ZURICH --
The delivery date for FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia's report into alleged World Cup bidding corruption has been delayed by several weeks.
FIFA says the ethics committee's investigatory chamber expects to submit its report ''by the first week of September.'' In June, Garcia set a target of late July to deliver his confidential report to ethics judge Joachim Eckert.
Eckert will use the investigation file to decide on possible sanctions against nine bidders which competed to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Russia and Qatar, respectively, won hosting rights in December 2010 votes of FIFA's executive committee.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said only his ruling board, and not Eckert, has power to overturn a vote and order a re-run.
"We have no update concerning the delivery of the report of the investigatory chamber of the independent ethics committee," a FIFA spokesman said on Monday. "Please note that in accordance with art 28 and 36 of the FIFA Code of Ethics the report will be handed over to the adjudicatory chamber but only the final decision of the adjudicatory chamber may be made public."
"After months of interviewing witnesses and gathering materials, we intend to complete that phase of our investigation by 9 June 2014, and to submit a report to the adjudicatory chamber approximately six weeks thereafter," Garcia said back in June. "The report will consider all evidence potentially related to the bidding process, including evidence collected from prior investigations."
