FIFA to Decide Whether to Publicize Full Version of Garcia's Report

MOSCOW, December 18 (Sputnik), Ekaterina Blinova –  FIFA's executive committee launched a two-day meeting on Thursday, December 18, in order to discuss ethics investigator Michael Garcia's sudden resignation as well as to decide whether to publicize his report regarding the World Cups 2018 and 2022 bidding process.

"Garcia quit Wednesday in protest over the handling of his World Cup bid investigation. The American lawyer's departure could increase pressure on FIFA to publish the 430-page report on the 2010 votes that awarded the World Cup to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022," the Associated Press reported.

The committee members are expected to vote on Friday, December 19, whether to release the whole report or only part of it. Earlier FIFA publicized only a 42-page statement from ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert based on Garcia's findings, which confirmed that the December 2010 vote was legal. In response, Garcia, a former US prosecutor, claimed that his investigation was "misinterpreted" and filed a complaint with FIFA's appeal committee. After the complaint had been rejected on Tuesday, December 16, he resigned slamming the federation for "the lack of leadership on these issues within FIFA."

"No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization," Garcia's resignation statement said.

Only a few members of FIFA have seen the full version of the Garcia report, thus far the federation's critics are expressing doubts about FIFA's "transparency" and "good governance."

However, sources close to the FIFA suggest that that the majority of the committee members are inclined to vote for the release of the redacted version of Garcia's dossier amid growing public pressure, notes Reuters.

FIFA's code of ethics limits what information can be publicized by the federation, the media outlet emphasizes, citing the document.

Thus far, the article 36 of the code reads "only the final decisions already notified to the addressees may be made public. In the event of a breach of this article by a member of the ethics committee, the relevant member shall be suspended by the FIFA disciplinary committee until the next FIFA Congress."