Cornel Borbély (born 1978) is a
Swiss jurist. He is a
lawyer in
Zurich and was from 2014 until 2017 the second chairman of the investigatory chamber of the
FIFA Ethics Committee.
Borbély was approved as lawyer, in the
Canton of Zurich in 2006[4] and in the same year became Law Clerk to the prosecutor of the Canton.[5] In 2007, he was appointed to prosecutor in charge of general criminal matters. In 2008, Borbély moved to the department for economic crime[6] and was group leader there as of 2011.[3] After retiring in 2014,[5] Borbély worked as an attorney at a law firm in Zurich.[7] In 2015, he opened his own law firm for criminal and commercial law[8] in Zurich.[9]
FIFA Ethics Committee
Borbély was appointed deputy chairman of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee in May 2013.[10][11] Together with Michael J. Garcia, the chairman of the investigation chamber, he examined the allegations of corruption in connection with the awarding of the
Football World Cup 2018 and 2022 to
Russia and
Qatar.[12] In order to avoid conflicts of interest for the US American Garcia, Borbély was given the main responsibility for the investigation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in October 2013.[13] The investigation report was submitted to the Judicial Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee in September 2014.[14][15] After the resignation of Garcia as chairman of the investigation chamber, FIFA determined that Borbély was to be his successor.[16] The FIFA Congress in May 2015 confirmed him as chairman.[17] Together with
Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber, Borbély had made a significant commitment to fight against a confidentiality clause in ongoing proceedings of the FIFA Ethics Committee and for more transparency and the right to information. In October 2015, the
FIFA Executive Committee approved new rules for the disclosure of investigative information.[18]
In May 2017, he was already invited to the relevant FIFA Congress in
Bahrain and, without giving reasons or in contrary to statements by Secretary-General
Fatma Samoura, was informed during the arrival flight that he would not be nominated for re-election. Borbély evaluated this as a dusting on the hundreds of other cases that were pilling up on his desk, and commented, "The Code of Ethics [of FIFA] is now a dead piece of paper." He was succeeded by the
Colombian Maria Claudia Rojas.[25]
Sports Governance Unit
Together with
Hans-Joachim Eckert,[26] the former chairman of the Judicial Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee, and Marc Tenbücken, a communications expert, Borbély founded the Sports Governance Unit in November 2017,[27] which advises sports associations, clubs and sponsors on good
governance.[28]
Other activities
Borbély is deputy chief of military justice of the
Swiss Air Force and lecturer in economic criminal law.[17]