The decision to clear Qatar and Russia to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was thrown into chaos yesterday after Fifa’s chief ethics investigator Michael Garcia announced he will appeal against the ruling on his investigation into bidding for the tournaments.

German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa’s independent ethics committee, effectively confirmed Qatar and Russia as 2022 and 2018 hosts respectively, stating any rule breaches by the bidding countries were “of very limited scope” and would not require the bidding process to be reopened.

Garcia issued a statement saying: “Today’s decision by the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber contains numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions detailed in the investigatory chamber’s report. I intend to appeal this decision to the Fifa Appeal Committee.”

It is understood Garcia made criticisms in his report about the culture and practices of many of the 24-man Fifa executive committee members who chose the World Cup hosts which have not been included in Eckert’s report.

Eckert’s 42-page report does contain embarrassing details of England 2018’s attempts to woo disgraced former FIifa vice-president Jack Warner which “violated bidding rules” and included securing a job in the UK for a family friend of the controversial football figure.

The criticism has been rejected by former England 2018 chief operating officer Simon Johnson as a “politically motivated whitewash.”

Johnson said the England bid had complied with the rules and questioned why the ethics committee had exonerated Qatar.

Johnson said: “It is a politically motivated whitewash and I am not sure how we can have confidence in the outcome of this report.

“The headlines today end up being about the England bid when it should be about how it has exonerated Qatar, which has overseen the deaths of hundreds of migrant workers and which has been described by the US government as funding terrorist organisations.

“In relation to England’s bid, I was satisfied at all times that we complied with the rules of the ethics code. We also gave full and transparent disclosure to the investigation which many others did not do.

“All these things are being said about England when the investigation was set up around the terrible allegations about corruption involving Qatar.”

The Football Association said it did not accept “any criticism” of England’s bid.

Eckert has previously ruled out publishing the Garcia report in full.

He says in his findings any rule breaches by the bidding countries were “of very limited scope.”

Steve Murphy, general secretary of construction union Ucatt, said: “This report stinks. 

“Fifa bigwigs are slapping each other on the back stating there is no corruption while workers are dying in their hundreds and being forced to live in abject squalor in the richest country on Earth. 

“These people have no shame.”