FIFA Corruption Probe Undermined By Author

 

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent

A FIFA investigation into corruption allegations against Qatar's World Cup bid has descended into chaos after the man responsible for compiling it said a published summary was factually wrong and misrepresented his conclusions.

The intervention by American lawyer Michael Garcia came just hours after FIFA declared the case against Qatar closed and confirmed Russia and Qatar would definitely be hosting the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
FIFA's confidence was based on a summary of a two-year investigation written by Hans-Jaochim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee.

In the report he said any breaches by Qatar and Russia were "of very limited scope", and criticised England for its close relationship with Jack Warner, the disgraced former FIFA vice president.

FIFA found payments by Mohamed Bin Hammam were not part of the 2022 bid

He concluded there was no case to re-open the bidding process for either World Cup.
Within three hours, Mr Garcia accused Mr Eckert of a grave misrepresentation of his findings.

FIFA found payments by Mohamed Bin Hammam were not part of the 2022 bid

He concluded there was no case to re-open the bidding process for either World Cup.
Within three hours, Mr Garcia accused Mr Eckert of a grave misrepresentation of his findings.

                         Qatar Will Host 2022 World Cup

 

In a statement, he said: "Today's decision by the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the investigatory chamber's report."
Mr Garcia said he would appeal Mr Eckert's decision to FIFA's Appeals Committee, though the grounds for the appeal remain unclear.
Mr Eckert declined to comment when contacted by Sky News.
The implications of Mr Garcia's statement remain unclear at this stage, but it could further undermine the world governing body's credibility in the eyes of FIFA critics.
The summary cleared Qatar of corruption largely on the grounds that alleged payments to football officials by Mohamed Bin Hammam, the Qatari former FIFA executive committee member, were not linked to the bid.
The report said Bin Hammam was "distant" from the bid committee and that payments and sweeteners made to Warner and some African officials were instead connected with his attempt to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency in 2011.
Russia was criticised for not providing any documentation to the investigation, claiming that the computers they used in the bid had been returned to a hire company and destroyed.
England's doomed 2018 campaign, however, was criticised despite the FA having co-operated fully.
Its  targeting of the block of FIFA executive votes apparently controlled by Mr Warner did break the rules, according to the summary.

                         Lack Of FIFA Co-Operation 'Odd'

The Trinidad official started "showering the bid team with inappropriate requests" and these were often accommodated, the report found. These included a request that they find a part-time job for an associate.
As well as the request for a job, the report stated England 2018 also picked up the bill for a £35,000 gala dinner for Caribbean officials, provided "substantial assistance" for a training camp for an under-20 Trinidad and Tobago team in 2009, while Warner also asked for favours for his Trinidad football club "Joe Public FC".
The report found: "England's response to Mr Warner's - improper - demands, in at a minimum always seeking to satisfy them in some way, damaged the integrity of the ongoing bidding process.
"Yet, such damage was again of rather limited extent."
A Football Association spokesman said: "We do not accept any criticism regarding the integrity of England's bid or any of the individuals involved.
"We conducted a transparent bid and, as the report demonstrates with its reference to the England bid team's 'full and valuable co-operation', willingly complied with the investigation.
"We maintain that transparency and co-operation around this entire process from all involved is crucial to its credibility.
"We also note that after a lengthy investigatory process and assessment, the report has concluded that the 'potentially problematic facts and circumstances identified by the report regarding the England 2018 bid were, all in all, not suited to compromise the integrity of the FIFA World Cup 2018/22 bidding process as a whole'."

Original post found here : http://news.sky.com/story/1372437/fifa-corruption-probe-undermined-by-author