Ethics investigator Michael Garcia calls for change in FIFA's 'shroud of secrecy' culture

FIFA's chief independent ethics investigator has called for the world's football governing body to change their culture at the organisation, reiterating the need for greater transparency in the organisation.

In a thinly veiled attack on FIFA president Sepp Blatter's leadership, Michael Garcia reiterated the need for greater transparency, saying that the investigation and adjudication process operates in most parts unseen and unheard.

Garcia said that the organisation needs a leadership that sends a message that the rules apply to everyone, The BBC reported.

In light of the the current investigation process, Garcia said that that is a kind of system which might be appropriate for an intelligence agency but not for an ethics compliance process in an international sports institution that serves the public and is the subject of intense public scrutiny.

American lawyer Garcia concluded his lengthy investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process last month and handed his report to FIFA's ethics adjudicator Hans Joachim Eckert, but he is disappointed by the world governing body's insistence on keeping his report confidential.

Garcia added that the natural next step of the development of an effective ethics process at FIFA is greater transparency. He said that the second element that is vital to fulfilling the promise of this reform process is tone at the top.

More simply put, Garcia said that the second element an institution like FIFA needs in order to meet the challenge of ethics enforcement is leadership. He added that an ethics committee, even a serious, independent ethics committee backed by a strong code of ethics, is not a silver bullet.

Garcia said that what is required is leadership is that it sends a message that the rules apply to everyone; leadership that wants to understand and learn from any mistakes or missteps the ethics committee might have identified.

Garcia also said that leadership that makes it clear to everyone that this is what they have set up the ethics committee to do, this is why they do it, and this is what they've done.