Football
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FIFA ethics judge: Full publication of Michael Garcia report is not legal

The full publication of FIFA ethics investigator Michael Garcia's report into alleged World Cup corruption is not legally possible, according to FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert.

Last month, Eckert received Garcia's report which has looked into the bidding process for the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.

There have been calls by numerous high-ranking officials such as UEFA president Michel Platini, FIFA presidential candidate Jerome Champagne and Franz Beckenbauer to make the findings public.

However, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has refused to disclose the report either fully or in parts, and he has now been backed by Eckert.

"Publishing the report in full would actually put the FIFA Ethics Committee and FIFA itself in a very difficult situation legally," the German judge told FIFA's official website. "What is more, we have to respect the personal rights of the people mentioned in the report, which in the case of the full publication of the report, would in all likelihood not be possible."

Speaking at an event in London last week, Garcia called for FIFA to show greater transparency and criticised the culture of secrecy within world football's governing body, while urging it to show leadership and publish his report.

Despite their perceived different stances, Eckert insisted that there has not been any disagreement between him and Garcia on how to tackle the situation.

Eckert, who added that the report "comprises hundreds of pages as well as numerous annexes," is currently preparing a statement on Garcia's findings, which he expects "to be ready by mid-November at the latest."

"Michael Garcia has never said that the report should be 100 percent published. He merely said that the 'appropriate' publication of his report should be authorised," Eckert said. "The deputy chairman of the adjudicatory chamber and I now have the task of drawing up this appropriate form for publication.

"Part of my current examination involves deciding what form this appropriate publication should take, whether this means issuing a statement regarding the investigation report or whether certain parts of the investigation report will be published while maintaining anonymity, or indeed a combination of these possibilities.

"This decision is exclusively a matter for the adjudicatory chamber -- neither the investigatory chamber nor the FIFA Executive Committee can decide. The main requirement is that personal rights must not be damaged."

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