'Criminal' twist in World Cup scandal

Russia and Qatar, the hosts of the two World Cups, have been cleared of allegations of corruption by FIFA. Russia, the 2018 host and Qatar, which will host the tournament in 2022, were absolved of wrongdoing.

Whether a report by American lawyer Michael Garcia into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups should be made public has become emblematic of FIFA's reluctance to embrace a greater degree of transparency. UEFA president Michel Platini says the report should be made public.

Garcia (left) handed his report on the bidding process for the 2018 / 2022 World Cups to the FIFA Ethics Committee. Garcia has also called for the findings of his report to be made public.

FIFA has been plagued by a series of problems and controversies since Qatar was awarded the right to stage the 2022 World Cup.

The announcement by FIFA in 2010 that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup finals has brought greater exposure for the tiny emirate.

It has also placed world governing body FIFA under pressure as to just when the tournament will be held. The organization's secretary general Jerome Valcke says he expects the 2022 World Cup to be played between November and January.

It's not just when the 2022 World Cup will be played that has caused Qatar and FIFA problems. Qatar has come under pressure over the plight of the country's migrant workers, who make up 90 per cent of Qatar's population.

This has been been highlighted by the International Trade Union Confederation, which has criticized Qatar's system of sponsorship which ties workers to employers and has been abused in the past. The ITUC also point to the high number of worker deaths and the conditions that many find themselves in. Temperatures on building sites in the summer months can hit 50 degree Celcius.

Qatar's ambitious plans for the 2022 World Cup include building brand new, state of the art stadiums that would rival any in the world.

To combat the intense desert heat in the summer, each stadium would be equipped with zero carbon cooling technology that would cool the pitch and the stands.

But costs have spiraled and the technology has yet to be successfully deployed in full.

But the allegations by the Sunday Times could, if proven, see the vote for the 2022 final rerun, making questions about timing irrelevant.

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• FIFA launches criminal complaint


• Football's world governing body lodges complaint in Switzerland


• Swiss Attorney General to examine matter


• Investigation against "individual persons"

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(CNN) -- The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups has taken a new twist as football's world governing body FIFA lodged a criminal complaint with the Swiss judiciary Tuesday.

The complaint relates to the "international transfers of assets with connections to Switzerland, which merit examination by the criminal prosecution authorities."

The FIFA statement added: "The subject of the criminal complaint is the possible misconduct of individual persons in connection with the awarding of the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup."

FIFA lodged the complaint with the Attorney General of Switzerland in Berne on the recommendation of German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert -- FIFA's independent ethics adjudicator.

"I lodged the criminal complaint upon the recommendation of Judge Eckert," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

"I cannot, however, comment on any possible criminal offenses. I am not a lawyer.

"I also was not the addressee of the investigatory report, which I have never seen. However, given Judge Eckert's recommendation, it was my duty -- as the President of FIFA -- to lodge the complaint."

Eckert's recommendation was based on the evidence compiled by Michael Garcia -- chairman of the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee -- who has been examining the awarding of the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

However Blatter insisted there was no change to Eckert's statement "that the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups is concluded."

Eckert, who is set to meet with Garcia on Thursday to discuss the report, says he came across "indications that pointed to suspected unlawful activity in connection with Switzerland."

He told FIFA's website: "In the circumstances, I saw it as my duty to bring this to the FIFA President's attention and to recommend to him that the Swiss criminal prosecution authorities be informed."

Eckert has been heavily criticized since publishing his 42-page summary into Garcia's 18-month investigation last Friday.

The German told reporters last week that he had been surprised by the strength of bad feeling surrounding his summary.

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"I would like to point out that not once did my statement involve a so-called "whitewashing" of the award process with regard to the various allegations and assumptions made, contrary to what has been claimed in some quarters," he said.

"My statement was based on the Garcia report -- I can only work with the material contained in it, and in my view, there was insufficient clear evidence of illegal or irregular conduct that would call into question the integrity of the award process as a whole.

"However, in certain places, the report does indicate that further clarification is needed of certain circumstances. Much of this clarification work can be carried out by the FIFA Ethics Committee itself, while the remainder is the responsibility of the relevant national investigatory authorities."

With Garcia and Eckert set to discuss their differences over the summary on Thursday, Kevin Carpenter, who specializes in sports law for Kevin Hill Dickinson LLP, raised questions over the timing of the announcement.

"It's interesting that Garcia said his report had been misrepresented, yet Eckert decides to take evidence to the Swiss judiciary now," he told CNN.

"Why lodge the criminal complaint given they are meeting later this week?"

Carpenter also believes that Garcia, who has appealed to FIFA's appeal committee over the findings in Eckert's summary, could take his complaints further.

"Michael Garcia has referred the matter to the appeals committee, but if his complaint is rejected he could then go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is extremely thorough and can look at all the evidence.

"CAS' decision and reasoning would be made public. Names would have to be redacted but it would be a way for the bulk of his report -- the sections he believes to be most important coming into the public domain."

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