World Cup corruption allegations (UPDATE)

[Randy]

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/12/report-qatar-to-be-cleared-of-world-cup-corruption-allegations/related/

UPDATE (4:09 a.m. ET): The news was confirmed when FIFA released its report Thursday morning. More details at the BBC link below.

According to reports from the BBC, the FIFA report set to be published tomorrow on the 2022 World Cup bidding process will clear Qatar of corruption allegations.

Rampant allegations claimed that Qatar won the rights to the 2022 World Cup after FIFA executives had been provided $4.5 million from former Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam to support the bid.

Qatar’s bid committee has long denied such accusations but an investigation was launched headed by independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia. The American lawyer, who also investigated the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia, interviewed individuals connected with all bids for the tournaments and submitted a 430-page report to adjudicator, Hans Joachim Eckert in early September.

Eckert, a German judge, is now set to produce his 42-page summary on the investigation on Thursday morning, although FIFA has vowed to keep the full report from the public eye. In the summary the behavior of several bidding nations — including Qatar, Russia, Australia and England — is said to be discussed.

In addition to the corruption allegations, Qatar has come under attack for a number of alarming topics including the nation’s unbearably hot weather, poor treatment of gay individuals, restrictive alcohol policy, poor treatment of migrant workers and alleged ties to terrorist groups.

Thoughts?

 

[DrLeftover]

Somebody paid ONE HELL OF A PILE of 'shut up' money to somebody.

 

[Webster]

I used to think that the IOC and the FIA were corrupt as hell...but compared to the mess FIFA has become, I'm starting to wonder now.

 

[DrLeftover]

You'd have to go some to top the 2002 Winter Olympic "French Judge Scandal"... ... ...

... But, to their credit, FIFA is trying.

 

[Webster]

You'd have to go some to top the 2002 Winter Olympic "French Judge Scandal"... ... ...

... But, to their credit, FIFA is trying.

Wasn't that one of the few blemishes on the Salt Lake Olympics, Doc?

 

[DrLeftover]

Once the games were going, yes.

However, that was essentially the exclamation point to one of the dirtiest, most corrupt bidding processes on record for the winter games. Well, that is, until Sochi. That one now holds that title.

If it had been a summer games, they could have filled a swimming pool with the money, and other 'favors', that changed hands to get the games in Utah.

 

[Webster]

...the more I read this, the more the initials RICO come to mind in regards to FIFA....

If FIFA is a gang and Sepp Blatter its leader, their report on Michael Garcia’s corruption report has a bit of a “Don’t snitch” feel to it.

Still “under fire” for not releasing Garcia’s full report on the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, FIFA is now facing grief from two of the “whistleblowers” who inspired the investigation in the first place.

That’s because while FIFA cares a great deal for protecting the anonymity of people who may or may not have committed crimes, the organization barely tried to shield at least two people who helped the investigation: Qatar worker Phaedra Almajid and former Australia assistant Bonita Mersiades.

FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert’s report cleared Qatar and Russia, but criticized Australia and England. Basically, it seems like if you came at Sepp Blatter, you’re getting your unjust desserts.

From the BBC: Almajid worked as an international media officer for the Qatar 2022 bid team before losing her job in 2010, while Mersiades was the head of communications for Australia’s 2022 bid before leaving in 2010.

They issued a joint statement criticising Eckert. “Although not named in the report, we were clearly identifiable and within hours of its publication had been widely unmasked as the ‘whistleblowers’ in German, British and Australian media,” it read.

Garcia has already stated he intends to appeal against Eckert’s report to Fifa. Garcia and Eckert are due to meet on Thursday.

And from an Associated Press article on Almajid: She said Eckert’s report denounced her as unreliable in a “crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous” summary of her cooperation.

“My cooperation was based on your promise of confidentiality,” Almajid wrote to Garcia.

Don’t snitch.

In other news on the subject, Garcia is being advised to just leak the report and get fired and an England official involved with the bidding in 2010 called it the “Wild West”.

FIFA’s strategy appears to be similar to past allegations: wait out the firestorm, then release tepid comments once the furor has died down a bit. After all, no one one really wants to risk anything that could damage a World Cup, right?

Right?(NBC ProSoccerTalk)