By Andrew Warshaw, Chief Correspondent
January 25 – After years of doubt and suspicion, FIFA’s top corruption buster, ethics committee prosecutor and joint chairman Michael Garcia, is set to submit his eagerly awaited report into the infamous ISL scandal in March.
Garcia will also present any findings into allegations of corruption relating to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.
Last year FIFA asked Garcia, as part of a total review of operations, to look into the 2001 collapse of ISL, FIFA’s former marketing agency. “Garcia will detail his findings in a final report to FIFA’s Executive Committee,” at its March 20-21 meeting in Zurich, FIFA said in a statement.
The ISL scandal, which has haunted FIFA for over a decade, last year exposed former FIFA president Joao Havelange and his former son-in-law Ricardo Teixeira for allegedly receiving kickbacks worth millions of dollars in exchange for World Cup broadcasting deals. Teixeira later resigned as head of the 2014 World Cup organising committee.
African Football Confederation chief Issa Hayatou, who is running for re-election in March, was also named in the infamous court dossier identifying those who were allegedly caught up in the scandal. Hayatou, a FIFA vice-president, was given a warning by the International Olympic Committee – for whom he is also a member – just over a year ago following claims he had received 100,000 French francs in 1995 from ISL.
The IOC said Hayatou’s decision to accept the money amounted to ‘a conflict of interest’, but the Cameroonian has always maintained it was intended to help CAF celebrate its 40th anniversary.
FIFA published updates on Thursday on the work of Garcia and German judge Joachim Eckert, who were appointed last July to head a revamped ethics committee.
Whilst neither Russia nor Qatar, respectively selected 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts, have been found to have conducted any illegal activities, unsubstantiated rumours have been swirling round their campaigns.
A FIFA statement on behalf of Garcia said: “As has been publicly announced, certain allegations regarding events surrounding the bidding for the World Cup 2018 and 2022 were referred to the ethics committee by FIFA following media reports.
“We intend to conduct a thorough review of those allegations, including the evidentiary basis for and credibility of any allegations of individual misconduct.”
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