FIFA bribe allegations raise more questions over Qatar World Cup

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the only major scheduled football event left unchanged after this year’s calendar was wrecked by the coronavirus, has become the focus of fresh FIFA corruption allegations after the release of a fresh U.S. Department of Justice indictment.

Suspicion and rumours have long surrounded the 2010 vote by FIFA’s executive at hand the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. But on Monday, for the very first time, prosecutors set direct, formal allegations down on the net.

In line with the prosecutors, representatives working for Russia and Qatar bribed FIFA executive committee officials to swing votes in the key decision of world football’s governing body.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a obtain comment.

Although FIFA have taken care of immediately previous media allegations about the Qatar bid process by insisting the tournament will be unaffected, the U.S allegations will bring about further questions over the hosting of the competition, which is scheduled for November and December of 2022.

The allegations made by the Department of Justice are that then FIFA vice-president Jack Warner was paid $5 million through various shell companies to vote for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup.

Warner has been accused of several crimes in the long-running U.S probe, and he's fighting extradition from his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago. Warner, who was not immediately reachable for comment, has always denied any wrongdoing.

The indictment also states that the three South American members of FIFA’s 2010 executive -- Brazil’s Ricardo Teixeira, the late Nicolás Leoz of Paraguay and an unnamed co-conspirator -- took bribes to vote for Qatar to host the 2022 tournament."

Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolás Leoz and co-conspirator #1 were offered and received bribe payments in exchange for their votes towards Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.”

Qatar and Russia’s World Cup bids have always denied paying bribes. Qatari organisers didn't provide immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.

Alexei Sorokin, CEO of the neighborhood organizing committee for Russia’s 2018 World Cup, didn't immediately react to a request for comment.

Asked if the Kremlin was alert to the U.S. indictment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We browse the media reports. We don’t understand what they refer to. Russia received the proper to host the World Cup completely legally. It really is in no way linked to any bribes. We reject this. And Russia hosted the very best soccer World Cup in history, which we are pleased with.”

Teixeira was also not immediately reachable for comment.

The Qatar World Cup organizers have already been fending off allegations of corruption ever since the tiny Gulf state was awarded the 2022 tournament.

In 2014, FIFA, then beneath the control of former President Sepp Blatter, cleared Russia and Qatar of wrongdoing within their bids to host the World Cup after an investigation.