14 Oct 2014

Investigator calls for change of culture at FIFA

12:31 pm on 14 October 2014

FIFA's chief independent ethics investigator has called for a "change of culture" at the world football organisation.

In a thinly-veiled attack on president Sepp Blatter's leadership, Michael Garcia reiterated the need for "greater transparency".

Fifa president Sepp Blatter

Fifa president Sepp Blatter Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Garcia says the investigation and adjudication process operates in most parts unseen and unheard.

He added that the organisation needs a leadership that sends a message that the rules apply to everyone.

American lawyer Garcia concluded his lengthy investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process last month and handed his report to FIFA's ethics adjudicator Hans Joachim Eckert, but he is disappointed by the world governing body's insistence on keeping his report confidential.

In a keynote speech at an event organised by the American Bar Association in London, Garcia says the natural next step of the development of an effective ethics process at FIFA is greater transparency.

He says what is required is leadership that sends a message that the rules apply to everyone.

Garcia's views on publishing the report have been supported by a number of FIFA executives, including UEFA president Michel Platini and Britain's representative Jim Boyce.

But FIFA president Blatter insists the contents of the report must remain confidential, and that no member of his executive committee made a specific request when the issue was raised in a meeting earlier this month.