17 December 2014
Michael J Garcia resigns as head of the Investigatory Chamber of FIFA. Now is the time for fans & players to unite for a new FIFA
Michael Garcia’s resignation statement today as Chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, published in full in the New York Times, is excoriating in its criticism of his former colleague, Judge Hans-Joachim Eckert (Chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber) and the leadership of FIFA.
Referring to Eckert’s summary report on Garcia’s 21-month investigation of the World Cup bidding process, Garcia writes that “no principled approach could justify the Eckert Decision’s edits, omissions, and additions.”
He further states that he has “(lost) confidence in the independence of the Adjudicatory Chamber”, headed by Eckert; and concludes that, no matter what work he does, that nothing can change the culture of FIFA under its current leadership.
Sound familiar?
The reform of FIFA into a democratic, transparent and accountable organisation is the number one issue in world football.
FIFA is not a private organisation. The people who run it do not own it - or the sport we love. They are the custodians of football for the many millions who play the game and the billions who love it.
FIFA and its Executive Committee conduct its stewardship of the game without accountability to anyone other than themselves.
Football fans and players should unite and say ‘enough is enough’. It is time for a new FIFA. We should put pressure on our football associations, the sponsors, the broadcasters and our governments to intervene to demand this also.
Who else is prepared to stand-up and do so?