“We believe that the extent of our co-operation with this investigation and the conclusions drawn represent a vindication of the integrity of our bid,” SC said yesterday in a statement.
“We will continue to dedicate ourselves toward delivering on the promises we made during our bid and hosting an historic first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East,” the statement added.
FIFA said on Tuesday it had decided to publish the full text of the report after it was “illegally leaked to a German newspaper” in order to “avoid the dissemination of any misleading information”.
“For the sake of transparency, FIFA welcomes the news that this report has now been finally published,” a FIFA statement said.
Russia also said the Garcia report on the bidding process to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has confirmed no wrongdoing on their part.
Vitaly Mutko, deputy prime minister and World Cup organising chief, said Russia had “done nothing that has violated the ethics code or the general norms and principles of the application rules” in its successful bid for 2018.
Garcia did, however, note gifts and pleasantries such as Kremlin and ballet visits to FIFA officials and their families. These were not explicitly prohibited under the FIFA code of conduct.
FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura said at the Confederations Cup in Kazan the report did not present “a solid basis to question the awarding of the World Cups to Russia and Qatar”.
Garcia, a former US attorney, was hired by FIFA to look into corruption allegations around the bid process. He submitted his report on all bidders in 2014 but FIFA’s leadership decided not to publish it.
However, FIFA had previously published a 40-page summary of the report, which had cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing.
