FIFA has rejected an appeal by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia over the handling of the investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids.
Garcia revealed last month that he wanted to lodge an appeal, claiming that the findings of his ethics report contained "incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions".
Russia and Qatar were cleared to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on November 13 in a summary of Garcia's report published by chairman of the Independent Ethics Committee Hans-Joachim Eckert.
Eckert claimed in an official statement that any wrongdoing during the bidding processes was of "very limited scope", but FIFA have now confirmed that the statement "does not constitute a decision and as such is neither legally binding nor appealable".
FIFA also ruled on Monday that there were no grounds to open disciplinary proceedings following complaints from two whistleblowers over bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Delegates of world football's governing body are currently in Morocco for the Club World Cup.
Jack Prescott
