ISL report due within weeks

12 March 2013 09:17

The man behind FIFA's investigation into the ISL affair hopes to have a preliminary report ready within a couple of weeks.

American lawyer Michael Garcia, who heads up the investigatory arm of Fifa's ethics committee, has been looking into events surrounding the rights agency - which went bust in 2001 - that potentially implicate a number of senior football figures in a bribery scandal.

In a France Football interview quoted in the Guardian, Garcia said: "I've got to examine it like I would examine whatever else might raise the question: 'Have there been violations in the conduct of these people?'"

He went on: "I've got to follow normal procedure and present this report to Judge [Hans-Joachim] Eckert, who's the president of the adjudication chamber; he'll read my report and take his decisions.

"I'll follow procedure, obviously informing the executive committee of what I'm doing.

"A timetable has been established. There's a meeting of the executive committee on 20 and 21 March. My goal is to have at least sent a preliminary report [by then]."

Those investigations surround World Cups in the 1990s, but there are also more recent events into which Garcia is looking.

Allegations continue to fly around concerning the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, won by Russia and Qatar, and Garcia has urged any witnesses to come forward.

Source: PA