With the World Cup now occupying our thoughts it was perhaps inevitable that, once again, it would all kick-off over Qatar 2022 with more claims of corruption.
This sorry saga of clandestine meetings, innuendo, hidden agendas and allegations of bribery is quickly reaching epic proportions but unless there is a clear paper-trail of indisputable evidence that leads to the front door of the Qatar World Cup bid organisers the 2022 tournament will stay where it is, and quite rightly so.
Awarding Qatar the World Cup was controversial because of the extreme temperatures and cultural challenges that may arise.
At the time this newspaper applauded what appeared to be a courageous decision to take the World Cup into new territories.
Our view hasn’t changed, particularly as it now seems certain that the games will be moved to the cooler winter months.
Having said that, if there is rock-solid evidence that this decision was the result of corruption which Qatar had a hand in, and that must be proved beyond all doubt, then it should lose the privilege of hosting the world’s biggest sporting tournament.
But let’s not kid ourselves here and think that the bidding process for the World Cup has ever been squeaky clean or that all the finger pointing currently going on involving Mohamed Bin Hammam, Michel Platini and the inimitable Sepp Blatter is just about Qatar.
Bribery has long been associated with the World Cup. In 2009 Jack Warner, the then FIFA vice-president and chief of the CONCACAF vote on whether England got the 2018 World Cup, handed back an expensive Mulberry handbag, one of several presented to wives of the FIFA executive committee members by the English bid organisers.
The designer bags, which fell within FIFA guidelines on the value of gifts allowed, were dished out after Walker reportedly complained that England’s World Cup bid lacked a bit of ‘stardust’.
He took the bag for his wife but gave it back once the story of the gifts appeared in the press.
The Mulberry bags were a legal gesture but surely giving people in power any gift in the hope of getting something back is a form of bribery.
The Sunday Times claims regarding Qatar are, obviously, on a different level, but you get my point.
UEFA President Michel Platini has been dragged into the latest efforts to get the 2022 World Cup moved with claims that he held secret meetings with Bin Hammam just before he voted for Qatar’s bid.
Platini says there was nothing unusual in his meetings with who was then a fellow executive committee member and that the only issue discussed was whether he would challenge Blatter for the FIFA presidency, which he declined.
Blatter is preparing to stand for his fifth term in office.
Platini is a possible challenger this time around and there is a growing feeling that the Qatar controversy is now being used to damage him.
FIFA were investigating claims of corruption surrounding the Qatar bid before the Sunday Times story and their verdict will be published after the World Cup in Brazil.
It’s time this mess was cleaned up once and for all and the right decision is taken regarding Qatar 2022 for the right reasons.
Then it will be time to review the whole process of World Cup bids, the fact that FIFA is self governing and that all this has happened on Blatter’s watch.
FIFA needs somebody new at the helm.
Perhaps he should be offered a bribe to go – now, there’s an idea!
