FIFA publishes full version of Garcia Report in response to newspaper leak

Picture of the logo of the Global football's governing body FIFA taken on October 3, 2013
© Getty Images
FIFA responds to the leaking of the Garcia Report into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process by German newspaper Bild by publishing it in full.

FIFA has released its full report into alleged corruption in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.

The 400-plus page document had been leaked to German newspaper Bild, which began to release previously unpublished revelations on Monday night.

The 2014 report was authored by former FIFA independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia, who resigned in December of that year in protest at what he described as the governing body's "incomplete and erroneous" 42-page summary of his report.

A statement from FIFA on publication of the entire report read: "The new chairpersons of the independent ethics committee, Maria Claudia Rojas of the investigatory chamber and Vassilios Skouris of the adjudicatory chamber, have decided to publish the Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Process (the so-called 'Garcia Report').

"This had been called for on numerous occasions by FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the past and also supported by the FIFA Council since its meeting in Mexico City in May 2016.

"Despite these regular requests, it is worth noting that the former chairpersons of the ethics committee, Cornel Borbely and Hans-Joachim Eckert, had always refused to publish it.

"The ethics committee will meet in its full composition under the new chairpersons for the first time next week, and it was already planned to use this opportunity to discuss the publication of the report.

"However, as the document has been illegally leaked to a German newspaper, the new chairpersons have requested the immediate publication of the full report (including the reports on the Russian and US bid teams, which were conducted by Mr Borbely alone) in order to avoid the dissemination of any misleading information.

"For the sake of transparency, FIFA welcomes the news that this report has now been finally published."

Garcia was appointed as FIFA's independent ethics investigator in 2012 and asked to look into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process following claims of corruption around the bids.

FIFA presidential candidate Gianni Infantino talks during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress at Hallenstadion on February 26, 2016
Read Next:
FIFA dismisses Infantino investigation claims
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole



Tables
LIVE SCORES VIDEPRINTER
expand