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FIFA corruption probe clears Russia, Qatar as World Cup hosts 4 years after long-tainted vote

Associated Press
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Wolfgang Niersbach, President of the German Soccer Association (DFB), right, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, left, and Niersbach's partner Marion Popp, center, pose for the media as they arrive for the premiere of the movie 'Die Mannschaft' (The Team) in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This is a Thursday, Dec.2, 2010 file photo of FIFA President Joseph Blatter as he is is flanked by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, right, and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, after the announcement that Russia will be the host country for the soccer World Cup 2018 and Qatar the host for the tournament in 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA has cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing in their winning bids for the next two World Cups. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 file photo FIFA President Sepp Blatter announces that Qatar will be hosting the 2022 Soccer World Cup,, during the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cup Bid Announcement in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA has cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing in their winning bids for the next two World Cups. (AP Photo/Keystone/Walter Bieri, File) (The Associated Press)

A FIFA judge has cleared Russia and Qatar of corruption in their winning bids for the next two World Cups.

German judge Joachim Eckert formally closed FIFA's probe into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests on Thursday, almost four years after the vote by the governing body's scandal-tainted executive committee.

Eckert noted wrongdoing among the 11 bidding nations in a 42-page summary of FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia's investigations.

However, Eckert ruled that the integrity of the December 2010 voting results was not affected.

No proof was found of longstanding allegations of bribes and voting pacts. Eckert concluded that any rule-breaking behavior was "far from reaching any threshold" to require re-running the contests.

Eckert wants Garcia to prosecute cases against individual FIFA voters and bid staffers.