Fifa official: corruption probe 'must be public'
The results of a corruption probe over bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup must be made public, a senior official with Zurich-based Fifa who represents the game in Asia said on Wednesday.
"In the interest of full transparency I believe it is important that the much anticipated report on the ethics investigation — that is crucial to ensuring good governance at FIFA — is fully disclosed and open to the public," Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein said in a statement emailed to AFP.
"This will only help the football community move ahead in reforming our institutions in the best interest of the sport," he added.
Prince Ali is the vice-president of world football's governing body, representing Asia, and also heads the national association of his native Jordan.
An ethics panel led by former US federal prosecutor Michael Garcia has notably been looking into the way Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
The Gulf state has faced corruption accusations but has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The probe has also examined the process by which Russia won in its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
In a break with Fifa tradition, the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were awarded at the same time, in 2010, leading to claims of horse-trading in the bidding process.
The 350-page Garcia report was handed to FIFA on September 5th.
It summed up a year-long investigation that involved interviewing more than 75 witnesses and compiling a dossier with more than 200,000 pages and audio interviews.
Fifa announced that the report recommended action against "individuals" over the bids, and changes for future bidding campaigns, but has not given further details.
It is now up to Fifa's adjudicatory chamber to decide on the future of the report and whether it will be published.
Fifa's Swiss boss Sepp Blatter has indicated that no decisions will be taken before October.
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"In the interest of full transparency I believe it is important that the much anticipated report on the ethics investigation — that is crucial to ensuring good governance at FIFA — is fully disclosed and open to the public," Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein said in a statement emailed to AFP.
"This will only help the football community move ahead in reforming our institutions in the best interest of the sport," he added.
Prince Ali is the vice-president of world football's governing body, representing Asia, and also heads the national association of his native Jordan.
An ethics panel led by former US federal prosecutor Michael Garcia has notably been looking into the way Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
The Gulf state has faced corruption accusations but has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The probe has also examined the process by which Russia won in its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
In a break with Fifa tradition, the 2018 and 2022 tournaments were awarded at the same time, in 2010, leading to claims of horse-trading in the bidding process.
The 350-page Garcia report was handed to FIFA on September 5th.
It summed up a year-long investigation that involved interviewing more than 75 witnesses and compiling a dossier with more than 200,000 pages and audio interviews.
Fifa announced that the report recommended action against "individuals" over the bids, and changes for future bidding campaigns, but has not given further details.
It is now up to Fifa's adjudicatory chamber to decide on the future of the report and whether it will be published.
Fifa's Swiss boss Sepp Blatter has indicated that no decisions will be taken before October.
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