Ethical resignation

A German lawyer has stepped down from FIFA's ethics committee claiming that football's governing body is not making an effort to investigate alleged corruption within its ranks.

Guenter Hirsch, the former president of Germany's Federal Court of Justice, resigned with immediate effect in a letter to committee chairman Claudio Sulser.

Hirsch said that after the selection of host nations for the World Cup soccer tournament for 2018 and 2022, he had been left with the impression that "those responsible in FIFA have no real interest in playing an active role in the resolution, pursuance and prevention of violation of FIFA's ethics code."

The comments came in response to claims that bribe money had been paid to secure votes. There was no comment from FIFA as the news of the letter, sent in late December, came to light on Sunday.

Accusations ahead of selection

FIFA officials were accused of taking bribes and trading votes ahead of the World Cup host election last month. The tournament was awarded to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

Hirsch's resignation leaves FIFA President Sepp Blatter in a further weakened position after he promised to ensure the organization was free of corruption.

In November, the ethics committee banned two executive members of the 24-strong executive committee - and four former members - from taking part in any football-related activity for between one and four years. The six were found to have breached articles within the FIFA code of ethics.

Author: Richard Connor (dpa, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler