FIFA to Name Ethics Chiefs, Rubberstamp Code of Conduct

(WFI) Sepp Blatter aims to restart FIFA's delayed reforms process next Tuesday with the appointment of a prosecutor and judge for its new two-chamber ethics committee.

The members of both ethics panels will also be named. Also on the agenda at the extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee in Zurich is approval of FIFA's 11-point Code of Ethics for players and officials that calls on the global football family to "reject and condemn all forms of bribery and corruption".

FIFA's final preparations for the London 2012 Olympics are also expected to be discussed just eight days out from the first game of the men's and women's tournaments.

Blatter's anti-corruption mission has stuttered in recent months due to delays in appointing the heads of its new two-chamber ethics panel.

The two ethics chairmen were due to be elected by the time of the 62nd FIFA Congress in May but one candidate proposed by FIFA's Independent Governance Committee had to decline the offer to lead the adjudicatory chamber for health reasons.

International war crimes prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is the lead candidate to head the investigating body of FIFA's ethics body. In May, FIFA's anti-corruption adviser Mark Pieth said the 59-year-old Argentinian, who is chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, was the top choice on a shortlist for the role.

The creation of FIFA's two-chamber ethics committee - one for investigation , the other for adjudication - was backed by the 208 member federations of FIFA at the May Congress, who voted on several reforms to clean-up world football's governing body.

The reforms process was launched last autumn in the wake of a string of bribery scandals over the past 18 months linked to the 2018/ 2022 World Cup bidding race and the FIFA presidential election.

Under Blatter's governance reform programme, Swiss businessman Domenico Scala became the first significant appointment. He was unveiled as independent chairman of FIFA's new audit and compliance committee in May.

Scala, a non-executive director of Swiss biotech company Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd and a senior advisor to private equity and M&A firms, was proposed by the Independent Governance Committee chaired by Pieth.

Code of Ethics Awaits Approval

A draft of FIFA's new Code of Ethics, published in April, was presented for discussion at the FIFA Congress.

The code of conduct says that members of the FIFA family should at all times comply with the following principles: Integrity and ethical behaviour; Respect and dignity; Zero tolerance of discrimination and harassment; Fair play; Compliance with laws, rules and regulations; Avoidance of conflicts of interest; Transparency and compliance; Social and environmental responsibility; Fight against drugs and doping; Zero tolerance of bribery and corruption; No betting or manipulation.

"The observance of the principles laid down in the Code of Conduct is essential to FIFA and its objectives, in particular to protect and improve the game of football constantly and promote it globally in the light of its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth and development programmes, and prevent any methods or practices which might jeopardise the integrity of matches or competitions or give rise to abuse of association football," FIFA said in the document.

Key Reforms in 2013

Completion of Blatter's reforms process will not conclude until May 2013 at FIFA Congress in Mauritius.

Independent Governance Committee head Pieth has previously revealed to World Football INSIDER that he is sceptical of Blatter's motivations to back some of the the IGC's recommendations.

These include getting FIFA to reveal the salaries of the president and Ex-Co members and bringing in term and age limits for the FIFA president and his ExCo colleagues, restrictions of two terms of four years.

The next FIFA ExCo meeting is scheduled for Sept 27 and 28.

By INSIDER editor Mark Bisson

Your best source of news about the global football business is World Football INSIDER

http://community.responsiball.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=427:fifa-to-name-ethics-chiefs-rubberstamp-code-of-conduct-worldfootballinsidercom&catid=6:news&Itemid=53