By Andrew Warshaw
March 26 – Mark Pieth (pictured), the Swiss trouble-shooting professor brought in to clean up FIFA, has called for a swift ruling over publication of the eagerly anticipated ISL documents that cite senior FIFA officials for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks from World Cup broadcasting deals.
Last week, Switzerland’s Federal Tribunal announced a further delay in publication following an appeal by two unidentified parties.
They are widely reported to be former FIFA President João Havelange and Brazilian compatriot Ricardo Teixeira who are appealing against a lower court ruling for access to the ISL dossier after a campaign by a number of Swiss and British media organisations.
Havelange, currently seriously ill in hospital with a bacterial infection, resigned from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year, thus avoiding possible suspension over his alleged role in the corruption scandal involving ISL, FIFA’s former FIFA marketing partner.
Teixeira recently stepped down from all his prominent footballing positions, including the FIFA Executive Committee, President of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Brazil 2014.
Late last year a court in Zug said publication of the ISL dossier was in the public interest.
But this was blocked by the federal court following the appeals.
“I think the federal court should speed up a bit,” said Pieth.
“In politically sensitive issues they could work a bit faster.”
Pieth explained that the ongoing appeals meant the dossier could not be opened despite FIFA President Sepp Blatter (pictured left) “repeatedly” requesting publication as part of its road map to reform.
“This is something that needs to be publicised,” he told The Associated Press.
“We asked FIFA to get it.
“We have repeatedly and right from the beginning asked.”
The dossier details a May 2010 deal in which two officials admitted taking backhanders in the 1990s.
They repaid 5.5 million Swiss francs (then £3.8 million/$6.1 million/€4.6 million) on condition their identities remained secret.
“Nobody has really seen that document because it would be a contempt of court issue if they gave it to us,” Pieth told The Associated Press.
“He [Blatter] has not given it to anybody because he is not allowed to.
“That’s the point.”
Pieth said it was “crucial” for his 13-member Independent Governance Committee to study the ISL case as part of their investigation into bribery and vote rigging.
“This is another element for us to say, ‘Look, we are not satisfied how these things have been dealt with’.
“But we want to see it officially and we want to see it published.”
Pieth, appointed last November to make a thorough anti-corruption analysis, has sent an initial report to the FIFA Executive Committee that meets on Thursday and Friday this week.
His panel is understood to be recommending that the increasingly tarnished Executive Committee appoint at least one independent member from outside FIFA to make it more transparent.
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