Slovenian Vesel takes charge of FIFA corruption watchdog

Zurich : FIFA on Wednesday named Tomaz Vesel, head of the Slovenian government's main auditing body, to lead world football's anti-corruption watchdog.

FIFA leader Gianni Infantino said Vesel's appointment was an important move in the body's bid to "restore trust" after a series of football corruption scandals.

The former head of FIFA's independent audit committee, Domenico Scala, quit in May in protest at what he called attacks on reforms by its new leadership.

Vesel has been president of Slovenia's Court of Auditors, supervising state accounts, since 2013. He has also been an advisor for the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Football's governing body remains under investigation by Swiss authorities while a number of former top officials face trials in the United States over more than $200 million in bribes paid for marketing and television contracts.

Longtime FIFA leader Sepp Blatter is serving a six year suspension over a suspect two million dollar payment to former vice president Michel Platini who is also suspended.

Infantino took charge of FIFA in February vowing a new era of trust and transparency but has faced a challenging time since with acting general secretary Markus Kattner suspended over millions of dollars of suspicious payments made to himself.

"The appointment of Mr Vesel as independent chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee is an important development in the ongoing effort to strengthen FIFA's governance and compliance systems," said Infantino.

"This is a vital role within the organization and Mr Vesel's audit expertise and international experience will help reassure stakeholders and restore trust in FIFA."