João Havelange, the former president of Fifa, has resigned as honorary president of football's global organization amid accusations of bribery relating to ISL, the agency that formerly handled marketing and broadcasting rights for Fifa. The departure of the 96-year-old Brazilian last month is mentioned in a report compiled by the two-chamber ethics committee at Fifa on bribery around ISL, which went bust in 2001. The ethics committee was established by Fifa in 2012 to tackle persistent corruption scandals at the organization. The report points out that it was not illegal under Swiss law to receive bribes during the period covered by the investigation. Havelange already resigned from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the same context two years ago. He referred to health and personal reasons. Nicolás Leoz, president of the South American football federation, who was found to have received commissions from ISL, also cited ill health last week as a reason for his resignation. The report clears current Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, of criminal or ethical misconduct, but critics were quick to raise doubts about the scope and independence of the investigation.

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