According to Sports Illustrated, FIFA has submitted a criminal complaint to Switzerland’s attorney general concerning the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The complaint alleges improper transfer of assets through Switzerland and calls for an examination by criminal prosecution authorities. This comes after the FIFA Ethics Committee released a summary report last week, which concluded a two-year investigation into alleged corruption in the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups set to be hosted in Russia and Qatar, respectively. The report cleared Russia and Qatar of all allegations and found the integrity of the bidding process was not compromised enough to merit a reconsideration for the host countries. According to BBC, FIFA said its decision to file a criminal complaint does not negatively impact or discredit the decision to name Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts.
Elisa Hevia is a Sports Highlight contributor for the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and a current first year student at Harvard Law School (Class of 2017).