Split widens as Uefa now critical of Fifa’s reform report
German magazine Der Spiegel reported criticism of Blatter by independent governance committee chairman Mark Pieth was removed from his final report by Fifa’s legal adviser Marco Villiger. The report has led Pedro Pinto, spokesman for Uefa president Michel Platini, to issue a statement criticising the interference. Fifa has said it is “standard procedure” for advisors or auditors to submitreports for comments but they would have retained the power to reject any changes — and indeed only made five out of 37 proposed alterations.
Pinto said: “The latest revelations regarding the Pieth report show Fifa’s independent governance committee was anything but independent. Uefa has always wondered why it was criticised by Mr Pieth and wrongly accused of blocking Fifa reforms. Now we understand why and where it all came from.”
Blatter is being challenged by three Uefa-backed candidates for the election in May: Dutchman Michael Van Praag, Portugal’s Luis Figo and Fifa’s Asia vice-president, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Der Spiegel claim passages in Pieth’s final report were changed to remove comments about Blatter’s role in the International Sport and Leisure corruption scandal where former Fifa president Joao Havelange and several other senior Fifa figures were revealed to have been paid bribes by Fifa’s former marketing partner.
Fifa said in a statement it had been “completely transparent” about the process. Prince Ali said the Der Spiegel reports highlighted the need for the report by Fifa’s former ethics investigator Michael Garcia into World Cup bidding to be published: “Without publishing the Garcia report in full, FIFA faces the ongoing public suspicion that interference may also have occurred in that case.”
Fifa confirmed all four candidates would be eligible to run for election after passing integrity checks.
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