Franz Beckenbauer among four to be investigated in World Cup bidding probe

Three current FIFA executive committee members are under investigation by ethics chief Michael Garcia following his probe into World Cup bidding, it can be revealed.

Franz Beckenbauer among four to be investigated in World Cup bidding probe

Three current FIFA executive committee members are under investigation by ethics chief Michael Garcia following his probe into World Cup bidding, it can be revealed.

Spain’s Angel Maria Villar Llona, Michel D’Hooghe from Belgium and Worawi Makudi from Thailand are among the names being looked at by Garcia for possible ethics code breaches, according to sources close to the world governing body.

Former FIFA executive committee member Franz Beckenbauer is also under investigation by American attorney Garcia along with Harold Mayne-Nicholls from Chile, who headed the inspection team which compiled reports into the countries bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Last week Garcia announced “a number of individuals” have had formal cases opened against them .

Garcia and German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee, released a joint statement last week confirming a number of individuals were under investigation.

FIFA has also lodged a separate criminal complaint with the Swiss attorney general.

The joint Garcia-Eckert statement of November 20 also said that Garcia’s full report into his investigation into bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups would be passed to Domenico Scala, the chairman of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee. That committee would determine how much of the information should be made available to FIFA’s executive committee.

Given that three members of the executive committee are being investigated by Garcia, it is unclear how much, if any, of the information contained in the report can be shared.

Earlier this month Eckert cleared Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups saying rule breaches by the bidding countries were ”of very limited scope”.

Garcia responded by notifying FIFA that he intended to lodge an appeal against the decision due to ”numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts”.

A wide spectrum of football observers have called for Garcia's full report to be made public.

British Conservative MP Damian Collins, who described the Eckert report as a “whitewash”, told the Commons on Thursday that the “chaos” at FIFA surrounding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding shows it is not fit to govern the world game.

The UK's Sports minister Helen Grant did not directly address Mr Collins’ plea in her reply.

Speaking during culture, media and sport questions, Folkestone and Hythe MP Mr Collins asked her: “Will you agree with me that the recent chaos at FIFA demonstrates it is not fit to govern world football and could you confirm the Government would not support a future bid from England to host the World Cup while the current leadership team at FIFA remains in place?”

The minister replied: “In his letter to (FIFA president) Sepp Blatter, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said: ’FIFA could restore credibility by publishing Michael Garcia’s report and the failure to do so would further damage its own credibility and the reputation of football’.”

more courts articles

Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman
Coronation Street actor William Roache (91) given three months to settle tax debt Coronation Street actor William Roache (91) given three months to settle tax debt

More in this section

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace - Premier League Jonathan Liew: The cultural division of football fans only serves those who wish to exploit it
Forest ‘extremely disappointed’ by four-point Premier League deduction Forest ‘extremely disappointed’ by four-point Premier League deduction
Republic of Ireland v New Zealand - International Friendly FAI close in on men’s sponsor with Sky expansion link
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited