By Paul Nicholson
October 20 – In response to allegations and evidence that he promised confidentiality to those interviewed in his investigation of the bidding process for 2018 and 2022, FIFA’s chief ethics investigator, Michael Garcia, has told German news magazine Der Spiegel that the wording is merely a “standard statement”.
Last week Insideworldfootball received a copy of the letter, dated 2014 and signed by Michael J Garcia/MCA, Chairman, Investigatory Chamber, FIFA Ethics Committee, in its final paragraph says: “Finally, please be advised that these investigation proceedings are confidential. Accordingly, please refrain from discussing this notice or these proceedings with anyone other than your attorney, should you choose to retain one.”
Garcia rejects the allegation that publishing would be a breach of trust (and perhaps even breach of legal ethics) by telling Der Speigel the reference is merely a “standard statement” and “irrelevant” to the decision of “whether or not and to what extent the results of a completed investigation should be kept confidential or not”.
This is certainly not the understanding of the three separate sources who have contacted Insideworldfootball. Ironically, none of those sources seem overly concerned as regards to publishing of their information but they are concerned of the context in which it could be published and mis-interpreted and the wider issue of trust that convinced them of their obligations to be interviewed by Garcia.
The question that has to be asked is what part of the word confidential doesn’t mean confidential? If confidential doesn’t in fact mean confidential then it seems the only conclusion that can be drawn is that FIFA’s investigative team under Garcia (or at least in his signed name) were deliberately entrapping interviewees with false promises – luring them into a false position of trust to extract information. A trust and confidence they never had any intention of keeping.
The principle of trust in the whole of FIFA’s ethics process now seems to be the major issue.
If the investigators are felt to have lied through false promises of confidentiality, can the report writers really be trusted to have conducted a full and fair investigation into all bidders for the 2014 and 2018 World Cup hosting.
The irony is that only publication of the report would truly enable the wider football universe to judge this. And there’s the uncomfortable problem for FIFA’s ethics process.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734789489labto1734789489ofdlr1734789489owedi1734789489sni@n1734789489osloh1734789489cin.l1734789489uap1734789489