They think it's all covert: Fury as 350-page World Cup corruption report kept secret
Top ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert is facing claims over a cover up after it was revealed the report will remain secret, despite FIFA's own investigators calling for transparency
FIFA officials have blocked the release of a report into alleged corruption in Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid.
Top ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert faced claims of a cover up after he said a 350-page dossier and 200,000 pages of evidence would remain secret.
Mr Eckert, who chairs the adjudicator chamber of Fifa’s ethics committee, pumped £6million into making the report, but it will never be made public.
It comes despite FIFA’s own investigators calling for transparency over claims Qatar paid £3million in bribes to host the football tournament.
The report – led by attorney Michael Garcia – could also call into question the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia, who beat England’s bid.
John Wittingdale, Commons sport committee chairman, said: “I’m horrified. The one thing we’ve been told by FIFA is there would be an investigation and we should wait for the report.
“But if the Garcia report is going to be buried so that we have no idea what the conclusions are, it will leave the reputation of FIFA in pieces.”
Politicians and sport stars have repeatedly urged ruling body FIFA to scrap its decision to stage the 2022 cup in mega-rich Arab state Qatar. American Mr Garcia was called in to investigate but Mr Eckert has now said even FIFA president Sepp Blatter will not see the report.
He said there would be no outcome until spring, when the names of those implicated would be released. But no details of the breaches or reasons behind any sanctions will be made public.
At FIFAs Zurich HQ, he said: “You cannot expect anything to be disclosed from this report.”
Lord Triesman, the ex-FA chairman who led England’s 2018 bid, said: “FIFA has a long-standing culture of misbehaviour and complete secrecy – omerta is the word that comes to mind.
“The most clear test of whether FIFA attempts to reform is whether it conducts investigations in a transparent way, publishes details of the findings and deals with the problems.”
It comes days after it emerged 65 FIFA officials were presented with £15,000 watches by the Brazilian Football Confederation. FIFA’s ethics committee said the move contravened its rules.
Meanwhile, Labour MPs Jim Murphy, Stephen Hepburn and Clive Efford backed a campaign by union Ucatt to have Qatar stripped of the event unless conditions for migrant construction workers are improved.
Ucatt general secretary Steve Murphy said: “Pressure is growing on Qatar to end the exploitation and deaths of migrant workers. FIFA must tell Qatar unless this abuse is ended they will be stripped of the right to hold the World Cup.”