BERNE: FIFA ethics committee investigator Michael Garcia has completed a probe into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, and handed in a 350-page report.
The report, which has not been made public, will be submitted to the panel’s adjudicatory chamber, headed by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, to decide on whether any wrongdoing was committed, soccer’s governing body said yesterday. FIFA could not say when Eckert might reach his decision.
During the year-long investigation, Garcia and his deputy Cornel Borbely interviewed “more than 75 witnesses and compiled a record that, in addition to audio recordings from interviews, includes more than 200,000 pages of material,” FIFA said.
“The report sets forth detailed factual findings; reaches conclusions concerning further action with respect to certain individuals; identifies issues to be referred to other FIFA committees; and makes recommendations for future bidding processes.”
The hosting rights for both tournaments were awarded simultaneously by FIFA’s executive committee in Zurich in 2010.
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