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FIFA to publish 'appropriate' form of report on World Cup bidding

Michael Garcia quit after losing an appeal to the findings of his report
Michael Garcia quit after losing an appeal to the findings of his report

FIFA's executive committee has agreed unanimously that an "appropriate" form of the Garcia report into World Cup bidding should be published.

Officials at a meeting in Morocco agreed to the proposal without a vote being taken - but nothing will be published until the ethics committee charges against three FIFA ExCo members have been dealt with.

FIFA sources confirmed the outcome of the meeting in Marrakesh.

American lawyer Michael Garcia produced a 430-page report into the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.

He quit on Wednesday as FIFA's ethics investigator after losing his appeal challenging the findings to clear Russia and Qatar to host the World Cups.

The FIFA ExCo was given a presentation by Domenico Scala, the head of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, who suggested the report should be published in an "appropriate form" - with all names and other details redacted.

This was agreed to by the members without a vote - and avoided a vote on German member Theo Zwanziger's proposal to change the ethics code rules which would allow full and immediate publication.

FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce, from Northern Ireland, welcomed the move.

He said: "I am pleased the FIFA executive committee decided without a vote to publish this report. It shows that people at FIFA at the moment do desire transparency and the sooner we can get on with talking about the game of football that we all love, the better."

It is also understood that FIFA's ExCo appointed Zurich-based Swiss lawyer Cornel Borbely to replace Garcia in an acting capacity.

Mr Borbely had been Mr Garcia's deputy and took charge of the investigation into the Russian and American bids.