FIFA's independent ethics investigator has resigned from his post in protest over the lack of leadership within football's governing body.
Michael Garcia has confirmed that he has resigned from his role with FIFA's ethics committee after losing his appeal against the summary of his two-year investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
He claimed that his work had been misrepresented.
In a statement, the US attorney says that a lack of leadership within FIFA has led him to conclude that his role is now at an end.
“The Eckert Decision made me lose confidence in the independence of the adjudicatory chamber. It is the lack of leadership on these issues within Fifa that leads me to conclude that my role in this process is at an end."
Garcia could still take his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but damningly, he says that "no independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organization."
Garcia has also revealed that FIFA President Sepp Blatter attempted to have disciplinary proceedings brought against him last September but the attempt was rejected by the chairman of FIFA's disciplinary panel.