By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – The hotly debated report into possible corruption surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process will not be made public by FIFA president Sepp Blatter or his executive committee.
Despite calls from three Fifa vice-presidents and even the independent investigator who drew up the report, Michael Garcia, to publish the entire 430-page file, FIFA said today it was not prepared to break the confidentiality pledges made to some 75 witnesses – including representatives of all nine bid candidates – interviewed by the former US attorney and his team
But earlier this week clear divisions were exposed in the thinking of the committee when Hans-Joachim Eckert, the German judge who heads its adjudicatory chamber and who will announce the eagerly awaited verdicts into any wrongdoing, said he had no plans to lift strict secrecy rules.
Eckert was backed today by Blatter who told a news conference following Fifa’s exco meeting in Zurich that “no member of the committee” had requested the report to be published, a somewhat surprising revelation given that several of them have done so independently.
Blatter told reporters those members who were now calling for publication “were not there” on Dec. 2, 2010, when the exco awarded the 2018 to tournament to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar.
Fifa’s top legal expert, Marco Villiger, explained the reasoning behind the need for secrecy and why there was no room for manoeuvre.
“It is not up to the executive committee to decide if the confidentiality of witnesses, which was guaranteed, will be lifted,” Villiger said. “This would be completely against the code (of ethics). Judge Eckert clearly said he would analyse the report of Michael Garcia and make a public statement at the beginning of November.”
“The principle of confidentiality (is) enshrined in the [ethics] code and if not perhaps certain witnesses or whistleblowers might not co-operate to the same extent if confidentiality is not guaranteed. It is up to the adjudicatory committee to decide, not the executive committee, if the confidentiality guaranteed to 75 witnesses will be lifted.”
As expected, Blatter also announced to his exco that will formally stand for a fifth term of office at the presidential election next year.
“I have announced to the Executive Committee … that I will accept the demands of different associations and federations [to stand for election] to serve FIFA for a fifth mandate,” Blatter said. “I declared today. We are not yet at the end of our reform process.”
Blatter’s path to what appears to be certain re-election was boosted once UEFA boss Michel Platini announced last month that he preferred to stay at the helm of European football and would not challenge the veteran Swiss who said after winning his fourth term in 2011 that it would be his last but has since changed his mind.
The election will be held at the next FIFA congress in Zurich on May 29 next year. So far the only other candidate is Jerome Champagne, former FIFA deputy secretary general who insists he will stay the course despite considerable speculation that he might ultimately withdrew.