Despite numerous allegations to the contrary, FIFA’s independent ethics adjudicator Hans Joachim Eckert has announced the Garcia Report found no hard evidence of corruption in Qatar’s bid for the 2022 World Cup, and that a re-vote will not be held. The report also looked into the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
FIFA report indicates no evidence of corruption in Qatar 2022 World Cup bid
Michael J. Garcia’s report, which was not released in full, will not lead to a re-vote for the 2022 World Cup
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
FIFA commissioned the report by Michael Garcia in July 2012, and he delivered his findings to football’s governing body in September 2014. Eckart announced the full report would not be made public for legal reasons, to much controversy.
Garcia himself has spoken out against the decision not to publish the report, and disagreed with the 40-page summary FIFA made public.
“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,” said Garcia in a statement.
Eckert admitted there were problems with the bidding process, but not to the extent that Qatar should be stripped of the World Cup.
Eckert: Garcia report "identified occurrences suited to impair the integrity of the 2018/22 WC bidding process..." BUT...
— Dan Roan (@danroan) November 13, 2014 "..the effects were far from reaching the threshold that would require returning to the bidding process let alone re opening it."
— Dan Roan (@danroan) November 13, 2014 Eckert says "potentially problematic" findings Garcia found related to Qatar bid "NOT suited to compromise integrity of bidding process"
— Dan Roan (@danroan) November 13, 2014 Mohammed bin Hammam, a Qatari who was once the president of the Asian Football Confederation, has been banned from FIFA for life for offering bribes to other FIFA voters in an attempt to win the presidency from Sepp Blatter. However, while he was caught for bribery in that instance, there isn’t enough evidence to suggest he did the same to win the 2022 World Cup for Qatar.
Interestingly enough, the bid that was most criticized by the Garcia Report was England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup. They’re accused of damaging “the image of FIFA and the bidding process”, mostly for their dealings with Jack Warner, the now-banned former Trinidad and Tobago and CONCACAF executive. The English FA have been among world football’s most vocal in calling for FIFA to fight corruption, especially in the bidding process for the World Cup.
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