Kirkland & Ellis US partner and FIFA independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia has resigned in protest at how football's governing body handled his report into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Garcia (pictured), who chaired the investigatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee, announced his resignation from the committee earlier today (17 December), slamming FIFA and accusing the body of a "lack of leadership" at the top.

His resignation comes after German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert last month published a 42-page summary of Garcia's findings into allegations of corruption in the successful bids by Russia and Qatar to respectively host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The summary effectively ruled out claims of corruption but Garcia attacked the governing body within hours of its publication, arguing that it was an "erroneous" summary of his full 430-page report. His resignation comes a day after FIFA's appeals panel rejected his challenge of Eckert's summary (16 December), which he said outlined "serious failings".

Garcia said in his resignation statement: "No independent governance committee, investigator, or arbitration panel can change the culture of an organisation. And while the […] Eckert decision made me lose confidence in the independence of the adjudicatory chamber, it is the lack of leadership on these issues within FIFA that leads me to conclude that my role in this process is at an end."

Garcia, who works from Kirkland's New York and Washington offices, joined the firm in 2008 after a career in government, most recently as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

He was appointed as chair of FIFA's independent ethics committee in 2012 to investigate allegations of corruption. His tenure had been extended last year for a further four years to mid-2017.