Garcia Resigns From Fifa Ethics Committee
FIFA’s independent ethics investigator, Michael Garcia, has resigned in protest over the handling of his report into the bidding scandals surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Garcia’s resignation follows the rejection of his appeal into the clearing of Qatar and Russia of any wrongdoing, despite Garcia urging that the summary sent out was a false representation of his full report, which will not be made public following a vote by FIFA.
The American lawyer cited a ‘lack of leadership’ at the top of football’s world governing body.
‘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,’ said Garcia. ‘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.’
Garcia went on to say that he had lost his confidence in the independence of the ethics committee, and suggested that the problems the football body are facing at the moment stem from a lack of leadership at the highest levels within the body.
‘The Eckert Decision made me lose confidence in the independence of the Adjudicatory Chamber, but 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,’ Garcia continued. ‘No independent Governance Committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organisation.’
