Fifa asks UK to provide evidence that Qatar bribed World Cup panel

12 May 2011

Claims were made in UK parliament that Qatar paid Fifa members to vote for its bid

Football’s world governing body Fifa has asked the English Football Association (FA) to send evidence that Qatar bribed Fifa members to vote for the country to host the 2022 World Cup, following claims by British members of parliament (MPs) at a UK parliamentary select committee hearing.

Fifa has also written to the UK-based Sunday Times newspaper to ask for evidence in regards to allegations about corruption in the World Cup bidding process.

On 10 May, a number of British MPs made claims that Qatar had paid large sums of money to members of the world cup voting committee in return for votes to support its bid to host the tournament.

The MPs’ allegations were made to a hearing of a House of Commons Select Committee. MP Damian Collins said that the Sunday Times newspaper had provided evidence that Qatar had paid $1.5m to two members of the voting committee.

Fifa has responded to the allegations by writing to FA chairman David Bernstein to request a complete report from statements made to the UK’s House of Commons.

In a statement on its website, Fifa said the letter to the FA secretary general Jerome Valcke expressed “the extreme concern of Fifa and the Fifa president at the latest allegations questioning the integrity of some Fifa executive committee members in connection with the bidding procedure for the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups.”

Qatar was selected by Fifa on 2 December to host the 2022 World Cup tournament. The state has pledged to spend upward of $60bn in developing its infrastructure to host the event.

The select committee hearings were examining the FA’s failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup in England. The competition to host the 2018 tournament was held together with the competition for the 2022 event.

 

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