World Cup 2022: Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce calls for lessons to be learnt after reports claims no further action needs to be taken

Fifa's Ethics Committee published a report on Thursday detailing their findings into alleged corruption in awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup's to Russia and Qatar

(getty images)

Britian's Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce said he hoped lessons would be learned after the publication of an ethics committee report into bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The report by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's independent ethics committee, clears both 2018 bid winners Russia and Qatar to host the tournaments.

It does make a number of criticisms however of most of the bidding nations, including of England's bid for the 2018 tournament for pandering to the wishes of disgraced former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner.

Boyce, from Northern Ireland, told Press Association Sport: "Personally I am pleased that the report has been issued by Mr Eckert and the findings would appear to confirm that no further action should be taken on the decisions that had been made by Fifa in respect of the awarding of the World Cups for 2018 and 2022.

"The people charged with issuing this report, Michael Garcia and Hans-Joachim Eckert, are people of the highest professional integrity and following their extensive investigations I feel it is now very important that people should concentrate solely on the wonderful occasion that the World Cup provides to the many millions of people who enjoy our game."

Boyce, speaking before travelling to Romania, added: "I also feel that various reforms have been put in place by Fifa over the past three years and that action has been taken against individuals who have been found to have committed wrongdoing.

"As I have previously stated, I feel it was wrong that two World Cups were decided at the same time which caused a lot of controversy and I hope that many lessons have been learned, and that all World Cup bidding processes in the future take note of these lessons."

PA