February 11 – Mark Pieth (pictured), the Swiss expert hired by FIFA president Sepp Blatter to submit recommendations for reform to improve the organisation’s battered image, has suggested that much-publicised leaks about his work may be linked to the current presidential election campaign.
The German magazine Der Spiegel claimed at the weekend that emails in its possession showed that FIFA’s legal chief had requested alterations in the final version of Pieth’s report in order to present Blatter in a better light.
A report in Bloomerg reported that FIFA had the right, as a client, to review materials before they were published. Pieth said the Independent Governance Committee (IGC) only agreed to four of 37 requested changes, including two related to Blatter and the collapsed ISL marketing company, one of which raised questions over whether or not Blatter knew about the ISL bribery scandal 15 years ago.
“What is interesting for me is why did this come out now?” Pieth said. “That, of course, has to do with Blatter trying to get to be president yet again.”
Pieth said the e-mails could just as easily have been leaked by supporters of Blatter as by his opponents but provided no evidence or reason for his claims. He appears to discount that he was the source of his leak.
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