A FIFA independent ethics committee on Thursday recommended greater transparency for football's governing body as FIFA takes steps to demonstrate reforms ahead of Monday's Executive Committee meeting.
The push for greater transparency comes after Swiss officials announced that one of the seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich as part of a U.S. corruption probe had been extradited to the United States.
Cornel Borbely, the chairman of the FIFA ethics committee's investigatory chamber said he will appeal to FIFA's Executive Committee for the ability to confirm and make ongoing proceedings public in both the committee's investigatory and adjudicatory chambers.
"As it stands, the FIFA Code of Ethics prevents the names of accused parties within an investigation from being disclosed upon request. This is inconsistent with state criminal proceedings in Switzerland and Europe, which would provide significantly greater transparency," Borbely said in a statement released by FIFA on Wednesday. "Transparency should be accorded greater importance in the future when weighing up the protection of privacy against disclosure."
Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the committee's adjudicatory chamber, echoed Borbely.
"This should be regardless of whether or not the football official in question is appealing the decision. Where there has been public misinformation, the Ethics Committee must also have the right to offer rectification," Eckert said.
FIFA watchdog Michael Garcia disagreed with the German judge last year over Eckert's summary of the Garcia report, which the former U.S. federal prosecutor then called "incomplete and erroneous."
Also on Thursday, a FIFA spokeswoman told Reuters that the organisation had retained New York-based crisis communications and advisory firm Teneo "to work across operational and reputational priorities."
Four years ago, FIFA appointed an advisory panel led by Swiss law professor Mark Pieth, a former U.N. investigator, and then ignored the key recommendations at the end of the two-year process. Pieth called for time limits on senior FIFA positions, independent directors for the Executive Committee, tougher internal monitoring and for FIFA salaries to be published.
FIFA and its beleaguered president Sepp Blatter are now in crisis again, targeted by American and Swiss federal investigations of alleged racketeering, bribery and money laundering, forcing the 79-year-old leader to announce his resignation plans last month.
On Monday, Blatter's Ex-Co meets in Zurich to set a date for FIFA's 209 member federations to elect his successor. FIFA vice president Michel Platini, a former Blatter protege who leads European governing body UEFA, is the current favourite.
FIFA election rules require a four-month campaign after a deadline to nominate candidates who must have been active in football for two of the past five years.
That recently passed rule bars a "Kofi Annan-type" that FIFA needs, Dutch federation director Bert van Oostveen told state broadcaster NOS this week.
"Because if you don't change the system, then everything will stay as it is," Van Oostveen said.
Annan, a 77-year-old from Ghana, was the top U.N. official for 10 years through 2006, and has also attended two showpiece UEFA events this year: The Youth League final in April at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland and the Champions League final in Berlin in June.
Blatter has said he wants to leave a changed FIFA for the next president, including passing term limits that would prevent anyone matching his own 17-plus years in office.
Other proposals include appointing independent outsiders as members of the FIFA Ex-Co and chairman of the finance committee, and competitive bidding for all commercial contracts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.