FIFA ethics investigator Garcia resigns

FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia resigned on Wednesday in protest at the way his report into the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process was handled by Hans-Joachim Eckert, the ethics judge of soccer's governing body.

Garcia said he had lost confidence in the independence of the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber following a statement issued by Eckert, based on Garcia's still-secret report, in November.

Former U.S. prosecutor Garcia's report examined allegations of corruption in the awards of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup turnaments to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Garcia, who formerly served as chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan, had appealed against Eckert's statement, saying it contained misrepresentations, but that appeal was ruled inadmissible by FIFA on Tuesday.

"It now appears that, at least for the foreseeable future, the Eckert Decision will stand as the final word on the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process," Garcia said in a statement.

"While the Appeal Committee’s decision notes that further appeal may be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I have concluded that such a course of action would not be practicable in this case.

"No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization.

"And while the November 13, 2014, Eckert Decision made me lose confidence in the independence of the Adjudicatory Chamber, it is the lack of leadership on these issues within FIFA that leads me to conclude that my role in this process is at an end."

Eckert's statement recommended that there was not enough evidence to justify reopening the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.

Garcia, appointed in 2012, said he felt that initially the ethics committee was making progress.

"For the first two years after my July 2012 appointment as independent Chairman of the FIFA Ethics Committee’s Investigatory Chamber, I felt that the Ethics Committee was making real progress in advancing ethics enforcement at FIFA," he said. "In recent months, that changed."

FIFA's Executive Committee is meeting in Marrakech, which is hosting the Club World Club, this week.

Reuters