FIFA appointed investigator Michael Garcia had been due to submit his findings in July into the controversial vote that resulted in Russia and Qatar winning the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.
But FIFA’s ethics committee say they now expect the report to be delivered to ethics judge Joachim Eckert by the “first week of September 2014”.
Garcia completed his investigation just before the World Cup but now, his office says, needs more time to complete the paperwork.
A statement said simply: “In response to inquiries regarding the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup, the investigatory chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee has released the following statement: ‘We expect to deliver our report to the adjudicatory chamber by the first week of September 2014.'”
Once Eckert receives the files, it is estimated that he will need at least another a month to come up with any recommendations.
Qatar 2022 opponents accused of racism
Qatar’s 2022 victory over Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States has been the focus of most of the allegations, although the Gulf state has consistently denied breaking any bidding rules. Indeed, both they and FIFA president Sepp Blatter have accused those critical of the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar of racism.
The Qatar 2022 bid committee is facing allegations of corruption, but has denied any wrongdoing.
The Sunday Times alleged in June that Qatar’s former FIFA vice-president, Mohamed bin Hammam, bribed officials around the world in return for support of the Qatari bid.
Garcia is leading a long-running investigation into the bidding process for both the 2022 World Cup and the 2018 tournament, which was awarded to Russia.
Former attorney general Lord Goldsmith, a member of FIFA’s independent committee on governance, FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke have all called for a re-run of the 2022 vote if allegations of wrongdoing prove correct.
Dyke is to give evidence to UK Government MPs regarding the awarding of the latter tournament in Qatar. As well as Dyke, the UK Government’s Culture Media and Sport (CMS) select committee will also hear from Sunday Times journalists Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert.
