World Cup 2022

[Ardiles]

Probably not the right section for this, but here goes anyway.  Guess what?  The decision to award the World Cup to Qatar in 2022 really was bound up in corruption!  Who'd have thought it?!

World Cup Bid Faces Fresh Corruption Claims

FIFA is damaged, irreparably.  I'd love to see it crumble, and hopefully replaced by something that at least pretends to act on behalf of football supporters around the globe.  How much more of this do you have to endure before things start to change?

[kerry red]

Human nature, I'm afraid.

Any environment where so much money is sloshing around is bound to get snouts in troughs.

If they actually have the bollocks to take the WC away from Qatar God knows how much they will have to cough up in compo

[Nemo]

I am stunned, shocked and appalled. I can't believe this could happen the FIFA house.

[Sir Pissalot]

Must be some mistake.  That nice Mr Blatter and his little French friend would never allow such a thing.

[Flashheart]

There's clearly been a misunderstanding, they must really mean that Blatter et al are looking to clamp down on corruption.

[Costanza]

Probable FIFA Press Release:

"Typical bitter British press! Just because you keep losing these bids. Qatar bought us an evil island/lair in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There's a volcano shaped as a skull and everything. What did you get us eh? A meeting with some balding prince and a Prime Minister? Pah!"

[ghanimah]

What's more of a scandal is the number of people (100s) dying just to build the stadia.

I wonder how the Times managed to "uncover a cache of millions of files"? Especially as there are now calls from within FIFA for a re-count which conveniently would get Blatter off the hook of what is a complete mess of a bid - in terms having a winter world cup.

[Bogus Dave]

Boater doesn't, and never did, want the World Cup in Qatar

[Summerof69]

FIFA have been corrupt for the last 40 years or so, ever since Havelange paid for votes from the African and Asian nations to become FIFA president in 1972...and Blatter just continued what Havelange did ever since he was elected in '98.

The whole of FIFA should be disbanded as it's a corrupt organisation, and not only 2022 should be re-run, but 2018 also, as these same people decided that, and you are not telling me that not one 'incentive' was paid to the same people for 2018.

The FIFA 'technical assessors' reports for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on the potential hosts had Russia and Qatar bottom...yet they were the countries that were awarded them.

[Ardiles]

Had a quick look at the Sports section of the Gulf Times website, Qatar's leading English language news outlet - purely to see how they're covering the corruption allegations.

And nothing.  Not a word.

The lead story today, however, is this...

Gulf Times: You Couldn't Make It Up

[Batch]

World Cup corruption lack of shocker shocker.

Have some PWEI as a reward. In fairness its no Italia 90 "'Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina" but hey ho.

[Summerof69]

And in the next few weeks the Sunday Times are printing even more allegations, and there was a 11 page spread today.

[Power to people]

I'd be shocked if they took this away from Qatar - there must have been so many back handers paid out that the Qatari's sheik's would be out for revenge if they did not get this and of course Blatter will want to keep his backhanders rolling in from everyone so they will find a way to cover it up and for it to just go away.

Dont forget that Blatter is expected to stand for re-election as well so he will want this dealt with.

As for this so called 'independant' investigation, as he is being paid by Fifa to carry it out can he really be independant, how is the old saying 'dont bite the hand that feeds you'

[Reg Smeeton]

I'd be shocked if they took this away from Qatar - there must have been so many back handers paid out that the Qatari's sheik's would be out for revenge if they did not get this and of course Blatter will want to keep his backhanders rolling in from everyone so they will find a way to cover it up and for it to just go away.

Dont forget that Blatter is expected to stand for re-election as well so he will want this dealt with.

As for this so called 'independant' investigation, as he is being paid by Fifa to carry it out can he really be independant, how is the old saying 'dont bite the hand that feeds you'

There's only really one possibility here....FIFA may fancy a re-run, as it will mean another tranche of brown envelopes, but it will need to driven by the likes of the Prem, and its broadcasting partners refusing to co-operate with shifting the thing to winter.

They in turn could be persuaded by a groundswell of opposition from fans.

[nigel grays a postie]

Qatar may have backhanded more spectacularly than most but you can't tell me that Russia 2018, and probably every host nation since FIFA got super greedy under Blatter and Havelange, haven't greased plenty of palms along the way as they eased their way to winning the vote. If it is taken away from them I wonder how FIFA plan on compensating Qatar for all the building work already done on premise that World Cup was heading to their way.