FIFA ethics investigator quits in dispute over report

The credibility of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, took another severe hit on Wednesday when the organization’s top independent ethics investigator Michael J Garcia resigned in protest over the smothering of his report about corruption in the much-criticized bid process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Garcia, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was appointed by FIFA in 2012 to investigate the bidding process that led to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting rights being awarded to Russia and Qatar. At the end of his 18-month probe, he produced a report that became one of the most closely guarded secrets in soccer.

Since then, there have been months of internal wrangling over what to do with it. Garcia said that he wanted the 430-page report made public with minimal redactions to protect the identities of any witnesses and cooperators. A few members of the Executive Committee, including Al-Hussein and Gulati, echoed that view.

Instead, FIFA’s ethics judge, Hans-Joachim Eckert in November produced a 42-page summary, which found some wrongdoing by certain individuals, but said that it didn’t compromise the overall process. At issue are allegations of vote-trading and other wrongdoing surrounding the 2010 vote by the Executive Committee to award the next two World Cups. Any talk of a revote has been shut down by FIFA.

In a strongly worded resignation statement, Garcia outlined his public clash with Eckert, who is in charge of handing down punishment in cases of ethical wrongdoing.

Garcia, strongly suggested that scandal-plagued FIFA was incapable of reforming itself from within.

“No independent governance committee, investigator or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization,” Mr. Garcia wrote.

The reaction among members of the Executive Committee was also one of shock. Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, a FIFA vice president who is weighing a run at the presidency in next spring’s election, said that Garcia’s decision could prompt “a fight for people to view the report,” which he hasn’t seen.

“This is just emblematic of some of the challenges we have at FIFA,” he said. Al-Hussein added that he couldn’t tell exactly what had finally pushed Garcia to quit, “but I have tremendous respect for people who take principled decisions.”