By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – As the fallout from the much-criticised summary of Michael Garcia’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup investigation report shows no sign of abating, the president of the German Football League (DFL) has entered the debate by suggesting UEFA could leave FIFA unless Garcia’s entire file is published in full.
Dr. Reinhard Rauball told Germany’s Kicker magazine that the précis of Garcia’s report, issued last Thursday by FIFA ethics judge Hans Joachim Eckert but which Garcia claims was a misrepresentation of what he had submitted, was “a breakdown in communication (that has) shaken the foundations of FIFA in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
“As a solution, two things must happen: Not only must the decision of the ethics committee be published, but Mr Garcia’s bill of indictment too, so it becomes clear what the charges were and how they were judged,” Rauball said.
Most agree with Rauball that Garcia, who is officially appealing against Eckert’s interpretation of the probe, should make clear exactly what he is so unhappy about in the latter’s 42-page summation that cleared Russia and Qatar of any corruption whilst accusing several other bidding nations of impropriety.
All Garcia has said so far is that Eckert’s version of events “contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the investigatory chamber’s report.”
Rauball told Kicker that if the entire 430-page report was not published in full, “you have to entertain the question of whether you are actually still in good hands with FIFA. One option that would have to bear serious consideration is certainly that UEFA leaves FIFA.”
Whilst the chance of UEFA leaving FIFA is negligible (how could Europe then play in the World Cup?), the president of the German FA (DFB), Wolfgang Niersbach, touted as a future president of either FIFA or UEFA, was also critical of the process, telling German broadcaster ARD: “Things haven’t exactly been cleared up in the way we all hoped, so that all the public’s doubts were washed away.”
Criticism has also come from two English officials, former sports minister Hugh Robertson and former FA chairman David Bernstein.
Robertson, UK Sports Minister at the time of the 2018-2022 World Cup vote, echoed what many believe by telling the BBC the entire scandal-wracked bid process was linked to FIFA’s decision to go for a simultaneous ballot for 2018 and 2022.
“FIFA has had four years to sort this out and at each and every stage when they had the opportunity to clear this up they failed to do so,” he told the BBC. “They ran a process with no clear rules and compounded it by linking 2018 and 2022 which encouraged bid delegations to trade votes. FIFA caused this and it’s their problem to sort it out.”
“The only possible way FIFA can start to regain its reputation – it has no reputation at all, the words ‘FIFA’ and ‘corruption’ are inextricably linked – would be to produce that report in full to shine a light into the dark places.”
Robertson said that was “pretty limited unless Michael Garcia decides that the damage to his professional reputation is so great that he redacts the bits where he has made promises [of confidentiality] to people and releases it unilaterally.”
England’s reaction to be singled out by Eckert is viewed by those who were involved in the country’s campaign – but certainly not by everyone – as totally unfair. Eckert criticised the English bid in particular over their pursuit of then CONCACAF president Jack Warner’s support.
But Bernstein, who has resigned from FIFA’s anti-discrimination Task Force,says it is time for drastic action against football’s world governing body. Even if that means UEFA pulling out of the World Cup.
Bernstein, who led the FA for three years from January 2011 – in other words a month after Russia and Qatar were named as World Cup hosts – wants Europe to club together and force more FIFA reform.
“England on its own cannot influence this,” Bernstein, who controversially attempted to delay Blatter’s re-election in 2011, told the BBC. “If we tried to do something like that, we’d be laughed at.
“I think England within UEFA undoubtedly have the power to influence FIFA, but to do so they would have to consider withdrawing from the World Cup, the next World Cup, unless proper reform – including Mr Blatter not standing [for a fifth term] – is carried out at FIFA.
“If I was at the FA now, I would do everything I could to encourage other nations within UEFA – and there are some who would definitely be on side, others may be not – to take this line. At some stage, you have to walk the talk, stop talking and do something.”
Asking if he was calling for the FA to unite with UEFA to boycott FIFA and the World Cup, Bernstein replied: “Unless it (FIFA) could achieve the reforms that would bring FIFA back into the respectable world community, yes I would. It sounds drastic, but, frankly, this has gone on for years now, it’s not improving, it’s going from bad to worse to worse.
“There are 54 countries within UEFA. There’s Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Holland – all powerful. You can’t hold a serious World Cup without them. They have the power to influence if they have the will.”
“FIFA is sort of a totalitarian set-up. Bits of it remind me of the old Soviet empire. People don’t speak out and if they do they get quashed. When (FIFA’s own) investigator complains that his own report is being misinterpreted, it’s beyond ridicule.”
“The choosing of Qatar was clearly one of the most ludicrous decisions in the history of sport,” he added. “You might as well have chosen Iceland in the winter. It was like an Alice in Wonderland sort of decision.”
“It’s certainly not sour grapes. England didn’t lose to Qatar, we lost to Russia. Qatar is clearly a totally unsuitable place to hold a World Cup.”
Asked why he had resigned from FIFA’s anti-discrimination Task Force, headed by CONCACAF president and FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, Bernstein said there were two reasons.
“Firstly, the body has been pretty ineffectual. I’ve been on it for more than a year and we only had one meeting; secondly because frankly I don’t wish to be personally associated with FIFA any further. FIFA sets up these things – and we’ve seen it with their regulation – that look good in theory but don’t seem to do very much in practice”
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times, whose reporting sparked the entire Garcia probe, published another swathe of allegations at the weekend which the paper claimed linked former Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam – banned from football for life – to the Qatari bid even though Qatar’s World Cup officials have long denied he influenced the voting.
And two whistleblowers mentioned in Eckert’s summary but not by name – former Australia bid official Bonita Mersiades and Phaedra Almajid who was employed by the Qataris as head of international media – were both quoted by the Mail on Sunday as denouncing dismissal of their contributions to the Garcia report which Eckert described as unreliable.
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