FIFA: Zero tolerance to unethical behaviour
Reuters - Monday 25 October 2010, 08:50
ZURICH - FIFA has promised a zero
tolerance approach to unethical behaviour in the contest to
host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in response to comments made
by the body's former general secretary to undercover newspaper
reporters.
"FIFA and the ethics committee are committed to have zero
tolerance for any breach of the code of ethics and the bid
registration," football's governing body in a statement on
Monday.
"FIFA and the ethics committee are determined to protect
the integrity of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding
process."
The Sunday Times newspaper in Britain posted a film of
Michel Zen-Ruffinen talking to undercover reporters about the
bid process, fueling the controversy surrounding the hosting of
the two tournaments.
Zen-Ruffinen, general secretary from 1998 until he left football's governing body in 2002 after accusing FIFA president
Sepp Blatter of mismanagement, later called for an external
investigation into alleged corruption.
Last week, two members of FIFA's executive committee
members were provisionally suspended on suspicion of selling
their votes in the contest to host the two tournaments.
Nigerian Amos Adamu and Tahiti's Reynald Temarii were
banned from all football-related activity for 30 days while
FIFA's own ethics committee investigates allegations they
offered to sell their votes when approached by Sunday Times
journalists posing as lobbyists for an American consortium.
POTENTIAL EVIDENCE
FIFA, which hopes to conclude the investigation by
mid-March, confirmed that it would include Zen-Ruffinen's
comments in its investigations.
"FIFA will provide all of the information collected on this
matter to the ethics committee," FIFA said.
"FIFA has immediately requested to receive all the
documents and potential evidence that the newspaper has in
relation to this matter, and will in any case analyse the
material available.
FIFA is due elect the hosts of the two World Cup
tournaments on December 2 in Zurich with only the 24 members of the
executive committee entitled to vote.
It is still not clear what will happen if the pair are
found guilty as any replacements would have to be elected by
their respective confederations.
FIFA have not commented on the possibility that the
election could go ahead with only 22 voters and general
secretary Jerome Valcke said last Wednesday that there had been
no discussion over postponing the vote.
England, Russia, Spain/Portugal and Belgium/Netherlands are
bidding to host the 2018 World Cup while Japan, South Korea,
Australia, United States and Qatar are candidates for 2022.
FIFA is also investigating allegations that two unnamed
candidates have broken the rules by acting in collusion.