Fifa World Cup Controversy: Russia and Qatar Tournaments Under Threat After Garcia Dismisses Fifa
World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar could again be under threat after the author of the report into alleged corruption rejected the way Fifa interpreted his findings.
Michael Garcia, head of Fifa's ethics committee, has dismissed as "incomplete and erroneous" judge Hans-Joachim Eckert's summary of his report.
Garcia now intends to appeal Eckert's interpretation, which could lead to a lengthy legal battle and ultimately a re-vote on who hosts the tournaments.
The lawyer, who headed the investigation into claims the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts fraudulently won the right to stage the football tournaments, has put himself on a collision course with judge Eckert, who today published his summary.
Garcia says Eckert's decision "contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts. I intend to appeal this decision to the Fifa Appeal Committee."
Fifa claimed it was unable to to publish Garcia's report for legal reasons but will will inevitably face calls for football's governing body to release the report in its entirety.
Eckert's conclusion cleared Qatar and Russia of any wrongdoing while criticising England for allegedly breaching bidding rules.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.