By Daniel Etchells

Reinhard Rauball has called for the report into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to be published in full ©Getty ImagesGerman Football League (DFL) President Reinhard Rauball has warned UEFA could leave FIFA if the report into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is not published in full.

This comes after FIFA released a shorter, 42-page summary of the report by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, on Thursday (November 13).

At the time, Eckert declared that the "assessment of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process is therefore closed".

But within hours of its publication, United States attorney Michael Garcia, who was commissioned by FIFA as the independent investigator into the issue, said the report "contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions".

Garcia has lodged a complaint at FIFA's Appeal Committee asking for his report to be released in full, while Eckert has said he would meet with him to discuss their differences of interpretation.

"This outcome is shaking the very foundations of FIFA in a way that I have not experienced before," Rauball, told Kicker, Germany's leading sports magazine. 

"If this crisis is not resolved in a credible manner, one would have to start discussing the question of whether one is still in good hands with FIFA.

"One option that ought to be seriously considered is whether UEFA could break away from FIFA."

Michael Garcia has lodged a complaint at FIFA's Appeal Committee asking for his report to be released in full ©Getty ImagesMichael Garcia has lodged a complaint at FIFA's Appeal Committee asking for his report to be released in full ©Getty Images



Rauball, who is also the President of Borussia Dortmund, called for Garcia's appeal paper to be released in full.

"As a solution, two things must happen," he said.

"Not only must the decision of the Ethics Committee be published, but Mr Garcia's bill of indictment too, so it becomes clear what the charges were and how they were judged.

"Additionally, the areas that were not evaluated [in the report] and whether that was justified [should be published].

"It must be made public.

"That is the only way FIFA can deal with the complete loss of credibility."

Allegations of corruption have long plagued the World Cup bidding process from 2010 that awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

Besides these allegations, Russia's behaviour in the Ukraine conflict and allegations of Qatar mistreating guest labourers working on World Cup-related projects have fuelled debate over the venues' suitability.

In charge of the DFL, which operates Germany's top two club football divisions, Rauball has repeatedly voiced concern about scheduling difficulties in 2022.  

FIFA has suggested that due to the searing heat in Qatar, the tournament would have to be rescheduled to ensure suitable conditions for players and fans.

The tournament is likely to take place in the northern hemisphere's winter, in the middle of the European club season.

Meanwhile, in the United States, it has been reported that the FBI will launch its own investigations into FIFA and the contentious bidding process.

The US lost out to Qatar in its bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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