Michel Platini demands FIFA publish secret Garcia report on World Cup bidding

UEFA president Michel Platini has added his voice to the calls for the secret Garcia report to be made public
The report covers the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected calls to publish the report
German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert is reviewing the document and will make a decision in November

Martyn Ziegler, Press Association

Published:
06:41 EST, 2 October 2014

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Updated:
06:41 EST, 2 October 2014

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UEFA president Michel Platini has added his voice to calls for a secret report into World Cup bidding to be made public.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected calls to publish the report by FIFA’s independent investigator Michael Garcia saying any decision is out of their hands and would threaten witness confidentiality.

The decision to publish now rests German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, who is considering the report and will announce his findings in November.

UEFA president Michel Platini says he supports the publishing of the Garcia report on World Cup bidding

Platini has now joined a number of fellow FIFA executive committee members including Northern Ireland’s Jim Boyce – and Garcia himself – in calling for the report to be published.

The UEFA president said in a statement: ‘As long as the regulations of the FIFA code of ethics regarding the actual investigation are respected, I support the publishing of the Garcia report.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected calls to publish the report by FIFA’s independent investigator Michael Garcia

‘I have no issue with the findings and recommendations of the report being made available to the public.’

Russia won the bid for the 2018 World Cup – England’s rival bid received the fewest votes – while Qatar will stage the 2022 tournament.

The report looks at the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively