FIFA investigator and New York lawyer Michael Garcia will complete his investigation into alleged corruption involved in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments next week, and will hand over his findings to FIFA. The outcome of the investigation won’t be revealed until after the World Cup.
After an explosive story in The Sunday Times, the newspaper revealed that $5 million was allegedly paid by a Qatari official to high-ranking FIFA executives with the express purpose of influencing them to vote to award Qatar the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
If the investigation by Garcia results in FIFA admitting that the votes for the FIFA 2022 World Cup were influenced by Qatar, then it’s possible that FIFA will demand a revote.
“After months of interviewing witnesses and gathering materials, we intend to complete that phase of our investigation by June 9, 2014, and to submit a report to the Adjudicatory Chamber approximately six weeks thereafter,” Garcia said in a statement released by FIFA and referring to a FIFA panel.
“The report will consider all evidence potentially related to the bidding process, including evidence collected from prior investigations.”
