FIFA voted to replace its chief ethics investigator and top judge in a move the pair claimed "signals an end to the organisation's reform efforts," according to the LONDON TIMES. Cornel Borbély, a Swiss investigator, and Hans-Joachim Eckert, a German judge, who "combined to ban numerous football officials including Sepp Blatter and Jérôme Valcke in recent years," will be removed after "sweeping changes" announced by the ruling council of world football's governing body Tuesday. They will be replaced by Maria Claudia Rojas, a Colombian prosecutor, and Vassilios Skouris, a Greek judge who was president of the European Court of Justice from '03-15. Eckert opened proceedings against former FIFA President Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini in Nov. '15 after FIFA was "engulfed by accusations of corruption" (LONDON TIMES, 5/10). In London, Murad Ahmed reported these changes are part of a "widespread clearout" of execs who have led the organization's reform efforts. In March, Russian Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko, chair of Russia's 2018 World Cup organizing committee, was deemed "ineligible to continue" on the FIFA Council. That decision was made by FIFA's governance and review committee, chaired by Miguel Maduro, a former Portuguese government minister, who "has led a clampdown on political interference in football." On Tuesday, it emerged that Maduro had been "ousted along with the senior officials in independent ethics positions who had led the fightback after historic allegations of corruption" at the organization. A senior FIFA official said, "[Maduro] has been fired. He's been in this role for less than one year. The expectation is that you sit in this role for at least four years ... There has been a night of the long knives" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/9).
'INCAPACITATED' INVESTIGATIONS: In London, David Conn reported FIFA "neutralized" and "incapacitated" its corruption investigations, the two ousted chairs said. In an "indignant and forthright" press conference held in Bahrain, Eckert and Borbély complained that "they were given no notice that they are to be replaced." Both men said that the "suddenness of their removal" and the lack of explanation led them to conclude that it was "political," and that FIFA, now led by President Gianni Infantino, "no longer wants an independent body investigating corruption, even after the devastating scandals of recent years." They declined, however, to discuss individual cases which are pending or which they have investigated, or to respond to suggestions that Infantino "became opposed to them when the ethics committee mounted a preliminary investigation into his acceptance of flights on private planes, which ultimately cleared him of wrongdoing" (GUARDIAN, 5/10). REUTERS' Simon Evans reported FIFA has given no explanation for ousting the two heads of its ethics committee, but the move "led some to point the finger" at Infantino and "left those hoping for reform at world football's governing body feeling uneasy." Some spoke off the record about an "administrative hiccup," with the ethics heads having "forgotten to put forward their nominations," while others suggested the pair were "too costly" for the organization. There was also talk that the ethics committee was seen as too "Euro-centric." German FA (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel "defended his compatriot," Eckert, at the meeting, and "had no doubt who was behind the decision." Grindel said, "You have to ask Infantino why he made this proposal. It is a decision of the president." Infantino has been "silent on the reasons behind the moves." Reform campaigner Jamie Fuller of New FIFA Now, who compared Borbély to Blatter, said, "The concern is that it is a purge for reasons of self-interest from the FIFA president. The decisions of the council and so many actions of Mr. Infantino's administration are no more trustworthy than his predecessors" (REUTERS, 5/10).
'REMARKABLY OUTLANDISH': The AP's Rob Harris wrote so much for the "new era'' Infantino said that he was ushering in after succeeding the "discredited, banned" Blatter last year. Eckert and Borbély said that the new leadership has "accepted jeopardizing FIFA's integrity, and, hence, the future of the game.'' The "outbursts from respected figures" made Infantino's "crisis is over'' declaration at last year's gathering of football's 211 nations look "remarkably outlandish" (AP, 5/10). The BBC reported a senior FIFA official said that the pair are guilty of "hype." FIFA VP Victor Montagliani said, "It's not like we replaced them with non-independent people. They were replaced by two independent people of very high quality and standards. And so with all due respect, and they may be disappointed that they wanted to continue in the role, there's a lot of chairmen of a lot of other committees that want to continue as well. But at the end of the day, FIFA and any other organization has the right to change people on the committees." Montagliani added that the decision to replace them was "absolutely not" politically motivated. Montagliani: "It's been way overblown from a hype perspective" (BBC, 5/10).
RATIFICATION: The BBC also reported the FIFA Council "ratified the decision to give Africa nine automatic places when the World Cup expands" to 48 teams in '26. The move was confirmed on Tuesday. Allocation:
- Asia: 8 direct slots -- increased from 4.5
- Africa: 9 direct slots -- increased from 5
- North and Central America: 6 direct slots -- increased from 3.5
- South America: 6 direct slots -- increased from 4.5
- Oceania: 1 direct slot -- increased from 0.5
- Europe: 16 direct slots -- increased from 13
- Final two places in '26 decided by six-team playoffs (BBC, 5/10).
