FIFA to Publish ‘Appropriate’ Report on Alleged World Cup Bidding Corruption

FIFA executives have unanimously agreed to publish a "legally appropriate version" of Michael J. Garcia's report that looked into allegations of corruption during the World Cup bidding process.

"We have always been determined that the truth should be known," the president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, stated in regards to releasing the report, according to BBC Sport. Blatter had originally opposed publishing the report. "That is, after all, why we set up an independent ethics committee with an investigatory chamber that has all necessary means to undertake investigations on its own initiative."

Garcia's 430-page report will be revised appropriately to protect the privacy of certain individuals. The redacted report will only be made available after all ongoing investigations into these individuals who have allegedly violated ethics principles are closed. The five individuals are Angel Maria Villar, Michel D'Hooghe, Worawi Makudi, Franz Beckenbauer and Harold Mayne-Nicholl.

"We need to ensure that we respect the rules of our organization and that we do not breach confidentiality in a way that will prevent people from speaking out in the future," added Blatter, 78.

Garcia became FIFA's independent ethics investigator in 2012. He spent roughly two years digging into the corruption claims on all nine bids for the two upcoming World Cup events. Garcia submitted a report in September 2014. In response to the report, FIFA released a 42-page summary written by German judge, Hans-Joachim Eckert. In the summary, Eckert stated that Garcia's findings regarding ethics violations were small. This summary concluded that there was no corruption involved with the Russia and Qatar bidding process.

Garcia, who was not happy with Eckert's summary, filed an appeal with FIFA's appeals committee. After losing the appeal, Garcia resigned, writing: "No independent governance committee, investigator or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization," according to the New York Times.

He added that there is a "lack of leadership" within FIFA.

During the announcement made at a news conference in Morocco, Blatter stated that the 2018 World Cup will go as planned and take place in Russia. The 2022 World Cup's location, Qatar, will also remain the same.

Blatter added, reported by the Guardian, "We are already in the process of incorporating recommendations made by independent experts including the Ethics Committee for how the FIFA World Cup selection process can be improved so that everyone can be confident that the 2026 bidding process will be fair, ethical and open."

Cornel Borbély has replaced Garcia as the acting chairman of the ethics committee.