Fifa executives have unanimously voted to publish an “appropriate form” of the controversial report into allegations of corruption in the World Cup bidding process.
Fifa President Sepp Blatter insisted that Russia and Qatar will remain hosts of the next two World Cup tournaments, saying in a statement
“The report is about history and I am focused on the future. We will not revisit the 2018 and 2022 vote and a report by independent, external legal experts commissioned by Mr. Scala supports the view that there are no legal grounds to revoke the Executive Committee’s decision on the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.”
However, Fifa accepted that questions remained unanswered after the recent publication of a summary report that vindicated all their decisions.
Blatter commented:
“It is clear that while a summary of the report was issued, the publication of this report has become a barrier to rebuilding public confidence and trust in FIFA.”
The lead author and investigator of the full 430-page report, US lawyer Michael Garcia, resigned shortly after the publication of the summary report, saying that it was “incomplete and erroneous” and did not reflect his findings.
It is unclear exactly what Fifa means by an “appropriate form” of the report, but it is expected to have large sections redacted to protect witness confidentiality, which may not quell the continued allegations of corruption within the organisation and its opaque World Cup bidding process.
