Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By RYAN TOLMICH
FIFA has rarely been known for its transparency, which is something U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is hoping to change.
Gulati revealed Wednesday in an interview with the New York Times that he plans to address the ethics report regarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cups during Thursday’s FIFA executive committee meeting in Zurich. The report, which Gulati is hoping will become public, centers around the investigation into the bidding process surrounding the pair of World Cups, which were controversially awarded to Russia and Qatar.
“If we’re going to truly support the idea of transparency and change within FIFA, it has to be made public in the truest meaning of the word,” Gulati said. “That doesn’t mean only to the executive committee. It has to be more.
“Right now, the whole story is not about what’s in the report but whether it should be made public. And that isn’t ideal for anyone.”
The reports were assembled by former U.S. prosecutor Michael J. Garcia, who also believes that the findings should be made public.
“Given the limited role (chairman of the Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA’s independent ethics committee) Mr. Hans-Joachim Eckert envisions for the Adjudicatory Chamber,” Garcia said in a statement. “I believe it is now necessary for the FIFA Executive Committee to authorize the appropriate publication of the Report on the Inquiry into the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Process.
“Publication would be consistent with statements made by a number of Executive Committee members, with the view recently expressed by Independent Governance Committee Chair Mark Pieth, and with the goals of the reform process.”
While full details within the report may need to be redacted due to future investigations, Gulati believes the public has a right to know what has gone on.
“I think it is important,” Gulati said, “and I think the executive committee can, and should, ask for it to be released in a reasonable form.”
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What do you think of Gulati’s belief that the reports should be public? Do you think they’ll be released?
Share your thoughts below.
Nice of Gulati to finally grow a pair and say something. Every country except England have been too scared to step up to the plate.
Even as a complete Britophobe I have to admit the English have been excellent on this matter, where others have just stared at their feet pretending they don’t see
Yeah, I’m looking at looking at you, germanyfrancespainitaly
Randall, you are absolutely right that the EUROPEAN countries should be putting their maximum pressure on FIFA, especially about MOVING the 2022 WC from RUSSIA (this is their continent)!!! Deutschland’s Merkel should be in the forefront in forcing FIFA to take away the ’22 WC from that schweinehund, arschlo-h and war monger Putin!
Well there is the problem that the 2022 WC was not awarded to Russia, for starters.
Adi from Oregon, you are clueless, but this is only partially your fault, the main burden falls on our so called “free press”.
Snowden didn’t get any files on FIFA before he fled to Putin’s bedside?
Come on that is IT ?!?! No one can whine about US soccer here anymore than that ?
It’s Wednesday !…..you are burned out already ?
Someone mention pro/rel or something.
I wonder what the most unrelated topic is that Gulati could mention and still get a huge WHINE out of somebody ?
Like if he mentioned the missions to Mars. Would that get someone whining about US soccer ?
If we had pro/rel in the US, Chivas could spend some time in the third division while it gets its sh*t together and rebrands.
There.
What a bunch of whiners. Non-stop.
2022 WC to the US please. Thanks.
Where’s a whistle blower when you need them?
I’m no fan of MLS’s rules and guidelines and I would love to open the books on SUM, but I think you’re missing a sense of proportion.
Nothing comes close to FIFA.
MLS hasn’t been complicit in any deaths or slave labor practices for starters.
ding ding ding
Yeah, these FIFA/MLS comparisons need to stop…just a bad analogy. FIFA most likely accepted millions in bribes that has resulted in quasi-slave laborers dying by the dozen. MLS seemingly had some secret mechanism for preventing Arena from bringing Sacha Klestjan in on loan. It would be nice if MLS were more transparent, but the lack of transparency in MLS isn’t anywhere near as damaging as that of FIFA.
Thank you, Todd, for being reasonable.
+1,000
The nerve of this clown. As if MLS is a beacon if transparency and fairness.
He needs to shut his trap before FIFA decides to investigate the shady deals going on in his league.
Care to explain how MLS’ single-entity opaqueness is in any way comparable to FIFA’s long track record of corruption?
Corruption is corruption.
Indeed, but can you argue that MLS is a corrupt organization? If so, please present some evidence.
It’s not corrupt at all. They don’t bribe people. The wacky stuff that happens is an internal matter.
Owners giving a Commissioner to make up internal rules only matters internally. The owners are aware of it. If they aren’t happy with him, they fire him.
Not to mention that Gulati does not rule MLS
MLS isn’t owned by US Soccer, they are just an affiliate
Perhaps your most breathtakingly nonsensical comment to date, Igor. Congratulations. Explain to me what Gulati’s job title in MLS is.
When will he pressure MLS owners to disclose how much they make from Soccer United Marketing?
FIFA is a non-Profit. The MLS is a for Profit organization. They are expected and allowed to make a profit. All soccer clubs are.
BTW read up about the International Anti-Bribery Act of 1998 and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. FIFA will likely get burned by these 2 laws someday.
Good stuff Increase. It’s a shame that the problem with this sort of legislation is that there is nobody in charge of enforcing it in the proper sense. Basically it just becomes an international conflict, and FIFA is guility of so many obvious international crimes already that it’s hard to really believe that any of this stuff matters in that context.
Eventually FIFA will either reform or go down, and in the latter case I’d think you might see one of these acts used in the same way that Al Capone got nailed for Tax Evasion. Which is as good as anything at this point, I suppose.
hahaha exactly.
it’s pretty comical, and sad, that this has to even be said. of course the report should be made public. but i’m certainly not surprised.
Where’s Wikileaks when you need ’em!
+1
How does one go about refunding bribes?
Sepp Blatter may have a consulting company that works in that field…………….
I’d like to see how this goes. I’m sure thats whats delaying the process of stripping them of the WC. But I must admit giving back a Hublot watch can be pretty difficult.
MLS has rarely been known for its transparency, which is something U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is hoping to change.
Except MLS has never been involved in such illegal activities as FIFA has. MLS doesn’t tell you how much allocation money teams have. Qatar spent hundreds of millions in bribes. I’m sure that equates to the same thing.
Rigging continental , match fixing, advocation of video replay and goal line technology.
*Rigging continental competition
This is about right. FIFA execs unethical behavior is on a different level. Gulati seems to be more preoccupied with the FIFA
I call BS. Sunil just wants us to think he tried to clean up FIFA. It won’t work, they won’t release it and I doubt he is stupid enough to put his neck out there on this. The problem with trying to clean up the corrupt party from the inside is you quickly realize how fun it is to be a part of the insiders in the corrupt party.
Exactly what basis do you have for talking about Gulati this way? The guy has been about the most ethical and loyal servant of the American game imaginable for decades.
We are lucky to have people like him. I am ashamed of comments like this.
False equivalencies are the worst.
+100000
The overuse of high school debate terms is even worse.
a false equivalence is a false equivalence, is it not? would you prefer “false balance”?
I haven’t been in high school in a very long time and I was never in debate club, but I do know a semantic cop out when I see one. 😉
Del should lose posting privileges for two days for being owned.
I think the high school term for that is pwned.