By the end of 2017 — when the full Garcia Report was released, when the Sunday Times had been publishing for three years, when seven FIFA officials had been led out of a Zurich hotel under bedsheets — the case for institutional action was as clear as it was ever going to be. Nothing happened. Russia 2018 went ahead. Qatar 2022 went ahead. No World Cup was moved, no host was stripped, no senior FIFA official was sanctioned for the conduct of the bidding.

In this episode:

- The three procedural mechanisms that could have re-opened the votes — and why each one wasn't invoked

- Sepp Blatter's repeated public admission that the 2010 vote was "a mistake" — what an admission means without action

- Domenico Scala, FIFA's senior compliance figure, and his May 2016 resignation in protest

- The 2017 reform that came instead — and why the December 2024 Saudi Arabia 2034 award is the operative test of what it actually changed

Key documents cited:

- Garcia Report (full text, 27 June 2017)

- Domenico Scala resignation letter, 13 May 2016

- FIFA Congress voting records: 2026 award (June 2018), 2030 award (October 2024), Saudi Arabia 2034 award (11 December 2024)

Full transcript and source links: thefifafiles.com/episodes/12-the-reckoning-that-never-came

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