ZURICH: FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, responsible for deciding whether there was corruption in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, said only four people have seen the report following an investigation into the decisions.
Eckert, Head of adjudicatory chamber of ethics committee, hoped to finish his work by the end of October or early November, adding he understood the case was “urgent”.
The German judge has been handed a 430-page report, plus 200,000 pages of evidence, following a year-long probe by Michael Garcia, FIFA’s ethics investigator.
The 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar in December.
“This report has definitely been seen by only four people... nobody else has seen it. Neither FIFA nor any other organisations have got this report and this is how it was meant to be,” Eckert told the World Summit for Ethics in Sports in Zurich. “You can rest assured that we professionals know how to safeguard the report, and not give anyone access to it”.
He said details of the report would be made public once the decision had been made. “You will know, but you will also have to respect that the persons who are potentially affected deserve to be protected in their privacy, so we have to presume people are not guilty until the end of the proceedings.” Agencies
