interest of the game and Fifa.'

Despite these pleas, Eckert said he would not take that step.

"I don't think that's possible because I have to respect the rights of confidentiality for continental law," said the German.

'Maybe it's another thing in the US, but in continental law I can't do it, and I can't do it in total even by the Fifa code of ethics. I will not do it.'

 

"

Thursday, Nov. 13

FIFA Releases Report on Investigation, Garcia Objects to Conclusions

FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert released on Thursday the findings of an investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding the World Cup 2018 and 2022 bids, clearing Russia and Qatar of serious wrongdoing while heavily criticising the English FA.

Sky Sports reported the news:

Eckert came down heavily on England's bidding process while clarifying there will be no re-run of the bids for the 2018 and 2022 showpieces, as reported by Paul Kelso of Sky News:

Shortly after the report was made public, FIFA's prosecutor Michael Garcia amazingly suggested Judge Eckert misrepresented his findings, reported by Richard Conway of the BBC:

Dan Roan of BBC Sport provided details on the allegations toward England. The FA's relationship with former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who was suspended over corruption allegations in 2011, was at the centre of Eckert's report, per Roan:

FIFA released an official statement, explaining its full investigation in detail. The English FA has since responded, per the governing body's website:

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We do not accept any criticism regarding the integrity of England’s bid or any of the individuals involved. We conducted a transparent bid and, as the report demonstrates with its reference to the England bid team’s ‘full and valuable cooperation’, willingly complied with the investigation. We maintain that transparency and cooperation around this entire process from all involved is crucial to its credibility.

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FA chairman Greg Dyke also responded to the report, via BBC Sport:

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It has undermined the whole process.

(....)

I think it's now pretty ugly for Fifa if the person who did the inquiry says the judge hasn't properly reflected his inquiry.

I think that's pretty serious for Fifa. It now seems the interpretation of the Garcia report is not a fair one, according to Garcia himself.

"

Originally planning little more than a "progress report" on his study of prosecutor Garcia's findings, Eckert revealed to FIFA.com last month that his November statement would contain an in-depth "overview of the investigation report," reported by Charles Sale of the Daily Mail.

Garcia's claims have certainly forced many to question the validity of FIFA's findings. Matt Dickinson of The Times offered his thoughts on this development:

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So Garcia is appealing to overturn Eckhart's summary of his report. Just when it couldn't get more ridiculous

— Matt Dickinson (@DickinsonTimes) November 13, 2014"

Garcia's investigation aimed to shed light on the bidding process that saw Russia and Qatar handed the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, respectively. Both winning committees have faced scrutiny after allegations of bribery, forcing many to suggest the voting process should be re-run.

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

These calls were amplified by British MP Gerry Sutcliffe, among others, after five of FIFA's 22-man voting committee for the 2022 tournament were forced to resign or banned from football. Nations including Australia, Japan and England posted bids to host one of the tournaments but were overlooked for the two unlikely nations, which both pose their own unique problems.

Eckert's report comes after "months of denial and attempts to prevent disclosure," according to the Mirror's Martin Lipton. Even so, officials in both Russia and Qatar can now rest easy that their tournaments will go ahead.

Shirley Bahadur/Associated Press

However, the FBI will not call off its investigation of FIFA, via Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz of CNN:

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But the FBI, which is leading the U.S. probe, isn't ready to do the same. Investigators are moving ahead with their probe, which could result in charges against senior FIFA officials, the U.S. law enforcement officials said.

FBI agents based in New York are moving ahead with their 3-year-old investigation, which will likely benefit from the findings of a former U.S. prosecutor, Michael Garcia, who was hired by FIFA to do an internal probe. The FBI plans to seek access to Garcia's report, which FIFA hasn't yet released.

The FBI declined to offer an official comment.

"

The English FA will have plenty of fallout to deal with, as Eckert's allegations are potentially harmful to the nation's image. Paul Hayward of The Telegraph suggests that, although FIFA could be accused of deliberately targeting a country that has provided vocal opposition, the allegations may be consequential:

Rob Harris of The Associated Press believes England's activity remained transparent throughout their process to try and land the 2018 tournament:

Sky Sports' Bryan Swanson provided quotes from Alexey Sorokin, CEO of Russia's bid, who suggested his nation was cleared after doing the same:

The Guardian's David Pegg was one of many to question the legitimacy of an internal investigation:

Owen Gibson of the same publication also queried Eckert's findings:

BBC Sport noted the accusations against England's bid come as a "surprise" due to the FA consistently calling for "transparency in the voting process" and accusing FIFA "of not doing enough to stamp out corruption."

Aside from helping a friend of Warner find a UK-based job, the FA's alleged decision to let the Trinidad & Tobago under-20 squad train locally was also pinpointed for scrutiny. Perhaps more seriously, sponsorship of a Caribbean Football Union gala dinner—reportedly worth £35,000, per BBC Sport—is also being used to suggest the English bid has inflicted "damage" on FIFA's reputation.

The bottom line from Eckert's report is that Qatar and Russia will remain hosts of the next two World Cups. For English football, the consequences could be rather more damaging.