FIFA to release full inquiry report of Qatar and Russia bidding processes
Published on the Governance & Compliance website on December 19 2014
FIFA is to release the full report of its inquiry into the bidding processes for hosting the World Cup in Qatar and Russia, in answer to corruption allegations.
FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter has said, in an official statement, that the FIFA executive committee has unanimously agreed to the report being published.
Blatter added that various cases have been opened by the investigatory chamber against individuals for alleged rule violations and are currently under review by the adjudicatory chamber. Consequently, the report will only be published once ‘the ongoing procedures against individuals are concluded’.
Speaking of ethics and the public backlash that the body encountered after releasing the summary of the report, Blatter acknowledged that: ‘the publication of this report has become a barrier to rebuilding public confidence and trust in FIFA. Part of this is due to the fact that we have been deliberate in the way that we have moved through the process. We need to ensure that we respect the rules of our organisation and that we do not breach confidentiality in a way that will prevent people from speaking out in the future.’
Leo Martin, director of GoodCorporation welcomed FIFA’s decision to publish the Michael Garcia report in full but added that ‘it is regrettable that this was not done at the outset as the public battle has done little to reassure anyone that FIFA is committed to rooting out malpractice.’
Martin also commented on Russia’s involvement: ‘We would also question how Russia was allowed not to keep any records of the bidding process. Best practice amongst companies involved in commercial bidding for licences and contracts is to keep a very careful record of how that bid was managed. That this did not happen should be a real cause for concern and is something that FIFA should insist upon in the future.’
Read article in full: FIFA to release full inquiry report of Qatar and Russia bidding processes