Developing Story
U.S. charges top soccer officials with corruption
Seven
top FIFA officials were arrested in dawn raids at a Swiss hotel -- and
that could be just of the start of a huge scandal engulfing world
soccer's governing body.
Whistle-blower: FIFA's 'culture of self-protection'
Whistle-blower: Woe betide anyone reporting 'FIFA corruption'
updated 11:36 AM EST, Wed December 17, 2014
Sepp Blatter, the president of
world football's governing body FIFA, announced that a redacted version
of the report into the alleged wrongdoing surroiunding the bidding
process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would be published.
HIDE CAPTION
Decision made
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Soccer whistle-blower hits out at FIFA's "culture of self-protection"
- Phaedra Al-Majid unhappy FIFA rejected her breach of confidentiality complaint
- "Dismissing my complaint...is clear violation of its own rules," she says
- FIFA declares American lawyer Michael Garcia's appeal "not admissible" over his complaint
"Woe be to any other
person who cares enough to risk personal safety to report FIFA
corruption," said Phaedra Al-Majid, who was in charge of international
media relations for the Qatar 2022 bid until 2010, in a public
statement.
Al-Majid along with
another whistle-blower -- Australian Bonita Mersiades -- gave evidence
to American lawyer Michael Garcia, who has investigated the bidding
process surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The women claim Garcia ensured they would have anonymity in his investigative report -- and that he broke his promise.
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It's a report that has
become mired in controversy after German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert --
FIFA's independent ethics adjudicator -- published a summary of the
evidence the American had collated.
The two women insist that
assurances were given to them both in private and public that they
would not be compromised after agreeing to give evidence "through a
sense of natural justice and a desire to bring closure to a long running
chapter in our lives."
The women were not identified by name, but they contend they were "clearly identifiable" in the summary of Garcia's report.
However, FIFA's disciplinary committee said Tuesday there
"were no grounds to justify the opening of disciplinary proceedings"
given "the breach of confidentiality claim had no substance."
Referring to Eckert's
summary, FIFA said; "No names were mentioned in the statement and any
information provided was of a general nature. Thus, there was no
divulgence of any information of a confidential nature."
FIFA added that Garcia
"in his letter to Disciplinary Committee chairman Claudio Sulser,
concluded that the complaints by the participants in the investigation
were without merit and that, as far as he was concerned, there had been
no infringements by Eckert."
FIFA's ruling drew an incredulous response from Al-Majid.
"The conclusion of the
FIFA Disciplinary Committee dismissing my complaint against Herr Eckert
for breaching my confidentiality is a transparent avoidance of a clear
violation of its own rules," she said.
"I cooperated with Mr.
Garcia's investigation for over two-and-a-half years under a clear,
unqualified promise of confidentiality. He asked me for my
confidentiality and repeatedly promised me mine.
"I kept my promise. Herr
Eckert breached that confidentiality. I did not. The Disciplinary
Committee's avoidance of this undisputable violation is emblematic of
its culture of self-protection."
While admitting she had
made public statements in the past, Al-Majid insisted they were made
"long before I entered into a confidentiality agreement with Mr. Garcia.
"I made no public statements during the entire period of Mr. Garcia's investigation.
"I relied on FIFA's promise of confidentiality and continued to honor my promise until Herr Eckert published his 'Summary.'
"My recent public
statements have only been made AFTER Herr Eckert's identification of me
in blatant violation of FIFA confidentiality rules."
On Twitter, Al-Majid
posted an explanation FIFA had sent her, which seemed at odds with the
organization's media release explaining why it had dismissed her
complaint, given the letter suggested she was not entitled to complain
as she was no longer working in football.
Former head of corporate affairs in the Australia 2022 bid Mersiades was equally critical of FIFA.
"FIFA is nothing if not
predictable, and has today surpassed itself in obfuscation and
deflection," Mersiades said in a public statement.
"These issues are no
longer just about winning bids from Russia and Qatar and losing bids,
including Australia. It is about FIFA and the bid process that lent
itself to abuse.
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"In FIFA's world, there is no room for ordinary fans. FIFA's world is littered with corruption, mismanagement and self-interest.
"The real football world
-- the many millions of players and billions of fans -- deserve a
better FIFA, one that is governed by people who make decisions and take
action in a transparent manner and who are held accountable in the best
interests of the sport and civil society.
"Will a new, independent candidate stand-up to depose the President and build a new FIFA?"
Eckert's report cleared
Russia and Qatar, who will stage the 2018 and 2022 events respectively,
of wrongdoing and instead was critical of rival bidders England and
Australia.
Soon after its
publication, Garcia said the 42-page summary contained "numerous
materially incomplete and erroneous representations," as he too lodged
an appeal with FIFA's appeals committee.
However, on Tuesday FIFA declared Garcia's appeal "not admissible."
"The said statement
about the report on the inquiry into the 2018-2022 Fifa World Cup
bidding process does not constitute a decision and as such is neither
legally binding nor appealable," said FIFA.
"Mr. Garcia has just
received the decision and is reviewing it," said a spokesman for the
American lawyer. "We have no further comment at this time."
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