Brussels, 30/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Football's world governing body FIFA (Fédération internationale de Football Association) declined at the last minute to take part in an event on ethics, governance and sport organised by the European Parliament on Tuesday 29 September. “All the major organisations in European football were due to be heard … on governance and ethics and, in particular, the criteria for awarding international sports events but FIFA informed us by email that, ultimately, it would not take part in the hearing on these issues”, said Marc Tarabella (S&D, Belgium), joint chair of the Parliament's sport intergroup. He felt that, “beyond a lack of respect”, FIFA's failure to take part was “a further indication that transparency and ethics do not always feature among FIFA's priorities” (out translation).
The sport intergroup had organised a hearing on ethics and good governance in sport, focusing particularly on the criteria for the award of international sports events. Apart from FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) were invited to speak about their positions. Human rights and labour rights representatives, the Spanish League and the Football Association were also invited to set out their points of view. UEFA spoke about Euro 2020 and how it was progressing, and the IOC set out its new Olympics ethics agenda. FIFA was due to present its new code of ethics and explain the changes planned within the organisation following the malpractice scandal. Second in command, Frenchman Jérôme Valcke, was lined up to represent FIFA. However, having been removed from office on 17 September for his involvement in the resale of tickets for the 2014 World Cup, he was unable to appear and, despite saying that another representative would be sent, FIFA withdrew only a few hours before the event. Parliament, very unhappy at this turn of events, reiterated its demands: the next FIFA elections must be the starting point for real transparency in decision making and on its financial affairs. Parliament also insisted that the Garcia report on the award of the next two World Cups, to Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022), be made public. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)