Sunday 1 June 2014

Calls for 2022 World Cup bid to be re-run after evidence emerges that Qatar used a £3m slush fund to bribe its way to victory

FIFA president Sepp Blatter, right, awarded the competition to Gulf state following a vote in December 2010

Former Asian Football Confederation President Mohammed Bin Hammam is alleged to have paid out £3 million in bribes to football officials to secure support for the 2022 Qatar world cup bid

Leading MPs have called on Fifa to strip Qatar of the 2022 World Cup after it emerged illicit payments of £3 million were made to corrupt officials. 


John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture select committee, said: 'There is now an overwhelming case that the decision to where the World Cup should be held in 2022 should be run again.'
Conservative MP Damian Collins, who submitted a private member’s bill to Parliament last month that would fight corruption in football, also called for the process to be re-run.
A damning email dossier shows how Mohamed Bin Hammam former president of the Asian Football Confederation used the slush fund to garner support for Qatar's bid to host the tournament. 
The Sunday Times reports that the bribes helped sway key members of FIFA’s 24-man ruling committee into giving the green light for the Arab emirate to host the tournament, despite its lack of football infrastructure.
It is alleged that delegates who decided upon the destination of the 2022 competition were treated to lavish junkets and large cash payments to secure their support.
The secret dossier provides evidence of £3 million in cash payments to football officials across the globe in order to secure support for the Qatari bid. 
When the decision was announced, there was shock as the Gulf state has no tradition of football or any suitable stadiums.
Also, concerns were raised that with temperatures exceeding 50c, it would be dangerous for both players and supporters. 
During one session in 2008, Bin Hammam is believed to have handed over $200,000 in cash to 25 delegates who had been flown to Kuala Lumpur to discuss the bid. 
It is alleged that African football officials received cash payments up to $80,000 from accounts controlled by Bin Hammam.
The disclosures come less than two weeks before Brazil is set to host the World Cup and will heap pressure on the tiny desert state. 
One official sought $232,000 to be paid into his personal bank account which he said would be used to develop football pitches. 
Bin Hammam was banned from world football 2011 after he was discovered bribing officials during his bid to get elected Fifa president.
The Qatari World Cup committee now face an investigation by Fifa's ethics investigator Michael Garcia. 
The New York lawyer is due to fly out to the middle east next week to investigate the controversial competition bid. 
Among the shocking allegations, The Sunday Times alleges that former Caribbean football chief Jack Warner was paid $450,000 before the 2010 bid.

Dailym

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